A/C problem figured out!! - See last post.

[Jeffrey Makela 6]

What test can I do to find out if my car has the air conditioning problem. and does it happen at any mileage or does it come from the dealer bad?

[WaltK 305]

Bad right off the shelf. Just turn it on, and you should get a nice steady stream of cold air. If the temperature from the vent starts to fluctuate from cold, to cool to warm, to cold, on and on, then you have the problem. In other words the temperature should remain stable, any changes while streaming, is a problem. You can just hold your hand by one of the vents, and feel for it.

[Greg_E 211]

They also often blow warm at idle with this problem, but not always.

[Jeffrey Makela 6]

Bad right off the shelf. Just turn it on, and you should get a nice steady stream of cold air. If the temperature from the vent starts to fluctuate from cold, to cool to warm, to cold, on and on, then you have the problem. In other words the temperature should remain stable, any changes while streaming, is a problem. You can just hold your hand by one of the vents, and feel for it.

I think my spark has this problem. how do I go about getting it fixed?

[Lovgun7 75]

I think my spark has this problem. how do I go about getting it fixed?

fix?? There is no fix yet lol

but if you want your dealer to check it out

call up your nearest Chevy dealer.... set up an appointment and before you go take a print out of the tech link links that way they know that the issue has been found.

If I were you I would take the car in to service in the morning and request the shuttle to where ever you need to go the shuttle is free... They will probably call you and tell you that the compressor is bad and it'll take a 2 days to fix... at that point they'll offer you a rental take it a put miles on it... It's also free lol

[WaltK 305]

The proper protocol is to take it back to the dealer, and have it repaired. If you read the threads on this forum, you will see that this is not working for the members who have followed the rules. The dealers are replacing a lot of parts, but no one has actually had a true repair. What I have done, is called the GM customer service number that is listed at the end of the owners manual, stated my concerns, and received a service request number, this way they know that the problem exists on my vehicle, and when they finally come up with a way to fix the problem, they will know that I had the problem, and will deal with it. GM has acknowledged that this problem does exist, and they are working on a fix. This is a wide spread problem, and you have to do whatever you are comfortable with. Realistically whatever you decide to do, don't look for a quick fix, it's not going to happen. It's going to take some patience, while waiting for this fix to appear, but I feel somewhere down the road, it will happen.

[Jeffrey Makela 6]

Has anyone check to see if the refrigerant is low in this car? low refrigerant will cause this problem.

Intermittent Cooling

This problem is easily noticed when you have alternate blowing of warm and cool air. Its usual cause is the presence of air and moisture in the system. Auto AC repairs for intermittent cooling is normally done by purging air and moisture from your AC by using a vacuum pump.

Intermittent cooling can also be caused by electrical faults like:

o Defective relays and switches
o Compressor clutch
o Control module
o Temperature sensor

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3499204

Edited August 7, 2013 by Jeffrey Makela

[bluer101 241]

Has anyone check to see if the refrigerant is low in this car? low refrigerant will cause this problem.

Intermittent Cooling

This problem is easily noticed when you have alternate blowing of warm and cool air. Its usual cause is the presence of air and moisture in the system. Auto AC repairs for intermittent cooling is normally done by purging air and moisture from your AC by using a vacuum pump.

Intermittent cooling can also be caused by electrical faults like:

o Defective relays and switches

o Compressor clutch

o Control module

o Temperature sensor

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3499204

Yep, low freon is one of the supposed fix.

[Trancer07 30]

eBay has the "Ambient Air Temperature Sensor" for a whopping $5.00 (+$3.07 shipping).

If I knew that sensor was the fix for the A/C problems, I would buy one in a heartbeat, but I doubt very much that it is what is wrong with them.

If you (or anyone else) are interested in it, the eBay item number is: 261154452555.

I'm pretty sure the ambient air temp sensor is for the outdoor temp display. That's not an "in-cabin AC temp sensor"

[Lazerface 24]

Why would there be an in-cabin temp sensor anyways?

There is no auto climate control in the Spark.

[bluer101 241]

Why would there be an in-cabin temp sensor anyways?

