Class Action Lawsuit for known A/C Evaporator failures on 2015 and 16 models

[mustangguy88]

I make a living building out high end cars. Doing the repairs myself isn't the issue. This attempt is more for the ones who have no options but to pay the dealer and be ripped off for something that should not be an issue. I am a 21 year retired service member, I still try to look out for others.

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[tcman54]

My evaporator went out about 2 years ago at around 18,000 miles, it was replaced under warranty, haven't had any issues since.

If I recall correctly the dealer tech said the replacement cost was around $800, not sure where you are getting $3000?

TC

 

[mustangguy88]

My local deal wants $800. on the evaporator unit, 9 hours at $145.00 and a replacement A/C compressor.

 

[ChiTownStang26]

@mustangguy88

My driver side air is warm and passenger side is cold... do you know off hand what part failure causes this or at least a place for me to start looking?

 

[mustangguy88]

@mustangguy88

My driver side air is warm and passenger side is cold... do you know off hand what part failure causes this or at least a place for me to start looking?

There's a bit debate over the issue, but from what I have learned so far is that your A/C evaporator is beginning to fail. I willing to bet you have the dual zone climate control.

 

[tokuzumi]

I don't know the specifics of the S550, but with multi-zone climate controls, there are usually blend doors that control side to side and hot/cold. If one side is hot and the other is cold and both sides are set to the same temperature, this would indicate a driver blend door issue.

 

[mustangguy88]

What causes the blend door to fail? If a O2 sensor goes bad people replace it and believe the problem is solved, more often than not it's an indicator of another problem. The blend door is an issue, but usually an indicator of another underlying problem. There is no good reason for it to arbitrarily fail on its own.

 

[Brazos609]

There's a bit debate over the issue, but from what I have learned so far is that your A/C evaporator is beginning to fail. I willing to bet you have the dual zone climate control.

Even Ford dealer techs will admit that the blend door is the problem, not the evaporator core. The techs bill for an evaporator R&R because it pays more than the blend door R&R. It is a pressurized system, if the evaporator core is leaking loss in cooling will be equal on both sides.

 

[tokuzumi]

I guess I should say blend door "actuators". The door doesn't fail, it's the actuator that opens/closes the door that fails.

Blend door actuators are just a few plastic gears inside a box. Eventually the plastic gears will wear and teeth will be missing. Could also be the sensor that "senses" how open or closed a door is could be faulty and allow an out of parameters rotation of the gear and breaks teeth.

These blend door actuators were common failure points in GM full size SUVs in the early 2000s.

Again, I'm not well versed on the specifics of the S550 HVAC system, but I would think the evaporator and heater core has one input and one output. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me could explain why a failed/failing evaporator will provide cold to one side but hot to the other.

 

[mustangguy88]

I will be doing a fully photographed teardown when I make the repair on my car, maybe then collectively we can figure out how to correct Fords design issues. In either case these parts should not be failing so early.

 

[Rod Schneider]

I don't claim to be an expert, but here is what I (and a number of others, apparently) have experienced. The first symptom for me was noticing that the driver's side did not cool as quickly as the passenger side, even with both sides set to the same temperature. I checked the system pressures per the factory shop manual and found the pressures to be low, indicating a loss of some refrigerant. I ended up adding 11 ounces (in a 22 ounce system) to get the pressure readings in the normal range. At that point both sides cooled quickly and evenly. I then went over the system with a leak detector and got a positive leak indication in the dash vents. I decided to see how long it would take to get low again. About 5 or 6 months later, I again noticed reduced cooling on the driver's side, same symptoms as before. Checked the pressures again, and added 12 ounces to get things back to normal. That was a couple of months ago, and it's still OK, but the new evaporator is sitting on my workbench to be installed this fall when the weather cools down a bit--my shop is not climate controlled! I have no idea why the driver's side gets weak before the passenger side, but a search on this forum will reveal that this is a common symptom. Just my experience.......

 

[tokuzumi]

Interestingly enough, my wife's 2015 Audi A3 had a similar issue when she bought it 2.5 years ago. Driver's side would blow warmer than passenger side (driver side hot air, passenger side basically ambient air). First time, the dealer patted us on the head, and added freon. A few months later, it went back to no A/C. I could see the sticky oil residue from the freon/oil escaping out of the lines. Something was replaced that time. I think the third time we brought it in, they replaced the evaporator. I didn't pay close attention, but the steering column and dash had to be removed.

 

[nastang87xx]

My compressor seized and threw the belt on the freeway. A cloud of smoke pouring out of the car as I rolled along. It was super embarrassing. Replaced under warrant.

 

[TexasRebel]

My cooling fans went to high nearly immediately upon starting because the high pressure side would read 400 psi in OBD2 data.
There was an oily film on the windshield (happened in winter, running mostly defrost, compressor is used to dry the warm air).
When temperatures got warmer, so did the air coming out of the system. It was a leak in the evaporator core causing the line to freeze up.

There is only one evaporator core. Blend doors do all of the work between the driver & passenger side. If you have a leak though, the system might not be able to remove enough heat and the low pressure refrigerant may be ambient temperature on one side of the evaporator core causing a temperature differential in the split ducts.

My suggestion: Listen for your cooling fans to run high when they shouldn't be, check your system pressures, and keep an eye out for an oily residue on the inside of your windows.

 

[ChiTownStang26]

@nastang87xx

Wtf god damnnn!

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