Road trip with high heat = no AC?

[Vm.one]

I live in Arizona and have a 2019 MX and I've never experienced your situation. I did have a 15 min issue which is related to item 1 below. There are 2 possible things.

1. After you supercharge, it is possible that for 15-20 mins after ac is reduced as it needs to cool the battery.
3. Did you have range mode on? In which case some rules might override temp setting for battery long range.

 

[mjptech]

I live in Arizona and have a 2019 MX and I've never experienced your situation. I did have a 15 min issue which is related to item 1 below. There are 2 possible things.

1. After you supercharge, it is possible that for 15-20 mins after ac is reduced as it needs to cool the battery.
3. Did you have range mode on? In which case some rules might override temp setting for battery long range.

In my case, I had charged up briefly (less than 10%) a few hours earlier in the day. Then when the wife and I were getting back into the X from where we were, the issue had occurred.

After lunch, while at the Monterey service center, I plugged in, only maybe 5%, just to see if that would kickstart the AC. No go.

I have a 2019 6 seater. Did not see if adding weight, or sitting in the back would have made a difference.

 

[jboy210]

Cool, going to have to place an order for it. Never had to do that in any other vehicle, even the BMWs in our family.

So, I left the car sitting for an hour or so while the wife and I rested at the hotel room. When we got back in, the AC was blowing cool air when I turned it on. Still keeping that appointment on Monday, and hoping it stays operating the next two days at least.

We used to get a new BMW every 18 months (2 3-year leases). Pre-2007 they were OK. After that you needed Gummi Plege for the squeaks and creaks of doors over driveways and the windows at the end of summer. Also, we have had to do some re-torquing of screw to stop rattles, even during the 1st week of ownership. And then when we bought out the leases after 4 years there is the inevitable $7,500 charge for turbo and waste-gate replacement.

 

[mjptech]

We used to get a new BMW every 18 months (2 3-year leases). Pre-2007 they were OK. After that you needed Gummi Plege for the squeaks and creaks of doors over driveways and the windows at the end of summer. Also, we have had to do some re-torquing of screw to stop rattles, even during the 1st week of ownership. And then when we bought out the leases after 4 years there is the inevitable $7,500 charge for turbo and waste-gate replacement.

Oh, ouch. We only have one BMW in the family now ('15 X3), the others are gone, but, I think it's been doing well the past few years.

So far, the AC continues to function, albeit with me worrying it's going to go out again. With nothing reported in the logs of the vehicle, not sure what they're going to say or find out about this one during my appointment on Monday.

 

[jboy210]

So far, the AC continues to function, albeit with me worrying it's going to go out again. With nothing reported in the logs of the vehicle, not sure what they're going to say or find out about this one during my appointment on Monday.

I hope you better luck troubleshooting your issue than I do.

When it is hot my AC sound like a jet and makes a really bad buzzing/warbling noise. Sounds like something is out of balance in the fan system or compressor. But, ever time I bring it in, the temp drops from 100 to 70 that day and AC is silent.

 

[mjptech]

I hope you better luck troubleshooting your issue than I do.

When it is hot my AC sound like a jet and makes a really bad buzzing/warbling noise. Sounds like something is out of balance in the fan system or compressor. But, ever time I bring it in, the temp drops from 100 to 70 that day and AC is silent.

Any chance you've been able to catch it on video? I had to do that quite a bit with my previous vehicle that became a lemon (XC90 T8). It became a common thing for me. Resulted in a couple of software fixes issued by Volvo.

 

[BlueRidgeksky]

I have a fall 2018 MX build. Two weeks ago the a AC completely failed and required an overhaul. The damaged compressor drained the 12v battery and after a week the X was completely dead. Roadside assistance (they were great) towed it 2 hours to the service center.

It's a long story, but we had concerns about the AC since shortly after delivery. They had checked it several times and said it was fine at first. Toward the end of this whole year long ordeal they said that it may fail, which of course it did. All that to say, anyone reading this: if you think something is wrong or not right, get it checked out or documented at least. They didn't tell me this, but I think they are having AC problems with 2018 models. Still love my X!

 

[jboy210]

Any chance you've been able to catch it on video? I had to do that quite a bit with my previous vehicle that became a lemon (XC90 T8). It became a common thing for me. Resulted in a couple of software fixes issued by Volvo.

We have been try to get it recorded. But for some reason my wife's phone does not capture the sound very well. I may have to use a real video camera with a shotgun mic to isolate the noise.

 

[BlueRidgeksky]

We have been try to get it recorded. But for some reason my wife's phone does not capture the sound very well. I may have to use a real video camera with a shotgun mic to isolate the noise.