There is no auto climate control in the Spark.

I believe it's inside the evap box.

[Gossamer 50]

Well, until we get a service manual or at least a wiring diagram, we won't know for sure, or even where the darn thing goes! =o)

[Lovgun7 75]

well emailed Chevy support and they tried calling the next day... i was at work so they emailed me.. I called them back asking them to call before 1pm.

support rep called today at 7:30am... call lasted about 10min

while I was half asleep the rep informed that another person was working on my case but she was subbing for this call...

so apologized and she said she understood that one someone buys a new car they should expect everything in Working order.

She also tried getting me to take the car to the dealer for service again and I told her that I appreciated her being kind and understanding and that it would be more than happy to take my car to the dealer... as soon as an actual fix the or recall was announced lol

she kept urging me to take the car back so that they can further inspect the issue and I told her that the 2 links I provided from tech link explained the issue and I didn't have time for my car be used as a Guinea Pig.

She said it was important to Chevy for me to take the car in so that they can pin point whether it was a an issue that can be resolved or if I was gonna need to be put in a new car

A couple more time of her pushing the dealer and I kept saying no... she finally said "OK what if we communicate with your dealer about the issue and work something out and I can touch base with you"

I said "that sounds like a much better idea since I had already taken my car and it wasn't fixed"

she agreed and that's how we left the call.

honestly I don't want a new car... i just want me a/c working and whatever fluffer the through at me ill take lol

nice lady though

believe it or not the a/c was blasting fine today... need I say I actually had to turn it down to 1 speed... so now I actually don't want the dealer touching my a/c if it's improving... Not fixed though lol

Edited August 8, 2013 by Paul Delgado

[Lazerface 24]

Yeah just keep taking it to the dealer and wasting your time, and GM's money so they can throw more defective parts at it.

They lost probably $4k on mine after the repairs + shoptime + car rental for 23 days. I'm baffled how a company like this is still in business.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Lazerface

[bluer101 241]

This is where GM should issue a statement to Spark owners and dealers. They should inform the dealer that there is a fix coming and not to throw parts at it.

[Dori 13]

Maybe it's time for a venture out to a non- dealer shop. Somewhere that isn't bias towards a brand. Someone that may dig deeper and really look. Then take that bill and slap it in GMs face and request a reimbursement haha

[austex04 48]

Like I mentioned in another post: it would be nice if a auto a/c master tech could spend some time with a Spark, and discover the mystery with the poor performance of the system. Somebody who isn't hired by a GM dealership, and will tell all of us just what is causing the issues.

[Lovgun7 75]

UPDATE !

wow i was actually reading the board when i got a call back from chevy ....

a different rep called me and she told me that the dealer talked to someone named James and he said that my a/c was in working condition and the issue was resolved. WHICH IS NOT TRUE.

i called my dealer to set up a 2nd appointment which i canceled since my a/c was improved and i didn't want the dealer to make my issue worse when it was improved (but not fixed)

what ended up happening was that the rep was ready to mark my issue as resolved ... SHE ACTUALLY SAID "ok well since the dealer has advised me that the issue was resolved and your not going to take your car into service and you seem to be satisfied with the a/c then ill mark the issue as resolved"

i told her

you can call the dealer again and tell them that the issue is not resolved since i made a 2nd appointment but canceled it because i didn't want my a/c issue to be worse and NO you cant mark this as resolved im paying monthly for a BRAND NEW 2013 CAR and the A/C is not up to BRAND NEW CAR standards... i also told her that i know other spark owners that have made several trips to the dealer only to leave the a/c worse and i didn't want to be one to do that. I also said that the only type of "fix" they seem to have is throwing compressors at the issue and that is obviously not a "fix"

i then informed her that i live in CA and here Lemon law is 3 trips to service for the same issue and i could consider my car a lemon which is something i didn't want to do but since her recommendation was to just keep talking my car to the dealer this would lead to a lemon issue....

she then slowed her roll lol and said that she could send this to a district specialist and i told her that was a better route since this is NOT resolved and i repeated that she needed to call the dealer and let them know that the issue is not resolved...

