S550 Mustang - A/C Failure Data Collection

[sam97mt]

Hello Everyone,

I have been reading through the sticky threads related to the A/C failures and its occurred to me that its impossible to do any sort of data analysis on the information being supplied in the responses. Since documentation and data gathering is a big part of what I do professionally, I felt I could help everyone by doing some formal data collection.

I took some time to create this very simple google form to collect information on the A/C Failures. As data gets collected ill share the raw data with you and even do some of the analysis and hopefully with enough responses we'll get a good idea of the impact.

I am trying to see the rate of occurrence as well, so even if you don't have any issues, open the form,give me your current mileage, select 'No' on the first question and it will automatically skip the remainder of the form.

But if you select 'Yes'... well I hope you like paperwork as much as I do. ;) lol

https://forms.gle/n7ejfm4R9MT4gQU9A

I hope this is allowable and can be stickied as well. I'm curious and I'd like to help. Especially if it gives us some legitimate evidence to support a request for an extended warranty on the AC system to Ford Corp.

Thank You

P.S. Would love to hear feedback on the form before it gathers too many responses. I'd hate to miss an important data point and do it twice.

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[2017GBGTPP]

Nice! I submitted my Compressor failure from last year.

 

[sam97mt]

5 responses so far. Looks to be working. I am excited.

 

[Rod Schneider]

I've added my response. My 2016 EcoBoost has needed "topping off" twice in the last 9 or 10 months. I've used a leak sniffer to verify that my evaporator is the culprit. Even though I'm still in warranty (barely), I will replace the evaporator myself. I've already purchased a new one and am just waiting for cooler weather to do the job. I don't want a flat rate dealer tech pulling my dash for this. I've done this on a few other cars and would rather do it myself.....

 

[sam97mt]

10 responses so far. Here are some facts for you guys:

Of the 6 cars that suffer failures:

1. Average failure occured at 22,665 but for half the cars failed under 15k miles the other half over 25k.
2. All are 2015 or 2016.
3. 5 are v8, 1 is a 2.3
4. 5 have dual zone climate, 1 does not.
5. 5 have PP, 1 does not
6. 50/50 manual/auto
7. Evaporator failure occurred in only 3 cars.
8. Half the cars had a second failure with different parts replaced than the first.

I also noticed I can allow participants to view responses. So everyone should check out the data for themselves.

 

[RIBS]

You

I've added my response. My 2016 EcoBoost has needed "topping off" twice in the last 9 or 10 months. I've used a leak sniffer to verify that my evaporator is the culprit. Even though I'm still in warranty (barely), I will replace the evaporator myself. I've already purchased a new one and am just waiting for cooler weather to do the job. I don't want a flat rate dealer tech pulling my dash for this. I've done this on a few other cars and would rather do it myself.....

don’t have to pull the dash, Ford updated their repair procedure.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I've added my response. My 2016 EcoBoost has needed "topping off" twice in the last 9 or 10 months. I've used a leak sniffer to verify that my evaporator is the culprit. Even though I'm still in warranty (barely), I will replace the evaporator myself. I've already purchased a new one and am just waiting for cooler weather to do the job. I don't want a flat rate dealer tech pulling my dash for this. I've done this on a few other cars and would rather do it myself.....

Just curious since you have purchased a new one:

If you have opened the box, is the new unit manufactured by Valeo (any manufacturer marks or stampings)? Is It also aluminum?

 

[Rod Schneider]

You

don’t have to pull the dash, Ford updated their repair procedure.

I wish this was the case! The updated repair still requires removing the climate control module, which means the dash has to come out. The only change in the repair was that instead of replacing the entire climate control module, now you just take the climate control module apart and swap out the evaporator core. Saves a few hundred $$ on parts!!

 

[Rod Schneider]

Just curious since you have purchased a new one:

If you have opened the box, is the new unit manufactured by Valeo (any manufacturer marks or stampings)? Is It also aluminum?

I do not see any markings that would indicate who manufactured it. It does appear to be aluminum. All four edges are wrapped with foam seals, so any markings may be covered up......

