Air Conditioning Problems
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,024
Likes: 131
From: NY -> MA
@JCWLS3 I couldn’t agree more about the way the big things more than swamp the little things in a Porsche. We can and do forgive so much because the rest is just so damned amazing.
I had the exact opposite experience with my Volvo V90 CC, wherein every little niggle was amplified by the reality that the drivetrain and overall driving experience was so meh.
We are blessed for sure.
I had the exact opposite experience with my Volvo V90 CC, wherein every little niggle was amplified by the reality that the drivetrain and overall driving experience was so meh.
We are blessed for sure.
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 65
Likes: 4
From: NJ
@FyteOn Wondering if you found any positive lead on it yet, today (for the first time) I turned on the AC and felt the same glitches mentioned above.
The vents under infotainment have no blowing system at all. Until you push up to 4 bars you do not feel any air at all, Blowers at 4 and above make very loud noise.
Also, last month while coming back from Portland (Maine) I was driving during heavy snowfall on i-90 and experienced that defogger was completely incapable of removing frozen mist from the windscreen, at the same time wipers were making it more worst for me to drive, It was my first week with the car so I blamed it on my understanding with the settings but I am starting to realize that overall AC/Heating has a lot of glitches.
The vents under infotainment have no blowing system at all. Until you push up to 4 bars you do not feel any air at all, Blowers at 4 and above make very loud noise.
Also, last month while coming back from Portland (Maine) I was driving during heavy snowfall on i-90 and experienced that defogger was completely incapable of removing frozen mist from the windscreen, at the same time wipers were making it more worst for me to drive, It was my first week with the car so I blamed it on my understanding with the settings but I am starting to realize that overall AC/Heating has a lot of glitches.
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
It was pretty hot here today and no problems. A/C set at 70 and on auto with the top dash vents turned on. Tuned on car and it ramped up for a while and quickly cooled the cabin. Then the fan backed down and held it at 70 just fine. No complaints.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 183
Likes: 31
From: Coastal, South Carolina
Same here. It is now starting to get hot and humid in SC and I set A/C to 72 on auto. By the way, there are 3 settings for the fan for the A/C. Mine came from the factory on "soft". You can set it to "Strong" if you feel you are not getting enough air blowing on you. It will cool the vehicle much faster also.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 35
Likes: 2
From: AZ
@FyteOn Wondering if you found any positive lead on it yet, today (for the first time) I turned on the AC and felt the same glitches mentioned above.
The vents under infotainment have no blowing system at all. Until you push up to 4 bars you do not feel any air at all, Blowers at 4 and above make very loud noise.
Also, last month while coming back from Portland (Maine) I was driving during heavy snowfall on i-90 and experienced that defogger was completely incapable of removing frozen mist from the windscreen, at the same time wipers were making it more worst for me to drive, It was my first week with the car so I blamed it on my understanding with the settings but I am starting to realize that overall AC/Heating has a lot of glitches.
The vents under infotainment have no blowing system at all. Until you push up to 4 bars you do not feel any air at all, Blowers at 4 and above make very loud noise.
Also, last month while coming back from Portland (Maine) I was driving during heavy snowfall on i-90 and experienced that defogger was completely incapable of removing frozen mist from the windscreen, at the same time wipers were making it more worst for me to drive, It was my first week with the car so I blamed it on my understanding with the settings but I am starting to realize that overall AC/Heating has a lot of glitches.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 1,189
Likes: 383
From: Midlothian, TX
I finally had time to take the car in with 2200 miles. They told me that every Gen3 Cayenne they have sold has either been in for A/C or will be. They told me they had a fix for it and that they'd just hook it up to the computer and it would be better. I picked it up and, if anything, it was worse. It's such a joke. At least they tried. With the brake squeal they told me: sorry, that's how it's made. I'll give it another 30 days until it's really hot out here and then I'll take it back in. If they don't figure it out it'll be back in July and then I'll just sue them under the lemon law statutes. I'm not dealing with this BS in July and August.
It's another annoying bit that involves Porsche engineers attempting to show the world just how damned smart they are. "We are so smart," they seem to say, "that we will reinvent the air conditioning ducting and make it better!" Porsche in some ways suffers from the same thing that ruins many smart guys in my business, which is this: I can take something that works just fine and improve it. Watch this, boss!
As a general rule, this is invariably a mistake. An on / off button for the compressor; manually adjustable vents; and two dials -- one for temperature, one for blower speed -- have worked great for 60 years. Why car companies continue to get cute with proven, reliable design and technology is beyond me.
Banned
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 10,084
Likes: 1,208
From: Spring Lake, NJ, US of A
As a general rule, this is invariably a mistake. An on / off button for the compressor; manually adjustable vents; and two dials -- one for temperature, one for blower speed -- have worked great for 60 years. Why car companies continue to get cute with proven, reliable design and technology is beyond me.
