No AC when parked

[sled14]

Hello
Been having this issue the past month or so. When driving, the AC works fine and blows cold air. But when parked it just heats up to the 90’s F. Same thing with cabin overheat and preconditioning, it just blows warm air and won’t cool the car. Also the outside air temperature climbs 15 degrees F or more when parked and reads much hotter than it actually is outside.
I haven’t gotten an update in over a month and am on 2024.8.9.
I made a service appointment, just not sure if this has happened to anyone else before I drop the car off.
Thanks

 

[js3864208]

Same here. 2020 Model Y. Never had this issue before, just started and I’m dreading a potentially costly A/C repair. Can you reply back with service center’s response? Thank you.

 

[jmaddr]

Do either of you hear your AC fan blowing? If the AC is cold while moving (air naturally blowing over the condenser) but not while parked, maybe your fan is not pulling air over the condenser. Does it also start to get hot at long lights (in drive but stopped)?

 

[CyberShy]

Sounds like it could be a damper problem.

 

[sled14]

Same here. 2020 Model Y. Never had this issue before, just started and I’m dreading a potentially costly A/C repair. Can you reply back with service center’s response? Thank you.

Sure, after talking to them they pushed my June 20th service to this Thursday as apparently AC issues don’t need an appointment. Also after messaging, an update came for 14.8 after no update in a month and a half. Not sure if related or they are able to push an update, I was on 8.9.

 

[sled14]

Do either of you hear your AC fan blowing? If the AC is cold while moving (air naturally blowing over the condenser) but not while parked, maybe your fan is not pulling air over the condenser. Does it also start to get hot at long lights (in drive but stopped)?

Not sure, it’s blowing air but not sure about over the condenser. That sounds right and could be the issue.
It does get warm when stopped, we were stuck on the highway yesterday for a wreck and while it was stopped in drive it creeped up in the 90s.

 

[js3864208]

Not sure, it’s blowing air but not sure about over the condenser. That sounds right and could be the issue.
It does get warm when stopped, we were stuck on the highway yesterday for a wreck and while it was stopped in drive it creeped up in the 90s.

Exactly the same. It’s blowing air inside the cabin and I can hear a loud fan outside the car. If stopped it will remain cold for a few minutes but will eventually turn warmer and can’t keep up with the outside heat and the interior temperature starts to rise eventually into the 90s.

 

[sled14]

Just got it back, they replaced the radiator and AC lines. I’m out of warranty so the cost was $1,516.40. At least it’s working now before the Florida summer

 

[js3864208]

Just got it back, they replaced the radiator and AC lines. I’m out of warranty so the cost was $1,516.40. At least it’s working now before the Florida summer

Thank you for replying back. I am also in Florida and as A/C here is not a luxury but a necessity during the summer, unfortunately I’ll be headed to the service center also. I am also out of warranty and assumed it would be in that ballpark for a repair. What is annoying is that I just had the super manifold replaced for $2300 in June 2023. Considering if my cost is similar to yours, I am looking at $3,800 in A/C repairs alone in less than a year on a 3.5 year old car. Not a good look for Tesla reliability.

Curious, did the service center give any detail on why the car only got hot while stopped? Seems like if the radiator was busted or a leak in the lines, the A/C wouldn’t cool at all while driving OR stopped.

 

[sled14]

Thank you for replying back. I am also in Florida and as A/C here is not a luxury but a necessity during the summer, unfortunately I’ll be headed to the service center also. I am also out of warranty and assumed it would be in that ballpark for a repair. What is annoying is that I just had the super manifold replaced for $2300 in June 2023. Considering if my cost is similar to yours, I am looking at $3,800 in A/C repairs alone in less than a year on a 3.5 year old car. Not a good look for Tesla reliability.

Curious, did the service center give any detail on why the car only got hot while stopped? Seems like if the radiator was busted or a leak in the lines, the A/C wouldn’t cool at all while driving OR stopped.

That’s frustrating, mines 3 years old at the end of the month and the first issue I’ve had (minus the 12v battery. And 85,000 miles.
They didn’t, it was busy when I was there and we were headed to Orlando shortly after so I was just focused on getting the car. Hopefully it won’t cost as much for you!

 

[js3864208]

Got it thanks. Yes I love our Tesla and would still buy another despite some of the issues we’ve had. But it annoys me to see a chunk of my gas savings evaporate into costly repair bills. We do drive the car a lot at about 25k miles per year and hammer the A/C since we live in SWFL, but still.

 

[cmaster]

Next time, consider leaving your car at the service center without an appointment. Often, they will service your car the following morning. I typically drop off my car at the service center the evening before if it needs work. I don't use the app since it tends to offer me a schedule that's too far in the future.

 

[js3864208]

Providing my resolution here for informational purposes to help anyone in the future. I went to the service center and they informed me the radiator and fan were severely clogged and impacted with debris. While attempting to clean the radiator would be an option, they couldn’t guarantee results and given the price difference they suggested to replace the parts. I agreed and the radiator and fan assembly was replaced. Total cost $1,786 including tax. Parts $750, Labor $927.

Notably, I do nothing unusual with this car. It is driven on clean SW Florida paved roads and is never driven “off road” or on dirt roads or anywhere with excessive leaves or debris. Absolutely no clue why the radiator would be clogged, especially after only less than 4 years of normal driving. This seems to be a design flaw to me. There is no mesh filter to prevent debris from entering the air intake near the bottom of the front bumper when the flap is open and nowhere for the debris to exit once it’s inside. It just gets trapped and builds up in there. The parts themselves didn’t fail. I should never have had to replace these parts.

 

[jmaddr]

@js3864208, could it have been a nest? I'v had near this area clog up due to pests. Did they send you any pics?

 

[js3864208]

They only sent me this one photo. I wish they had sent the photos AFTER it was removed. Hard to see, but just appears to be a bunch of leaves. They didn’t mention anything about a nest.