AC problem in '15 WRX

[Nautilus802]

I bought a new '15 WRX almost 2 years ago. I commute a good distance every day (about 100 miles, all highway) and have racked up 52,000 miles so far.

Everything has been going great, but about 40,000 miles in, my AC will now spontaneously start blowing warmish air (warm enough that my interior mirrors totally fog over) about 20-30 minutes into my commute. It is very stange, because if I crank the AC to "Lo", it immediately starts blowing very cold air, but as soon as I put it back to "Auto" and raise the temp to say 72 degrees, it will start to blow warmish air. Also, I have noticed that if I slow the car down, or give it lots of gas, the AC will start blowing cold air again.

I don't recall what my engine oil temps were when I got the car, but I could swear they have been creeping up over time. Today, it was about 85 degrees here in Houston, and at 80 mph on cruise control in 6th gear (about 3k rpm) and AC pegged to "Lo" (for the aforementioned reason), my engine oil temp read the highest I think I have ever seen it (221 degrees). Is the AC cutting off some sort of fail safe related to elevated oil temps?

Any ideas about the AC? (I am taking it into service this week, but I thought I would check here first to get ideas or to see if anyone has had similar experience)

Are my oil temps excessive? Typically, with the AC on auto and outside temps in the 90s, oil temps were in the 214-216 degree area. With the outside temp being in the low to mid 80s today, I was a bit alarmed to see my oil temp hit 221 degrees, even with the AC cranked to Lo.

Thanks.

[rtv900]

how can you view your engine oil temp?
did you put a sensor in or does it already have one?

[AkotaHsky]

Originally Posted by rtv900

how can you view your engine oil temp?
did you put a sensor in or does it already have one?

2015 WRX has an Oil Temp Sensor already -


To the OP:

Your Oil Temps are fine. I get the same and up to 225 w/ aggressive high RPM driving on the highway.

[IkeO]

Originally Posted by Nautilus802

I bought a new '15 WRX almost 2 years ago. I commute a good distance every day (about 100 miles, all highway) and have racked up 52,000 miles so far.

Everything has been going great, but about 40,000 miles in, my AC will now spontaneously start blowing warmish air (warm enough that my interior mirrors totally fog over) about 20-30 minutes into my commute. It is very stange, because if I crank the AC to "Lo", it immediately starts blowing very cold air, but as soon as I put it back to "Auto" and raise the temp to say 72 degrees, it will start to blow warmish air. Also, I have noticed that if I slow the car down, or give it lots of gas, the AC will start blowing cold air again.

I don't recall what my engine oil temps were when I got the car, but I could swear they have been creeping up over time. Today, it was about 85 degrees here in Houston, and at 80 mph on cruise control in 6th gear (about 3k rpm) and AC pegged to "Lo" (for the aforementioned reason), my engine oil temp read the highest I think I have ever seen it (221 degrees). Is the AC cutting off some sort of fail safe related to elevated oil temps?

Any ideas about the AC? (I am taking it into service this week, but I thought I would check here first to get ideas or to see if anyone has had similar experience)

Are my oil temps excessive? Typically, with the AC on auto and outside temps in the 90s, oil temps were in the 214-216 degree area. With the outside temp being in the low to mid 80s today, I was a bit alarmed to see my oil temp hit 221 degrees, even with the AC cranked to Lo.

Thanks.

Nautilus,I'll tell you everything i know! The good news is i had the EXACT same issues and finally got this fixed at the dealership. Its your compressor. It's bad. It was bad from the get go. From the day i got my car the AC wasnt quite right. At about cruising RPM the AC would cut out and start blowing humid air into the cabin. if i slowed way down or sped up and changed RPM speed the AC would get cold again. it sucked so bad in the summer. problem is, i live in WI where i rarely need AC, so it was hard to detect when it was happening. It also made it very hard to prove, after 2 years, that it was happening becuase i needed a HOT day for it to be obvious. well in WI theres maybe 5 weeks of Hot days in 2 years . anyways, i finally started noticing the patterns and after taking it in 3 times to complain i finally INSISTED that a service tech ride with me in traffic for about 40 minutes on a hot day. Boom, it was obvious and I finally got them to get off their ass and fix it.

See the issue is....they'll test it by just having your car sit there in the shop idle. Well at Idle your AC is crisp as a winter day! But that's not where you're seeing your AC crap out. You gotta show em in real life driving.

It was the compressor. They had a spare one at the dealership. they installed it and my AC has been PERFECT ever since. So go in and tell them this straight up. because i 100% guarantee you this is what your issue is.

Oh also, theyll want to do this Dye test first where they apparently put dye in your system and detect if there's a leak. they gotta do it by the book apparently but it's bs. that isnt your issue. then after you bring it back and tell them your AC still sucks, theyll test the dye. realize it's not leaking and then i believe the next step is to replace the compressor.

hope that helps homie. good luck!

[phxsubaru]

My 2015 sti did that right before the ac compressor seized. Belt flew off and internal hvac controls fried themselves. Replaced under warranty at about 32,000 miles

[The Crusher]

I've had a similar issues for years I've never been able to figure out. A/C blows cold ONLY when fan speed is on highest setting. Took a while even to figure out this was a constant, since I rarely put it on high. And I live in Maine. You can definitely tell the compressor kicking off and on when the fan is put back and forth from high to a slower setting. Every once in a while it will work at a lower speed but not often.
Thoughts? Anyone else experience this?