View attachment 394180 View attachment 394180

 

[RIBS]

I wish this was the case! The updated repair still requires removing the climate control module, which means the dash has to come out. The only change in the repair was that instead of replacing the entire climate control module, now you just take the climate control module apart and swap out the evaporator core. Saves a few hundred $$ on parts!!

This is the latest bulletin that I am aware of...supposedly it reduced labor by about $1000....

https://ford.oemdtc.com/3936/poor-air-conditioning-a-c-performance-2015-2017-ford-mustang#more-3936

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN
Poor Air Conditioning (A/C) Performance – EvaporatorCan Now Be Serviced Separately From The Climate Control Housing

 

[Texstang]

I added my response. I also included the part number of the replacement. Interesting to see the responses.

 

[Rod Schneider]

This is the latest bulletin that I am aware of...supposedly it reduced labor by about $1000....

https://ford.oemdtc.com/3936/poor-air-conditioning-a-c-performance-2015-2017-ford-mustang#more-3936

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN
Poor Air Conditioning (A/C) Performance – EvaporatorCan Now Be Serviced Separately From The Climate Control Housing

Yup, that's the same service bulletin I have a copy of. No labor reduction, one of the first steps is to "Remove Climate Control Module" because the evaporator is inside of it. The money savings is the difference in the cost of just the evaporator, about $180 shipped, and the cost of the entire module, about $800 if my memory is correct........ It actually involved a bit more labor, since the climate control housing has to be disassembled and reassembled rather than just swapped out....

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I could not complete the form due to missing options.

I had an issue. But it self corrected, possibly due to battery disconnect/reconnect. So I have no idea what part was involved, and I don't know exactly what fixed it but "self corrected" needs to be an option IF you don't want dead end paths thru the form.

In my case, on the last day of a 5k road trip with maybe 7-8k miles on the car, in AZ heat, the AC started blowing hot air on the driver side and cool (but warmer than normal) on the passenger side. In addition, fan speeds were reduced in both RPMs and number of settings. Turning car on and off had no effect. The next day, I disconnected the battery for a few minutes and the problem disappeared. No problems in the 3 years since.

Since there were insufficient options in the form, I backed up and said I never had a problem as that was as close to the truth the form allowed.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I could not complete the form due to missing options.

I had an issue. But it self corrected, possibly due to battery disconnect/reconnect. So I have no idea what part was involved, and I don't know exactly what fixed it but "self corrected" needs to be an option IF you don't want dead end paths thru the form.

In my case, on the last day of a 5k road trip with maybe 7-8k miles on the car, in AZ heat, the AC started blowing hot air on the driver side and cool (but warmer than normal) on the passenger side. In addition, fan speeds were reduced in both RPMs and number of settings. Turning car on and off had no effect. The next day, I disconnected the battery for a few minutes and the problem disappeared. No problems in the 3 years since.

Since there were insufficient options in the form, I backed up and said I never had a problem as that was as close to the truth the form allowed.

Interesting from the aspect your issue resolved itself after a battery “reset”.

Here’s what I found, which may explain why when disconnecting the battery in your situation may have corrected your specific A/C problem - take a look at Post #12 in the below thread:

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/restart-ac-poor-performance.103964/

My guess is that after your battery was disconnected - the vehicle’s sensors were also reset. Upon initial startup, the vehicle’s systems/sensors went through the learning process and again for your specific instance, all was well.

——

I find post # 12 interesting because that M6G member was able to do a manual reset of the HVAC sensors w/o disconnecting the battery and his results were like yours - no more A/C issues (from a physical temperature vs HVAC settings perspective).

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Interesting from the aspect your issue resolved itself after a battery “reset”.

Thanks!

I only disconnected the battery because I couldn't imagine a single hardware problem that could cause all those symptoms. Did the disconnect on the chance some bit in volatile memory had a bad value. Since that temp sensor mentioned in your link can also affect fan speeds (and therefore a single part for all my symptoms) that will be the first thing I check if it ever happens again. But since it only happened once and not again in the last 3 years, I'm probably good.

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