The vast majority of people do as I do. In hot weather I go into the car configuration menu and turn the AC intensity to high. I then press the AUTO button and select a temperature. On occasion I find it necessary to redirect the chest level vents a bit upwards as with the cabin temp set at 68F it might feel uncomfortably cool. If the car was sitting in the sun for hours before being started and was suffering from heat-soaked interior - press the MAX AC button after starting it - you'll turn it off in about 5 minutes (especially if you have the vented seats and turn the venting on..)
That's pretty much it. There are no long threads in the 958 forum complaining about HVAC performance, and it baffles me why Porsche would screw up something that worked as well as it did (better than the 955/957 which was a bit lacking on footwell heat in the winter.)
I can't imagine the systems are that different physically - unless Porsche was on a fuel economy kick and made some stupid modifications. My WAG would be the software isn't as well done. You might mention this to Porsche when they call you after a service visit to see if all is OK, and when you get the on-line surveys. Squeaky wheel and all that..
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 94
Likes: 2
I hate to read this. Our Turbo has been through some very warm days here in North Texas (we were in the high 80s, with vicious sun and humidity, recently), and our heat-magnet Moonlight Blue Turbo cools just fine -- if you're patient enough to eff around with the various airflow options. That's the key to the whole deal. Read the advice above and heed it -- set airflow to Strong; turn off the useless center upper dash vents; and enable airflow to the top and center vents. Plenty of ice-cold air blows then. You can quiet things even further by enabling Recirc mode, which calms the noise but doesn't affect the airflow.
It's another annoying bit that involves Porsche engineers attempting to show the world just how damned smart they are. "We are so smart," they seem to say, "that we will reinvent the air conditioning ducting and make it better!" Porsche in some ways suffers from the same thing that ruins many smart guys in my business, which is this: I can take something that works just fine and improve it. Watch this, boss!
As a general rule, this is invariably a mistake. An on / off button for the compressor; manually adjustable vents; and two dials -- one for temperature, one for blower speed -- have worked great for 60 years. Why car companies continue to get cute with proven, reliable design and technology is beyond me.
It's another annoying bit that involves Porsche engineers attempting to show the world just how damned smart they are. "We are so smart," they seem to say, "that we will reinvent the air conditioning ducting and make it better!" Porsche in some ways suffers from the same thing that ruins many smart guys in my business, which is this: I can take something that works just fine and improve it. Watch this, boss!
As a general rule, this is invariably a mistake. An on / off button for the compressor; manually adjustable vents; and two dials -- one for temperature, one for blower speed -- have worked great for 60 years. Why car companies continue to get cute with proven, reliable design and technology is beyond me.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 767
Likes: 56
From: MA
I remember one other problem with the 958 AC. It was related to the infrared temperature sensor embedded in the dash to the left of the center vents. Cold air leaked within the dash from holes in the side of the vent and cooled the backside of the infrared sensor, which caused the system to think that the vehicle was cooled when it wasn't. Porsche solved the problem by sealing the holes in the vent housing. Some 958 owners reported another problem related to that same infrared sensor.The AC system would provide cooler air when the driver wore a dark colored shirt versus a light colored shirt. That seems to fit the "smart engineers implementing unnecessary improvements" category.
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 65
Likes: 4
From: NJ
Wanted to post my analysis here, Took @JCWLS3 advice to turn off the vents on the dash and play around with settings, most of the problems are fixed, the vent under infotainment was turned off from settings, the air flow improved after turning of vents on the dash, Also choosing the right AC intensity level helps big time.
Thanks to the GURUs for great advices.
Thanks to the GURUs for great advices.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 1,189
Likes: 383
From: Midlothian, TX
Wanted to post my analysis here, Took @JCWLS3 advice to turn off the vents on the dash and play around with settings, most of the problems are fixed, the vent under infotainment was turned off from settings, the air flow improved after turning of vents on the dash, Also choosing the right AC intensity level helps big time.
Thanks to the GURUs for great advices.
Thanks to the GURUs for great advices.
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 65
Likes: 4
From: NJ
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 91
Likes: 8
I've had the car for almost 8 months and never noticed this option. How come no one finds it in the manual
Switching Eco mode on and off
When Eco mode is switched on, the air conditioning system operates particularly energy efficiently. The level of comfort in the vehicle may be reduced in order to improve fuel economy (e.g. the vehicle interior may take longer to heat up or cool down).
Switching Eco mode on and off
When Eco mode is switched on, the air conditioning system operates particularly energy efficiently. The level of comfort in the vehicle may be reduced in order to improve fuel economy (e.g. the vehicle interior may take longer to heat up or cool down).
