Hi, I am new to these forums as me and my fiance recently purchased a 2015 Kia Optima SXL a little over 2 weeks ago. It had 120,000 miles, and we expected it to have some slight wear and tear, but we did get a good price for it in our opinion. But when we purchased it, we were told there were no issues, that everything was working perfectly and that there were no issues. We did find a few issues and most of them are being addressed by the dealer and fixed.
But a pretty big issue we noticed was that the AC is definitely blowing pretty warm air, even when set to max, low setting, and recirculating. Using a thermostat I was able to get readings from the vent to the right of the steering wheel. At idle, the temp usually blows around 60-78 degrees, even after letting it idle for about 10 minutes. It really doesn't go much lower than that, unless I am in a shaded area and the outside temp has gone down, then the reading goes down to about 55 degrees. Now usually when I am driving out on the highway, the temp eventually goes down to about 55 degrees and sometimes as low as 40 degrees for a few minutes, then back up to around 50-55 degrees. If I am driving in the city and am at a stop or a read light, then the AC goes back up to around 60 degrees and will lower shortly after getting back up to speed.
It is starting to get really hot and will be getting over 100 degrees in Norcal this week so I a proper working AC is very much needed. When we took the car to the dealer last week to check out the several issues we had, they said that the AC works fine, that it blows between 40-45 degrees on the freeway, but that is only seldom the case. Most of the time, even on the highway, the AC is blowing warm air and I hope the issue is something simple and can be resolved.
The other issues we had that the dealer is going to fix are:
- Outer LED tail lights are burnt out on both RH and LH side (they are ordering new outer tail lamps) * I noticed water condensation on the right outer lamp
- Front center dome light isnt working properly, domes seldom come on when the door opens (they are ordering new dome light console)
- Drivers LH AC vent clip is broken (they are ordering a new one)
So the dealer is addressing most of our issues, but I need to show them exactly how the AC is working or rather, not working and hopefully they can address this as well since it is important to have cold AC. I wasn't present when they had the car last week, and I feel I can better communicate with them the issue and how I feel (and I will indeed be nice, I see no gain in being rude about it, and they are more likely to help me if I am polite)
I just hope this post doesn't come off as me being petty since I really am not, I honestly just want the car working properly as we were told before purchasing it, thats all.
Are the AC's in these cars normally this warm? I've heard some owners say that the AC in our Optimas arent the greatest, but it shouldn't be this warm, right? What can be a possible issue? Any tips or recommendations for when I speak to the service manager tomorrow? Anything helps, thanks!
*** BTW, overall, we love the car. It is fantastic, gorgeous, fun to drive, luxurious, and we got a heck of a deal that we are happy with! I have already began upgrading the car a little and will continue to do so more, so I will be a frequent member on this forum and look forward to this new K5 community, thanks!
The pics uploaded show the AC temp in the various situations described above:
![Gauge Vehicle Car Measuring instrument Tachometer]()
![Motor vehicle Vehicle Car Gauge Measuring instrument]()
![Motor vehicle Vehicle Gauge Car Tachometer]()
But a pretty big issue we noticed was that the AC is definitely blowing pretty warm air, even when set to max, low setting, and recirculating. Using a thermostat I was able to get readings from the vent to the right of the steering wheel. At idle, the temp usually blows around 60-78 degrees, even after letting it idle for about 10 minutes. It really doesn't go much lower than that, unless I am in a shaded area and the outside temp has gone down, then the reading goes down to about 55 degrees. Now usually when I am driving out on the highway, the temp eventually goes down to about 55 degrees and sometimes as low as 40 degrees for a few minutes, then back up to around 50-55 degrees. If I am driving in the city and am at a stop or a read light, then the AC goes back up to around 60 degrees and will lower shortly after getting back up to speed.
It is starting to get really hot and will be getting over 100 degrees in Norcal this week so I a proper working AC is very much needed. When we took the car to the dealer last week to check out the several issues we had, they said that the AC works fine, that it blows between 40-45 degrees on the freeway, but that is only seldom the case. Most of the time, even on the highway, the AC is blowing warm air and I hope the issue is something simple and can be resolved.
The other issues we had that the dealer is going to fix are:
- Outer LED tail lights are burnt out on both RH and LH side (they are ordering new outer tail lamps) * I noticed water condensation on the right outer lamp
- Front center dome light isnt working properly, domes seldom come on when the door opens (they are ordering new dome light console)
- Drivers LH AC vent clip is broken (they are ordering a new one)
So the dealer is addressing most of our issues, but I need to show them exactly how the AC is working or rather, not working and hopefully they can address this as well since it is important to have cold AC. I wasn't present when they had the car last week, and I feel I can better communicate with them the issue and how I feel (and I will indeed be nice, I see no gain in being rude about it, and they are more likely to help me if I am polite)
I just hope this post doesn't come off as me being petty since I really am not, I honestly just want the car working properly as we were told before purchasing it, thats all.
Are the AC's in these cars normally this warm? I've heard some owners say that the AC in our Optimas arent the greatest, but it shouldn't be this warm, right? What can be a possible issue? Any tips or recommendations for when I speak to the service manager tomorrow? Anything helps, thanks!
*** BTW, overall, we love the car. It is fantastic, gorgeous, fun to drive, luxurious, and we got a heck of a deal that we are happy with! I have already began upgrading the car a little and will continue to do so more, so I will be a frequent member on this forum and look forward to this new K5 community, thanks!
The pics uploaded show the AC temp in the various situations described above:
