Weak AC / Low on refrigerant

[andy92782]

My Model 3's (2018 LR AWD) AC has been struggling as of late. If the outside air temperature was even slightly "not cool", even running it at a medium setting would cause the front radiator fans to spin up to maximum speed while the system struggled to pump out air that was barely cooler than ambient. I took the car into Tesla Service and $412.50 later (1.5 hours @ $275/hr), the car was returned to me with cool breezes once again blowing. The system was low on refrigerant. Unfortunately, Tesla Service did not / could not identify any leaks.

Has anyone experienced similar AC issues with their pre-heat pump Model 3?

 

[israndy]

Yes, but it was the radiator being blocked that was the issue. When the louvers are open the trash that bounces down the street will just fly into the opening and then get trapped between the two radiators. If your AC is just low on coolant than this maneuver is extraneous. If you are going to do this be sure to get louver screens so that you don't have to do it again. It's not easy to fix. Tesla will offer to replace your radiator if you like, but it is possible to clean it instead, see YouTube:

There are others who just lightly opened their radiator to vacuum it, as I did on my Model X which now blows cold air and keeps the Supercharging heat to a minimum. But this video seems to be the best way I have seen to do a full radiator cleaning.

 

[andy92782]

I was aware of the radiator blockage problem and asked Tesla Service to check for this; they did, and reported that it was not blocked by anything.

I'm kind of bummed by their diagnosis. If the system is low on refrigerant, it's because there is a leak. Since they couldn't find one, I will likely have to repeat this process in another 3-4 years.