I had the same issue, and was able to record mine and capture it and send it to Tesla, and they still didn't do anything until it failed.

 

[ajdelange]

The 3 row cars have a bigger compressor than the two so could you all specify which you have when describing the problems you are experiencing?

 

[jboy210]

The 3 row cars have a bigger compressor than the two so could you all specify which you have when describing the problems you are experiencing?

Mine is 5 seat/2 rows/75D

 

[ttripp1]

Just picked up my X from the SC today. After performing a thermal test, they replaced the front passenger side louvre and accompanying seals. I was told it was "obstructed" which likely caused my problems, so they fixed it. I hope that was truly the issue.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

I hope they figure out the issue, because if they say it is indeed 'normal", then that tells me I need to rent an ICE to drive to a hot climate. I really don't want to do that.

No, NOT normal. What I suspect was meant was it was "normal operation" in that the car will sacrifice your comfort if the AC performance is degraded, in order to secure a safe battery temperature for Supercharging or driving.

I'd posit that Tesla's intent here is that the car exists to take you places--it's Job 1.

Thus, it will do what it takes to achieve Job 1.

And if the AC's performance is compromised (low gas level, inop condenser fans, etc.), your will suffer, but the car will still move from Point A to Point B.

I'd have called for Mobile Service to meet you somewhere, or stopped at a Service Center. In AZ heat a failed AC counts as an Emergency in my book!

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Never experienced it and cannot comment on your particular situation but it is quite clear from the manual that if there is a conflict between the battery's comfort and passenger comfort, the passengers lose. I suppose one could call it a design flaw as they could install more cooling capacity but I am sure there are tradeoffs. Right now I'd just say that the Mojave dessert in the middle of August is outside the car's operating envelope.

Disagree because you are wrong.

Many thousands of MX's are in Phoenix, AZ, and other extremely hot parts of the planet.

It can reach 120F there.

They have not returned their MX's to Tesla . . . due to poor cooling.

This particular MX has an issue; it is NOT endemic to the entire fleet.

If it was, we'd all know about it.

 

[animorph]

I've made about five round trips from Phoenix to the SF Bay Area with a 2017 Model X 6-seater. Some have been in 114F east of L.A. On one early trip the A/C stopped cooling after charging at a Supercharger (heading east, Indio?). But it started working again after the next Supercharge. That's the one and only time the A/C has let the car get hot, out of about 25k miles of road trips in 2.5 years. I did try the simple scroll wheel reset (while driving, so no brake pedal power off reset), which didn't help. Given it worked after the next Supercharge, maybe pulling off the freeway and dong a power off reset would have fixed it.

Maybe whatever problem we had was fixed with a firmware update since it never happened again. I never hear fans running wild for a long time after normal operation, though certainly during Supercharging.

 

[ajdelange]

Disagree because you are wrong.

And I disagree because you are wrong. RTFM and then read post #35.

 

[spectrum]

Disagree because you are wrong.

Many thousands of MX's are in Phoenix, AZ, and other extremely hot parts of the planet.

It can reach 120F there.

They have not returned their MX's to Tesla . . . due to poor cooling.

This particular MX has an issue; it is NOT endemic to the entire fleet.

If it was, we'd all know about it.

My August 2018 X100D with 6 seat configuration A/C blows warm air when the outside temperature is ~90 degrees+ (even in the city). It also blows really hard, and A/C sound is really loud. Sounds like it's struggling to run, or running at full blast, and blowing really fast, but the air is warm (even when set to LO or < 70). There are no error messages.

After 2 trips to Tesla service center, they told me this is normal, that the car priorities battery/system temperature over interior/cabin. I believe ajdelange is correct.

 

[BlueRidgeksky]

My August 2018 X100D with 6 seat configuration A/C blows warm air when the outside temperature is ~90 degrees+ (even in the city). It also blows really hard, and A/C sound is really loud. Sounds like it's struggling to run, or running at full blast, and blowing really fast, but the air is warm (even when set to LO or < 70). There are no error messages.

After 2 trips to Tesla service center, they told me this is normal, that the car priorities battery/system temperature over interior/cabin. I believe ajdelange is correct.

No, this is not normal behavior.

 

[ajdelange]

No, this is not normal behavior.

RTFM

 

[shinytop]

I don't think anybody is doubting the prioritization of cooling the battery ahead of the car's interior. What most are saying it is able to handle 90-100 degrees without leaving the cabin without any cooling. We are over 90 daily where I live and my car cools very well. This afternoon it was over a 100 and still cooling.