[Turbonut]

Back in 2017 (123,500 miles) the air started taking 5, 10, 20 minutes to begin cooling, then after a short drive it refused to come on at all, so as the compressor was noisy decided to go with a used compressor (21,000 miles) for $60 rather than replace the control valve ($20) located in the back of the compressor, that was, and still is the problem. Perfect until Sunday (182,000 miles), the freakin' cold air didn't start for maybe 4 minutes, and yesterday was a delay of about 2 minutes, then functioned perfectly.

If it continues, which it probably will, I'll need to discharge the unit, change the valve, evacuate, then recharge with 19.3 oz of refrigerant. Manufacturer's can't leave well enough alone, no need to create a compressor with a control valve that will save .0000001 mpg and cost the average consumer a bundle in the long run. Guess it's just a poor design, similar to the steering coupler, turbo oil line, fuel lines, the GDI engine, and the rusted suspension components, etc.

Oh well, my rant is over, so if anyone experiences the delay in cooling, replace the valve and don't let the dealer/shop replace the compressor, as people we know did to the tune of $1150.
Have a great day!

 

[KingFatty]

Is the discharge, evacuate, recharge procedure someone can do themselves? How do you get that equipment to perform the procedures?

 

[Turbonut]

Actually when discharging the system, the refrigerant is to be captured and not allowed to vent into the atmosphere. Having said that, a vacuum pump would be needed and they can be purchased. I have two, both electric, but they do make air operated less expensive models that are run by an air compressor. Just looked and Ebay has one for $12....how good is it? Next a set of gauges, R134A gauges maybe $40, then a scale to weigh the refrigerant (19.3 oz) or if you don't have a 30lb container just slightly more than 1 and 1/2 12 oz cans and probably some type of adapter to secure the can to the hose connection.
Not really difficult, just time consuming and costly for the tools, but if you're going to use them in the future, good investment and one would certainly save labor costs if done at a shop. I've had the tools for years as we did A/C istallation on new cars that came from the factory without A/C. I know I'm dating myself.

There is one problem with this type of compressor in that it always running, so if no refrigerant, no oil is circulated and the compressor goes south. It does have tabs on the pulley so if the compressor freezes, the tabs shear so the belt/engine keeps running. I say this because with the old clutch style compressors, one could take it to the shop, discharge the gas, drive home, do the repair and return to the shop for evacuation & charge, but not on a VDC.

Need anything just yell.

 

[tonester]

LOL--Turbonut, now tell us how you REALLY feel about your Optima!

 

[jspurgers]

@Turbonut Are you saying because the VDC is constantly running, you aren't able to bring the car to a shop to have R134a evacuated, drive home, and recharge the system yourself? I was planning on doing exactly that but not too sure now...

 

[dalilpony]

@Turbonut Are you saying because the VDC is constantly running, you aren't able to bring the car to a shop to have R134a evacuated, drive home, and recharge the system yourself? I was planning on doing exactly that but not too sure now...

That's what it sounds like... "so if no refrigerant, no oil is circulated and the compressor goes south."

 

[Turbonut]

@Turbonut Are you saying because the VDC is constantly running, you aren't able to bring the car to a shop to have R134a evacuated, drive home, and recharge the system yourself? I was planning on doing exactly that but not too sure now...

That's what it sounds like... "so if no refrigerant, no oil is circulated and the compressor goes south."

Correct, that's the problem, and don't forget you'll also need to pull vacuum for quite some time before charging.

For the pre GDI engine, actually '08 2.4, I had a serpentine belt that would be able to be used that bypassed the a/c compressor, but on these engine wouldn't know the length needed to bypass the compressor.

 

[Speeder]

I replaced the valve on mine (via a shop that discharged/recharged the system) and the effects of warm air while idling got a lot better BUT it still exhibits some warming air when car has been sitting a long while. For example, after sitting overnight, it may be acting up a bit or taking a while to cool down. After driving for a while, it generally is cold and stays cold even when idling. I also noticed the plastic connector pins on the harness plug for the valve got a little.. brittle. I ordered a couple plugs from AliExpress but didn't change yet.