HVAC became inoperable today!

[Garlan Garner]

I'm at the service center as I'm writing this. They suspect my compressor has failed based on the loud grinding sounds coming from it.
They say they have the parts to fix it. They hope to have it resolved today. If not tomorrow.
I will keep you all posted.
Luckily I have my MS but my wife isn't allowed to drive it.
If they don't have a loaner then she will be carless for a couple days at worst

Congratulations. Thanks for the info.

Wait - Your wife isn't allowed to drive it? TMI. That comment needs its own thread.

Keep us posted. THanks

 

[srini]

, but the initial response was the vehicle was probably behaving as intended: prioritizing cooling for the battery pack over cabin temp.

High 90s and low 100s are par for the course around here during the summer (and apparently going to get more common) and my Model S handles them with aplomb. I would consider it a design #fail if the Model X cannot do the same.

Are they kidding? Why didn't Tesla add a radiator to cool the battery pack ?
Sometimes I wonder if they did any of testing at all s before letting these loose on the beta testers Freaks me out

 

[X Fan]

starting to think there was a bad batch of ac units or installs

My AC has worked well since taking ownership in early May. However, found out today from SC advisor that some AC lines needed to be re-routed since they had been installed properly. Recommend anyone taking vehicle for service to ask SC to check......


btw: have driven X in 100+ humid days on I95 and AC was terrific.....

 

[Garlan Garner]

Are they kidding? Why didn't Tesla add a radiator to cool the battery pack ?
Sometimes I wonder if they did any of testing at all s before letting these loose on the beta testers Freaks me out

Are you saying that you have a $70K+ car that is designed at times to not provide AC? Are you saying that they conveyed....the hotter the day - the less AC you will have? - by design?

 

[RobertGreenberg]

I've had the obligatory 'sorry we're cooling the battery, so you are going to be hot' message while supercharging in near 100 degree heat. I get this is 'normal'.

But Friday it was over 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley. No message that it needed to cool the battery and strangely, the A/C would start to blow crazy hot (almost suffocating) air whenever the car stopped at a light or in traffic. I had to shut off the air and open the window whenever the car stopped it was so bad. When it was moving, it seemed to cool somewhat, but still not great.

Worked OK today, but it was not as hot.

Am wondering about the less cooling the hotter it is theory. Tesla is pulling logs.Any ideas?

 

[X Fan]

My AC has worked well since taking ownership in early May. However, found out today from SC advisor that some AC lines needed to be re-routed since they had been installed properly. Recommend anyone taking vehicle for service to ask SC to check......


btw: have driven X in 100+ humid days on I95 and AC was terrific.....

"Not installed properly" was what I meant.

 

[DrComputer]

I've had the obligatory 'sorry we're cooling the battery, so you are going to be hot' message while supercharging in near 100 degree heat. I get this is 'normal'.

But Friday it was over 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley. No message that it needed to cool the battery and strangely, the A/C would start to blow crazy hot (almost suffocating) air whenever the car stopped at a light or in traffic. I had to shut off the air and open the window whenever the car stopped it was so bad. When it was moving, it seemed to cool somewhat, but still not great.

Worked OK today, but it was not as hot.

Am wondering about the less cooling the hotter it is theory. Tesla is pulling logs.Any ideas?

There are two known issues with the Model X A/C that the service center should check. Here's what they wrote in the service notes.

Corrections: Cabin HVAC General Diagnosis
This MX was flagged as having High Refrigerant Discharger Pressure
(THC_w0253_rfrgDisPressHi warning). The discharge pressure can be high if the A/C
condenser lines weren't installed correctly.
Verified A/C lines are installed incorrectly at Condenser. Lines need to be swapped so
that the Compressor Discharge Line is mounted on the top of Condenser.
Corrections: Condenser
Removed and replaced condenser. Recharged AC system
Part Quantity
MX COOLING FAN MODULE (1031401-00-E) 1

 

[Muzzman1]

To follow up:

Going to get the car back from service shortly. They had to replace the compressor. I will update once I read the paperwork to confirm or deny if the lines were crossed as well.

 

[Muzzman1]

Edit: Lines were crossed as well.

 

[K-MTG]

What is your VIN?

 

[omarsultan]

@Muzzman1 - thanks for providing the update--will be helpful when mine goes in next week.

 

[Garlan Garner]

To follow up:

Going to get the car back from service shortly. They had to replace the compressor. I will update once I read the paperwork to confirm or deny if the lines were crossed as well.

Thanks for the update.

 

[Greg]

There are a number of X's including mine that had two lines crossed going into the compressor. My biggest compliant was that the car sounded like a jet engine with the fan at the front going crazy. My AC did work... so I thought. The car was so loud that it's embarrassing. After a number of complaints to the SC with the response that it is working as designed I saw a thread here about the issue. Finally someone got their noise issue fixed by having the lines corrected the noise level was totally acceptable/normal. I told my SC and they fixed the problem. When we drive down the street it does not sound like a jet approaching. A side benefit is the AC system works better than before. If your AC is having issues cooling the car I'd recommend having these lines examined to see if it was installed correctly.

Coincidentally my wife was driving the other day and saw another X right next to her. The window was down and she heard the jet engine of the other X as loud as can be. She was going to tell the driver that it is not normal and can be fixed, but the light turned green. Tesla really needs to track down all of the X's with this problem and get it fixed. It is really bad PR to have an electric car literally be the loudest car on the road!

 

[Muzzman1]

Our Vin was just below 2000.

 

[aesculus]

f your AC is having issues cooling the car I'd recommend having these lines examined to see if it was installed correctly.

If this is true Tesla needs to get a recall out ASAP.

I have had my X next to another and mine was quiet while theirs was beyond belief. They did have a full car (3+1) where I just had (1+1) but still. Also my car keeps me comfortable set at 75 unless I am facing the sun mid day, then I bring it down to 74. Sometimes 76 is comfortable, even on 100 degree days.

Another point: I have my rear air set to off unless someone is back there (rarely). I wonder what kind of impact that might have on the noise situation?

 

[Redmiata98]

Mine is super loud when it starts out and then goes down in noise level a bit. We just finished a 700 mile trip from VA to Chicago and the outside temps were above 90. The cooling was adequate during the whole trip.

I had my X in for a malfunctioning charger port warning and asked them about the noise level on the air conditioning. They said that the noise level was "normal" as long as the cooling worked. I'll be monitoring the cooling level to make sure it continues cooling and live with the noise level until it stops cooling, for a while. My VIN is 00061 and if they had initial problems with the a/c in production mine might have been in the mix. It was hard to test it in the winter but now that summer is here, I suspect more than a few people MIGHT notice it. I am sure the noise problem will be fixed soon.

 

[omarsultan]

Hey @Muzzman1 - can you ask your service advisor if there is a specific service bulletin around the crossed condenser lines? It will make things a bit easier for the rest of us if we can point the SvC at something.

Thx (and no worries if you cannot)

 

[Muzzman1]

Hey @Muzzman1 - can you ask your service advisor if there is a specific service bulletin around the crossed condenser lines? It will make things a bit easier for the rest of us if we can point the SvC at something.

Thx (and no worries if you cannot)

I actually mentioned it to my service advisor as well as the tech that came over to do the initial assessment. They both were aware of the issue, and they made no mention of a TSB.

 

[srini]

I've had the obligatory 'sorry we're cooling the battery, so you are going to be hot' message while supercharging in near 100 degree heat. I get this is 'normal'.

But Friday it was over 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley. No message that it needed to cool the battery and strangely, the A/C would start to blow crazy hot (almost suffocating) air whenever the car stopped at a light or in traffic. I had to shut off the air and open the window whenever the car stopped it was so bad. When it was moving, it seemed to cool somewhat, but still not great.

Worked OK today, but it was not as hot.

Am wondering about the less cooling the hotter it is theory. Tesla is pulling logs.Any ideas?

That's awful!! Time to start a free hand fan campaign, like the free sunshades?

 

[Ulmo]

I wonder if there is a spy camera on a stick angle the Service Centers can use to quickly probe for this condition to see if it was installed correctly to solve this frequent manufacturing error, or if there is a characteristic set of signatures in the logs or sensors that the computer could pick up and send in to the factory to send out targeted recall notices to the affected drivers, to make fixing this problem faster and less expensive for the company.