This is the first year model of the new refrigerant. As such, the compressor was recalled and duly replaced by the previous owner. A/C had some minor parts replacement last summer (a seal failed or something and all the refrigerant went bye). A/C was fine last week. Car has 173,000+ miles and hates me. It's cost us quite a bit to replace worn out engine parts lately, plus we added new brakes this past weekend. Anyhow, the a/c blows...but it blows really cold for a few minutes, and then lukewarm/warm air. We have not heard any of the hissing noises that we heard before (the refrigerant leaking I guess?). Can someone give me a general idea of what repair we might be looking at? (Frankly, I wish I could afford a car payment right now....grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.) I am very slowly learning more about this car than I really want to.

 

If your AC blows cold then stops blowing cold after a while but blows cold again once it has sat for a while, you may be having an issue with the expansion valve freezing. There is a thermoswitch in the evap housing that is supposed to stop the evap from getting to cold, which is what causes the AC to typically cycle on and off while the vehicle is running. The sensor for the thermoswitch may have been placed poorly in the evap core or the switch is bad. Just my thought anyway.