WRX A/C Quality problems

[Paul]

Ever since I purchased my WRX new I have had a major problem with the a/c
quitting after about two hours of continuous use, specifically on a long
highway trip. I have to stop the car and leave it shut down for about 20
minutes or so, and it will then resume working again. I have taken it back
to the dealer several times but as it is working when I take it back they
cannot help me. Also they say they have not experienced that sort of problem
before.
Recently, it quit while driving it for a short time locally, so I drove it
straight to the deal;er in the hope that they would be able to find the
fault this time. Alas, all they found was a high pressure a/c hose which was
leaking at the metal fitting and charged me over $350 to supply and install
a new one as the car had gone over 36K miles a month previous to this. This
was obviously a different problem to the usual one. So basically I am out
$350 and will still experience the same problems as before next time I have
a highway trip. Apart from that I think that a/c hoses should last more than
a couple of years - in all the American and German cars I have owned I have
never had to replace one even after 10 years.

 

[mulder]

Your A/C is freezing up. This is a known problem and Subaru has quite
some time ago issued a TSB on it. Your dealer is full of it if they say
they have never heard of this problem. The fix is to install an updated
thermoswitch in the evaporator, unfortunately if you have passed the
3/36 warranty period you will be charged for the service unless you can
somehow convince the dealer to do it for free. If you are mechanically
inclined it is possible to do it yourself, the part is about $60 and the
A/C will have to be evacuated and recharged since the lines to the
evaporator must be disconnected.
Here is a thread on NASIOC with the complete information on this-
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=4246184

 

[Byron]

Ever since I purchased my WRX new I have had a major problem with the a/c
quitting after about two hours of continuous use, specifically on a long
highway trip. I have to stop the car and leave it shut down for about 20
minutes or so, and it will then resume working again. I have taken it back
to the dealer several times but as it is working when I take it back they
cannot help me. Also they say they have not experienced that sort of problem
before.
Recently, it quit while driving it for a short time locally, so I drove it
straight to the deal;er in the hope that they would be able to find the
fault this time. Alas, all they found was a high pressure a/c hose which was
leaking at the metal fitting and charged me over $350 to supply and install
a new one as the car had gone over 36K miles a month previous to this. This
was obviously a different problem to the usual one. So basically I am out
$350 and will still experience the same problems as before next time I have
a highway trip. Apart from that I think that a/c hoses should last more than
a couple of years - in all the American and German cars I have owned I have
never had to replace one even after 10 years.

Hi Paul,

I have a '02 WRX wagon and I've seen a similar problem on mine - but not
as frequently as you (my trips are shorter).

Mine was most apparent when I moved from Massachusetts to Arizona with a
trailer and a car full of stuff this past summer. The A/C just stopped
blowing cold air for long periods of time. This usually happened when
it was warm and muggy after I crossed the Mississippi river - I also
stopped less as I climbed into the plains. The A/C light on the dash
remained lit, making me think it was still trying to operate.
The car was under a heavy load (I only averaged 14mpg) during the whole
trip.

The owner's manual says the computer shuts the A/C compressor off during
periods of high load, but I don't think this was occurring then. I have
seen the A/C turn itself off - along with the light on the dash - when
I've been driving aggressively. But once I'm done accelerating and I
push the button to engage the A/C again, the system works fine.

Once I got to AZ (and lost the trailer) my A/C system usually blew nice
and cold, even in the near 120 degree F full sun. I had a problem where
the A/C would not blow cold when the engine was at idle. Surprisingly,
a new battery seemed to fix this problem. It's hard to know for sure
though, as the temperatures since I replaced the battery haven't been as
radically hot. Apparently heat kills batteries a lot faster than the
cold - even high end batteries only last two summers here.

If you find a solution, I'd appreciate hearing it.

- Byron

 

[TG]

Could you be more specific? "quitting" is too vague. Does the blower still
work but the air is warm? Does the blower not operate? Does the compressor
cycle? TG