A/C Evaporator Factory Defect

[tranceporter]

Fast forward to August 2018. My gut was right. I am two months out of warranty and guess what? A/C is blowing hot. Diagnosis from dealer: bad evaporator...again. Warranty for previous evaporator - 12 months/12,000 miles. I'm not covered.

So, that is two evaporators that only lasted 1 1/2 years each. Done with Ford. I'm not going to wait around for more substandard parts to go bad. Sold it to a dealer. I laugh that they have it on their lot saying "100 point inspected" or some other B.S. I feel bad for the next sucker when the freon charge runs out and God knows what else.

Parts replaced under 3 year warranty: evaporator core, two windshield sprayers, back up camera, coil, spark plug and 2 hub speed sensors (a month apart). It was a fun ride but Ford needs to get it together in this day and age.

What's the next ride?

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[Greg94]

Add me to the list.... 2015 model. 17k miles but 6 weeks outside the 3 years. I called Ford and they agreed to pay half. Other than this my car has been rock solid. After it went out I realized that the temperature gradually degraded but I thought it was simply Florida heat and humidity because it was gradual.

 

[Rod Schneider]

Well, I may have joined the club..... 2016 EcoBoost with 20,550 miles. Today it started blowing warmer air out of the driver's side vents. I put an electronic refrigerant leak detector probe into the dash vent and got a positive hit. I've got a 2:00 appointment with the local dealer tomorrow.........

 

[aleccolin]

2016 GT, A/C went warm during a 5 hour highway drive yesterday. Any benefit to buying a sniffer to check for a freon leak? Are there any TSBs or anything else I should reference when I drop it off at the dealer? Sorry if that's been answered but this thread is long as hell.

 

[Rod Schneider]

Well, I may have joined the club..... 2016 EcoBoost with 20,550 miles. Today it started blowing warmer air out of the driver's side vents. I put an electronic refrigerant leak detector probe into the dash vent and got a positive hit. I've got a 2:00 appointment with the local dealer tomorrow.........

........ Or not........ Today the car is cooling very well, 34 degrees from both dash vents with an ambient temperature of 75. I decided to wait a bit and see if the problem reoccurs, really hate to have someone pull the dash apart........ (I'd actually rather do it myself!)

 

[HoosierDaddy]

........ Or not........ Today the car is cooling very well, 34 degrees from both dash vents with an ambient temperature of 75. I decided to wait a bit and see if the problem reoccurs, really hate to have someone pull the dash apart........ (I'd actually rather do it myself!)

You might be okay. As reported, my 2016 had the classic symptoms almost 2 years ago. But had to be some electronic glitch because it cleared up just by removing a battery cable. Been fine for the last two years.

I have an extended warranty, but if the post about the part really only costing less than $200 I will try to replace it myself if it ever goes out and there are decent DIY guides. Am retired and have plenty of time. Would rather avoid potential time bombs from dealer repairs.

 

[Rod Schneider]

You might be okay. As reported, my 2016 had the classic symptoms almost 2 years ago. But had to be some electronic glitch because it cleared up just by removing a battery cable. Been fine for the last two years.

I have an extended warranty, but if the post about the part really only costing less than $200 I will try to replace it myself if it ever goes out and there are decent DIY guides. Am retired and have plenty of time. Would rather avoid potential time bombs from dealer repairs.

Hopefully, it was just a glitch. I'm with you, I really don't want anyone else doing work on my car. I've changed evaporator cores in a few other vehicles, so pulling the dash is not a big deal to me. Having the shop manual helps! The P/N for the evaporator is FR3Z-19860-A (EcoBoost) and FR3Z-19860-B (V-6 and V-8). Levittown Ford lists them at $135.......... Of course, you'll need refrigerant and some oil..

 

[jayvajj]

I haven't seen a how to on removing the dash, but the latest TSB outlines steps on pulling the evaporator.

 

[topher_csr]

I have the Mitchell Pro Demand procedure for the housing and dash if that helps?

I am trying to figure out if this is my issue. My AC is warm, but it had about 15psi in the system when i shot it with a recharge can. that was a day ago, and the AC is still cold now. there has to be a leak, but its a small one. not sure if the evap core usually vents refrigerant quickly, or a slow trickle.

 

[SpiralOut]

Add me to the list.... 2015 model. 17k miles but 6 weeks outside the 3 years. I called Ford and they agreed to pay half. Other than this my car has been rock solid. After it went out I realized that the temperature gradually degraded but I thought it was simply Florida heat and humidity because it was gradual.

Wow, you had better luck than me. I noticed mine was out back in March (the first time I had used the AC all winter). Took it to the dealer and they told me I was 9 DAYS out of warranty and that the repair would cost $1800.
So I called Ford and opened a case. They responded a week or so later telling me they would not do anything for me.

Think I posted this somewhere earlier on this thread, but instead of the repair I bought a $45 bottle of AC Pro with a sealant, put that in, and the AC has been blowing cold ever since. Even through a central Texas summer.

I plan to sell the car early next year and will be done with Ford after that.

 

[Fatguy]

Wow, you had better luck than me. I noticed mine was out back in March (the first time I had used the AC all winter). Took it to the dealer and they told me I was 9 DAYS out of warranty and that the repair would cost $1800.
So I called Ford and opened a case. They responded a week or so later telling me they would not do anything for me.

Think I posted this somewhere earlier on this thread, but instead of the repair I bought a $45 bottle of AC Pro with a sealant, put that in, and the AC has been blowing cold ever since. Even through a central Texas summer.

I plan to sell the car early next year and will be done with Ford after that.

You know it might be a good idea to have a thread devoted to the sealer solution and find the best one that works as that could be the answer for many. Who knows, some may actually last. But we won’t know without user experience and I’m not there yet...

 

[MakStang]

^^ that

 

[JayTea]

another one bites the dust, 2015 36,200 miles. AC died on a road trip. Fan speed decreases, saw that my AC line was frozen. Seems to work okay on short trips under 30 minutes. Good thing I got extended warranty

Update: In order to replicate the issue and find the evap leak they had to run my car for a few hours. Evap core changed under my extended warranty in 2 days.

 

[Party Rock]

Is this A/C Evaporator defect also affecting the 2018 models? Sorry if this has been asked before. I would look back, but this thread is super long at 72 pages already.

 

[josephstef]

Im holding out for a diy, my mustang only 18 months old has failed (although first time ive used the AC so could have been earlier) ford won't cover it as I purchased it in Australia and took it to New Zealand with me.

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