rgeo13 Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 (edited) Hi all, Yesterday as I was driving home I realized that my AC blows ice cold in every vent except my driver's side vents, and it has been doing this for about a week now, I just thought it needed recharged until I felt the passenger vents. After doing some research, I've seen stuff saying it could be one of the little doors inside the vents that is stuck closed or something, I've seen stuff saying its an actual problem with the AC system (specifically a bad o-ring), I've seen all kinds of stuff. Driver's side is blowing just as strong as passenger side. Seems almost like a dual zone climate with ac on passenger side only, but that isnt the case. 2011 Legacy 2.5i Premium, single zone climate control. Any and all input is appreciated!! Edited April 16, 2019 by rgeo13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearlessLegacyGT Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Most likely a blend door actuator not opening all the way or a door being stuck happens all the time in any car. I’m not at work right now to look up where they are on Mitchell Unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zee199969 Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 (edited) I had this happen. Iirc, fluid on the divers side of the cooling system leaked and was no longer providing cool air to that side. The passenger vents were blowing ice cold air whole driver's side was blowing ambient temperature air. I was still under warranty at the time so I dunno how much it would cost for you to fix tho Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk Edited April 17, 2019 by Zee199969 My "Build" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 I would second the blend doors, afaik there is no seperate evaporator for the driver and passenger sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Yup blend door most probably. Airflow being the same despite switching modes sounds like blend doors not responding. Depending on which doors are stuck you can have various temperatures of air from cold all the way to warm. Anyone do work in this area of the car? I think I have a related problem, I still get a whiff of outside air even with AC set on recirculate which I suspect is a blend door issue too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco26 Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 I still get a whiff of outside air even with AC set on recirculate which I suspect is a blend door issue too. I sometimes feel a slight breeze when I have everything turned off (windows closed). Someone told me it was a Subaru thing to get fresh air? Everything else in my system seems to work fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Oh yeah, I get that too! I found that pressing the recirculate button (AC off) kills the breeze. It seems the recirc button works even with AC off. The light on the recirc button lights up or goes out whenever you press it, even with AC off. This is with JDM dual zone climate control, not sure if it works the same there. Our climate control panels look the same though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgeo13 Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 (edited) Hi, just an update: Spent the morning disassembling the dash to poke around and see what I can see. Blend door actuator is functioning, it moves when I change the dial from hot to cold. Blower motor is working great, everything else under there looks good. Doing further research online, I see some cars have an “air mix actuator”, is this something our cars have/something that would explain my situation? Also, for what it’s worth, the shiny silver tube right by it is really hot. Edited May 20, 2018 by rgeo13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Blend door is just a different name for air mix actuator. Is it dual climate control (can adjust temp for driver and passenger)? It's either an actuator or low on freon. If you know ALL actuators are working, definitely going to be refrigerant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgeo13 Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Hey, just wanted to update the thread so people in the future who have this problem can see what solved my problem. Got a tip from someone in one of my other subie groups to try recharging the system. Oddly enough, it worked. Ice cold and equal flow on all vents now. Thank you to those who gave insight on this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 I posted that tip 3 days ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Thanks for the follow up! I didnt think low refrigerant causing one side to be not cold was an issue on single zone climate control like you said you have. But yeah, I have multi zone climate control (single evaporator) cars that did that too. Good to file for future reference, glad to hear you got that solved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgeo13 Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 Wanted to update this thread. The issue was definitely due to low refrigerant. Not long after I refilled, it slowly got warm again, confirming that there is/was a leak. Since it was the end of summer and AC season was coming to an end, I decided to hold off on getting it in to the shop till spring. Took it in yesterday and my mechanic found a teeny pin-sized hole in the condenser. He is replacing the condenser, all o-rings, and the Schrader valve assemblies while the system is evacuated. Might as well. For what its worth, it was cheaper for me to buy a Denso condenser on Rockauto and one day ship it to my mechanic than it was to buy an OEM, or any replacement from any local parts store. So, if anyone here ever has a similar issue, just something to keep in mind. I hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capttris Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Rgeo13 What was the cost of the parts on Rockauto? What did the shop charge for the rest of the work? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgeo13 Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 Rgeo13 What was the cost of the parts on Rockauto? What did the shop charge for the rest of the work? thanks Denso Condenser was $81 on rockauto, paid $30 for expedited shipping. refrigerant, o-ring kit, schrader valve kit, compressor oil, and AC flush solvent $75 ~4 hours labor at independent mechanic ($85/hr for the guy I use) Includes leak diagnoses via UV dye test, refrigerant evac, replace condenser (requires radiator pull), flush the system with solvent (since the leak was there for over a year, clear out gunk/moisture), replace all o-rings, replace schrader valve assemblies, coolant refill, recharge of system. Comes to right about $580 but with doing the preventative maintenance (orings and valves) I shouldn't have any future problems with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mincabenj Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 (edited) I had this problem as well, but it was a little different. If it would be a PC, it was easy for me to find the problem. And somehow, a guy downloaded an HVAC course in Dubai, haha. Anyway, when I started it, my air conditioner worked 5-10 minutes and after stopping. It was so strange, and that time was so hot. I didn't know what to do because I'm not a big man in this stuff. Anyway, thanks to the aircon service, these guys saved me from hot weather. Fast and easy way of work, love it. Edited July 28, 2021 by mincabenj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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