LR3 Air Con Question

[bsamini]

Greeting Fellow LR3 Drivers,

I picked up an 06 LR3 SE V8 in late April of this year. I live in Southern CA -- and as many of you know (and have been experiencing all over the US) -- we had some heat wave here.

That said, while I love just about everything aobut the LR3, I was totally disappointed with the A/C. The A/C couldn't cool the car much. I checked some other forums where other LR3 owners discussed the A/C and seem to be satisfied.

I took the vehicle to the dealer and they told me that the system charge was low. The added freon and told me that the problem should be sovled. I noticed a modest improvement -- but still nothing close to what I would expect from the LR3.

I road in an 03 Range Rover during the same time. The RR A/C was great. I also road in an 06 Range Rover Sport (which the dealer told me has the A/C as the LR3) and it was much better than the LR3.

I stopped by the dealer and jumped in another new LR3 to check the A/C. I was surprised to find that the A/C in the dealer's car wasn't any better.

Just wondering what some other LR3 owners in warm weather climates have been experiencing.

Thanks.

 

[roverall]

Do you have the rear air package?

 

[AdvRide]

I live in Texas and so far have been satisfied with the A/C in my LR3. It has the rear A/C and what I have found is if my truck has been in the sun all day I initially start out with both front and rear running and then once the truck has cooled down some I shut the rear off unless I have people in the back two seats. It may be my imagination but it seems to me that the front A/C gets cooler quicker when I shut down the rear system. And of course you should use the recirculation button once you have the interior air getting cooler and you are trying to maximize the coolness of the interior.

 

[toddjb122]

Just got through a 100 degree heat wave in Maryland and had no problems with the AC. Cold air came out almost immediately and I was very quickly turning up the temp (from 72 to 76) after getting in the car.

I too start with the rear on as well, then turn it off. Also use the recirc as AdvRide stated.

 

[nwoods]

I have a 5 seater without air in the back, it's a white truck with tan interior. The A/C works great. I just borrowed a black 7 seater with rear air, and noticed that it did not cool off as fast. I at first attributted to the black thermal heat sink exterior color, but also noticed that with rear air off, the front seemed colder faster. Makes no sense though, because the rear air is a completely seperate cooling unit. Should not effect front air at all, but yet, that was my perception.

Are you keeping the screens closed under the glass roof? That makes a HUGE difference. Are you in a black car? Dude, this is SoCal, it gets hot here, what were you thinking? LOL

 

[bsamini]

nwoods,

i know. its my own fault. after 3 black cars in so cal, i swore i wouldn't do another black car. somehow i walked into the dealership with silver in mind and drove out with black/tan car.

i keep all the screens closed. im thinking about getting the front windows tinted and having them put a darker tint on the sunroofs. as for those screens, i would have preferred regular shades.

i'll try shutting the rear a/c down to see if that helps any. i'm going back to the dealer one more time to see if they come up with anything.

thanks for all the input.

 

[AZSTALZ]

Another thing I noticed, while messing around with the AC controls during our 118F degree days here, is that if you position the passenger side temperature knob "up" one click from the blue dot and leave the driver's side on the blue dot, the volume of airflow from the front vents increases dramatically for some reason. Try that and let me know if it occurs on your LR3 also!

 

[askewed]

Another thing I noticed, while messing around with the AC controls during our 118F degree days here

Dude move.

 

[Michael]

but also noticed that with rear air off, the front seemed colder faster. Makes no sense though, because the rear air is a completely seperate cooling unit. Should not effect front air at all, but yet, that was my perception.

It's possible, if the condensor for the rear unit sits in front of the condensor for the front unit.

A great way to test A/C is to get a meat thermometer and put it in the A/C vent. I did this on a couple test drives of other vehicles when it was 100F outside. It was very informative on how well the A/C worked in those vehicles. I noted the A/C outlet temp stopped at an idle, going down city streets, and on the freeway. I also compared the results to my own car.

Michael

 

[bsamini]

AZSTALS,

I tried your suggestion. Oddly enough -- it seems to work. I also tried setting the temp (on both sides) to 68 and that seems to even increase air flow more.

It doesn't make any sense, but I'm trying that for now.

Thanks.