Strange Issue with AC

[Steeler]

I'm having this frustrating issue with the air conditioner in my Lariat. No air comes out of the vents, nothing. I have it cranked all the way down to LO and the fan speed on 7 and nothing. You don't even hear the compressor kick on; no noise, no air, nothing. You just hear the engine running.

I've brought it back to the dealer twice and each time they couldn't find anything wrong. The problem is, and this is a real doozy, both times I've taken my truck to the dealer to have them look at it, it worked! They kept it for a few days both times and it worked each day. It works when I'm at their shop and on my way home from their shop. But the next day, same thing happens, AC cranked, no noise, no air. I even took a video of what is happening and showed them.

They told me at the shop that they're not sure what to do because it works when they have it, which I can somewhat understand, but this is getting so frustrating.
Anyone have any idea what might cause this or what I can do? I'm at a loss. I've had the truck for just under a month with only 500 miles on it. I love the truck, but at the same time I'm hating it.

Here's a link to the video I made of the issue. Hope you guys can see it:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8xmtiin938w38hi/2021-04-04 15.32.33.mp4?dl=0

Appreciate any help you guys can provide. Thanks!

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[Pedaldude]

Nothing more frustrating than an intermittent problem, it’s made worse by the fact dealers won’t do extended test drives to verify issues.

You might do well by stopping by on a hot day when your truck is acting up and taking one of the service managers out, then insist it be fixed.

 

[CBGray]

I had this exact same problem today. We were 3 hours into our drive and all the sudden the cab started getting warmer and warmer. Took a little bit to figure out the a/c simply stopped working. Set it to LO, put the fans on 7, no air at all. Drove for 20 minutes to a gas station and shut the truck off, waited 10 minutes, turned back on, no change. Drove another 40 minutes with it turned off, tried it again and it just started working. No idea why.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Freon charge low and the evaporator freezes up?

 

[CBGray]

Freon charge low and the evaporator freezes up?

This is what we’re wondering too. First long trip with the truck where the ac would have been on for a good while. I have another 6 hour drive tomorrow and again Sunday, so we’ll see if it happens again. We had it set for 70 in the cab, just on auto, one of the low fan settings. It was between 95-100 outside temp along the route.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Might try running the fan a bit faster just for sport and amusement.
Had this happen to me in a new uhaul moving my spouse to be from Florida to Utah. AC is not a big deal for me, but for the dog and my new 12yo daughter it was kind of important.

 

[Steeler]

My issue turned out to be a problem with HVAC module chip. Took the dealer mechanic and Ford over a month to figure it out and another 5 weeks for the chip to arrive. Almost a 3 month ordeal, but working like a charm since.

 

[Nelson21]

My issue turned out to be a problem with HVAC module chip. Took the dealer mechanic and Ford over a month to figure it out and another 5 weeks for the chip to arrive. Almost a 3 month ordeal, but working like a charm since.

Glad to hear that it seems you have found a resolution. I will keep this in mind when I take my 21 in. My problem is actually the opposite though.. My A/C comes on by itself when on vent mode and A/C button not illuminated. The air will get very cold on its own. Just adding it to the list of other gremlin issues going on with my truck. Will say it again.. I want my 16 back!! Lol

 

[Steeler]

Glad to hear that it seems you have found a resolution. I will keep this in mind when I take my 21 in. My problem is actually the opposite though.. My A/C comes on by itself when on vent mode and A/C button not illuminated. The air will get very cold on its own. Just adding it to the list of other gremlin issues going on with my truck. Will say it again.. I want my 16 back!! Lol

That's a weird one. I too have had a bunch of strange issues with my '21.
Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

 

[vriggy_3]

I had this exact same problem today. We were 3 hours into our drive and all the sudden the cab started getting warmer and warmer. Took a little bit to figure out the a/c simply stopped working. Set it to LO, put the fans on 7, no air at all. Drove for 20 minutes to a gas station and shut the truck off, waited 10 minutes, turned back on, no change. Drove another 40 minutes with it turned off, tried it again and it just started working. No idea why.

I have had this same exact problem happen twice now in as many weeks. I am in a Lariat, and both times, the air slowly started to go out after 2-3 hours of driving. The second time around, I knew what was happening and monitored it. The fan speed was on auto low, and the air slowly started to get warmer. After 5-10 minutes, the fan speed became non-existent. After shutting the truck off for a few minutes, the issue goes away after a restart. I am scheduled to bring it into Granger Ford here on Friday. I am not expecting them to find anything, but good to know I am not the only one trying to battle through this. I am just afraid it will never actually get fixed, and I am going to be dealing with it forever.

