AC is cold on the driver's side, hot on the passenger side

I have a 2016 3.5 with almost 67,000 miles. I’ve had for about 3 years. This year I noticed that the ac is not working like it should.

The air that it is blowing out is decently cold on the driver side but hot on the other. I have the settings on all the way low, ac button on, and the recycle button on and it will not get anywhere near as cold as it used to be.

I have put in a new cabin filter and I don’t really know how to approach this problem.

I need help!

 

If it was me I would take it to the dealer and at least let them tell me the problem and maybe have them fix it or fix it myself GL .

 

This sounds like a low r134 symptom. Many cars will focus AC to the driver when its low.

 

Sounds like a blend door issue to me if one side of the truck is colder than the other.

 

You have dual zone? If so I would assume an issue with blend doors or however the truck splits them.

 

High probability it's low on refrigerant. Also these trucks take the new r1234YF, not r-134a.

 

If some of the vents are cold, there's most likely a blend door or controller issue; time for the dealer. Just cause I'm assuming it's easy (I've never actually done it on this particular truck) check the cabin filter.

 

Good call on the cabin filter, make sure it's clean before bringing it to the dealer.

 

Forgot to update. Took it to my local shop and it was halfway low on freon. Had them put some back in it and works good as new.

 

Glad to hear they got you all fixed up, wonder why the refrigerant was low in the first place?

 

Sounds like blend door. Low freon sounds suspicious.

 

Many car will do this. If there is not enough refrigerant in the system to cool the whole cabin it will close off other parts (like the passenger) to make sure the driver gets the AC.

The hvac system in a car is like a person going into hypothermic shock, it tries to preserve the vital parts (The driver)

 

Has Katy Perry been riding in your truck?






....lucky

 

I definitely thought it was odd that it was low. I have rebuilt quite a few of these trucks in my shop but I don’t have the machine to mess with the r1234 Freon yet. This truck was hit in the rear with no damage to the front. That definitely doesn’t rule out the fact that something wasn’t jerked around too hard. I’ve had this truck for a while and was about ready to part with it, but I guess it’s going to stick around for a while longer to make sure nothing else will happen. It has been nearly 2 months since it was fixed and nothing has happened yet with the ac being used almost every day.

 

I get it......but I'm very much ashamed that I get it

 

I feel dirty all over for saying it.

One could say I was yes then I was no about it

 

Wow - would not of thought it was Just Low charge..... Good to know! Thanks for the follow up/results post OP !!

 

No most cars won’t even let the ac run if it’s to low on Freon hence why they have a pressure cut off switch on 99% of cars now. The blend doors don’t automatically adjust to only blow the drivers side I can guarantee you that, possibly due to insufficient cooling so by the time it circulates to the passenger side it’s not as cool would be the only possibility.

 

My 2018 Tacoma A/C wasn’t blow cold but somewhat cool but in the heat of the day not cold enough and passenger side not blowing air at all. So went to local Auto Zone and bought a can of r1234yf, system was low once added sufficient amount now it’s blowing cold again. Will know once vehicle runs a while whether passenger side is blowing now. Also gonna check the cabin air filter too. MTF

 

Had the same issue on my wife's 2019. Driver's side cold, passenger side warm. Turned out to be low on refrigerant because of a small leak.

Eventually the compressor went and we went without cooling for a couple of months while waiting for parts. Luckily everything was covered under warranty.