she said she would do that and thats how we left the call...

before she hung up i asked her if she had any idea as to when or how long it will take for a fix to happen ? she said she didnt know ...

through out the call i made sure to say that my problem was improved but not fixed.

i was shocked she literally wanted to close my case lol my reaction was "uhhhh no your not gonna do that" and thats when i got a bit fired up but not aggressive

any advice as to what i should tell the district specialist when they call should i just keep my stance and reiterate what i have been telling them i almost feel like taking my car to the dealer JUST so they can make it worse and i can throw it in their face like "I TOLD YOU SO !" but then i would be stuck with a crappy A/C lol.

that was a bad call and a CRAPPY display of customer support.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Paul Delgado

[WaltK 305]

Good going, you've got to watch them, as they do try to close out cases. I call CSR occasionally just to make sure I'm still active. If you speak to a district specialist, just hold your ground, that you don't feel that your car has been repaired satisfactorily, and neither has anyone elses, that you are aware of. Tell him you are waiting for the "fix" that GM published, and in doing so, admitted that there is a problem, but still hasn't produced. He may want to have a "specialist" see your car, in which case I would, you have to show a little co-operation, or they will use the argument, that they can't determine what the problem is, unless you do co-operate. Just be firm, and courteous, at the same time, letting them know that you are not some dumb ass, who has either the time, or patience to be chasing down some phantom repair.

Edited August 9, 2013 by WaltK

[Lovgun7 75]

Good going, you've got to watch them, as they do try to close out cases. I call CSR occasionally just to make sure I'm still active. If you speak to a district specialist, just hold your ground, that you don't feel that your car has been repaired satisfactorily, and neither has anyone elses, that you are aware of. Tell him you are waiting for the "fix" that GM published, and in doing so, admitted that there is a problem, but still hasn't produced. He may want to have a "specialist" see your car, in which case I would, you have to show a little co-operation, or they will use the argument, that they can't determine what the problem is, unless you do co-operate. Just be firm, and courteous, at the same time, letting them know that you are not some dumb ass, who has either the time, or patience to be chasing down some phantom repair.

thanks for the advice

I feel like a broken record sometimes...

anytime I'm asked about my a/c i make it a point to say the real truth "its an improvement not a fix"

I always make it a point to be courteous and speak calmly... It's not until they show aggression that I start to speak my mind a bit.. if they want to send someone out and check it I'm completely fine with that

[Jeffrey Makela 6]

somebody on facebook was saying there is a fix for the ac problem. How Do you find out when there is a fix for the ac problem?

My ac seems ok, I don't know if it needs to be fixed.

[Greg_E 211]

Ran mine a little today, it is only cool at idle and seems to now only be cool at speed, looking like a flim-flam and going to need to call support again to open the case. I also see my milage going down and the car running like the A/C is always active. It is certainly going for decent to crap again in the span of a week.

[Greg_E 211]

I changed the title and pinned this to the top... I ran mine a while yesterday, it is cool at idle, but never really gets cold now. The recirculate door is worse now which means even though I mentioned it twice they did nothing. Going to have to call Chevy and let them know how unhappy I am, but I'll do that after I have a video made of the recirculate problem. Hate to waste the fuel, but damn this is getting STUPID. Probably going to put some gauges on my car and look at it with my dad, he has repaired refrigeration systems for basically my whole life, don't think we'll get much more of an expert. Might see if one of my brothers can take a look too, one of them was rated in the tip 5 mechanics in the USA for Mercedes until that stopped that program, he has the rings and trophies to prove the number of times in the top 10 which was like ten years in a row.

[WaltK 305]

Typical "repair", that's why it's best to avoid the dealership, until they know what they're doing. It seems that everyone that goes for the repair winds up with more problems. It sounds like you have a few people in your corner with the credentials to take an educated look. Maybe someone will have some ideas, let us know. Appropriate title, by the way.

[tommyspark 24]

This semester im taking ac n heat systems. Being a GM course, sometimes the instructors have an "inside scoop" on.these kind of issues. Ill ask arounand let y'all know if I find anything out.....