 

[CBGray]

I have had this same exact problem happen twice now in as many weeks. I am in a Lariat, and both times, the air slowly started to go out after 2-3 hours of driving. The second time around, I knew what was happening and monitored it. The fan speed was on auto low, and the air slowly started to get warmer. After 5-10 minutes, the fan speed became non-existent. After shutting the truck off for a few minutes, the issue goes away after a restart. I am scheduled to bring it into Granger Ford here on Friday. I am not expecting them to find anything, but good to know I am not the only one trying to battle through this. I am just afraid it will never actually get fixed, and I am going to be dealing with it forever.

If you don't mind, I'd love to hear the results of any checks they do, even if in-conclusive. I have the same fear as you - one of those issues that is hard to ever fully pin down. But, maybe they'll run across something, can only hope.

My update was that the 6 hour trip on that Saturday, then the trip home Sunday, everything worked well. The Saturday trip was basically 3 hour legs with a break in-between, so it's possible it was close to happening, then the break let it recover. Just hard to say as it may not have happened if it was six hours straight. Anyway, I'll keep watching for it in the future.

 

[vriggy_3]

If you don't mind, I'd love to hear the results of any checks they do, even if in-conclusive. I have the same fear as you - one of those issues that is hard to ever fully pin down. But, maybe they'll run across something, can only hope.

My update was that the 6 hour trip on that Saturday, then the trip home Sunday, everything worked well. The Saturday trip was basically 3 hour legs with a break in-between, so it's possible it was close to happening, then the break let it recover. Just hard to say as it may not have happened if it was six hours straight. Anyway, I'll keep watching for it in the future.

So here's my update. I brought the truck into Granger yesterday morning. I assured them I wasn't expecting them to actually find anything, but I still wanted to have them look it over and make sure. I was very clear that the issue includes the inside of the cabin getting so hot, that I have to lower the windows to get any sort of relief. I also assured them that this happens with the auto consistent at 72 degrees, and that I did try adjusting fan speed and temperature off of auto to make sure it wasn't an auto glitch.

My response from the service tech was this; this is normal operation of the HVAC system. "My dad's truck does the same thing." Please read your owners manual for operation of your HVAC system. I asked him what I should do if it happens again, and he said it will happen again because its normal.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Thankfully I was able to walk out of the service department without losing my mind.

I am not sure what I am supposed to do moving forward. Feel pretty helpless at this point.

 

[GolfR]

The AC not working is normal??? I would take it to a different dealer if you have one close. If not, post the ridiculous response and the lack of logic on the dealers google site. You will probably get a call from their PR folks within a day wanting to get it fixed so you will take the bad review down.

 

[CBGray]

So here's my update. I brought the truck into Granger yesterday morning. I assured them I wasn't expecting them to actually find anything, but I still wanted to have them look it over and make sure. I was very clear that the issue includes the inside of the cabin getting so hot, that I have to lower the windows to get any sort of relief. I also assured them that this happens with the auto consistent at 72 degrees, and that I did try adjusting fan speed and temperature off of auto to make sure it wasn't an auto glitch.

My response from the service tech was this; this is normal operation of the HVAC system. "My dad's truck does the same thing." Please read your owners manual for operation of your HVAC system. I asked him what I should do if it happens again, and he said it will happen again because its normal.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Thankfully I was able to walk out of the service department without losing my mind.

I am not sure what I am supposed to do moving forward. Feel pretty helpless at this point.

Wow. Just wow. Granger has been such a class act dealership on this site - lots of happy customers. I get that sales and service are different departments, but you want to think the culture of the whole dealership would be top notch. I’ve owned a Mazda B2600i, Dodge Dakota, Toyota Tacoma, and now the F-150. This was my first ac failure - and I’m OK with that, things happen. But to hear you’ve been told “it’s normal” - that just doesn’t fly. If I had to guess, it’s probably not the most fun problem for a service tech to track down and they’re hoping you’ll just accept it and move on. If it was “normal”, nobody in the hot and/or humid states in the US would own a Ford. Why would you subject yourself to ac that sometimes works, but not always? That answer that they gave you doesn’t even pass the smell test.

 

[diesel97]

So here's my update. I brought the truck into Granger yesterday morning. I assured them I wasn't expecting them to actually find anything, but I still wanted to have them look it over and make sure. I was very clear that the issue includes the inside of the cabin getting so hot, that I have to lower the windows to get any sort of relief. I also assured them that this happens with the auto consistent at 72 degrees, and that I did try adjusting fan speed and temperature off of auto to make sure it wasn't an auto glitch.

My response from the service tech was this; this is normal operation of the HVAC system. "My dad's truck does the same thing." Please read your owners manual for operation of your HVAC system. I asked him what I should do if it happens again, and he said it will happen again because its normal.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Thankfully I was able to walk out of the service department without losing my mind.

I am not sure what I am supposed to do moving forward. Feel pretty helpless at this point.

Did you ask him what page in the manual says that?

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