Hi everyone. This is my 1st post and one question.
My AC would not cool down unless I set the temp down to 73f or lower.
It has been like this since new. Dealer says it is normal. Software is updated.
Do you all keep the temp that low all the time when need cooling?

 

Depends what the outside temp is. If it's 85 out, 73 will turn the A/C on. If it's 75 out, then no.

 

If it is 85 inside you should not need to set it to 73 to get cooling. Your set point is the temperature you would want your inside to be maintained. You should get cooling even when is set to 80 that is the problem I have. Thanks

 

I just set mine on the "Auto" setting and forget it for summer or winter.


Auggie

 

How do you know it's 85 inside? Other than you feeling it's hot of course. To my knowledge, the only temp. indicator is for outside. I don't know where the inside thermostat is located or even if there is one. I would think there would be, but you never know. That's my point. If there isn't an inside thermostat, then the car's signal to turn on the heat or the A/C is likely dictated by the outside ambient temperature reading and what you have the temperature set to on the HVAC. I would not be surprised if this was the case (no actual interior thermometer).

 

Inside temp is most likely same or warmer than outside temp in summer. Your durango has inside temp T'stat and is located in driver side under the dash. Your temp setting is chief temp regulator that operates the A/C. Set your tem to say 78 when is warmer outside and see if cools down (blow cold air thru the discharge outlet on the dash. Actually the dealer told me the sensor is where said it is. However I had read previously it is on top of the dash.

 

Here in sunny TX the inside temp can get to 120 deg plus. I measured it a few years ago. I learned with my Gen 1 SLT to roll all the windows down and NOT use the recirculate for the first few mins to blow out that hot air. The dashboard gets like a furnace, so taking in 95 deg air cools the dash relatively speaking. A few mins of this procedure and any car will cool down faster than keeping the windows closed with the fan on high and recirculating. As to the 3rd Gen D, like Auggie I set it on auto. Temp set to 71 all year. Windows down on starting if the D has been parked in the sun for awhile. In 2.5 years of ownership i have never hit the recirculate button. That also prevents mold/mildew buildup in the system.

 

And that's what my manual tells me to do.

Getting rid of the excess heat makes sense before asking the A/C to do its job.

 

My 2011 worked perfectly everyday. My 2015 is exhibiting the same problems you describe. It's like it's schizophrenic. On it's own it decides to turn on the heat for a few minutes in the summer, or just stop cooling at all for a while until it gets nice and hot. The dealer flashed it recently with some HVAC TSB but it has made little difference.

As for recirc, it has no impact (including on mildew). To get rid of mildew buildup you need to get the moisture off the coil after the car has been sitting. On some high-end brands, after about 30 minutes the car will run the fan for a few minutes to dry it off. In the Dodge, you may find (depending on your climate) that mildew will build up and the dealer will be all too happy to charge you to clean and dry the system.

 

The auto ac is terrible at properly controlling temp, it's not just yours. Whoever wrote the code/thresholds for it got it dead wrong. I had auto ac systems in my vehicles fifteen years ago that got it spot on, this one can't do it right at all.