I have a 96 ES300 with 130K miles. The A/C system has plenty of freon in it and the compressor is coming on. This is really wierd!!! If I park it in the shade during the day and then drive it, it will blow cold for a while and then get hot over time. If I park in the sun and drive it won't blow cold at all. If it is night time when I drive it will blow cold all night long just fine. What in the hell is going on here????

 

Classic Expansion Valve possibility. Check the thread next door to ya, for this same discussion.

Also search this forum for expansion valve for a myriad of descriptions of the exact same experience you're describing and what was done to resolve it.

 

I have a '93 with same problem!!! Last summer my hubby replaced my entire a/c system (except the condensor). My air blew hard, but never cool in the heat of the sun. Overcast and rainy days--my air was freezing!!!

Yesterday, I went to have my system serviced (thinking that it had to be a lack of freon) and I was told my condensor is leaking. The condensor on my
'93 is located DIRECTLY in front of the radiator. I can see mine through my grill. If there is excessive dirt in one particular area--you may have found your problem. The caked up dirt stops the freon from physically leaking to the ground, however, there is a moisture build up wherever that leak is that attracts dirt because it's wet while you're using your air conditioner.

At least have it checked out. My diagnosis was completely free!! If you go in and ask to have your a/c serviced, they'll check for leaks first. If you have one they should be able to see it. It only took my repair guy minutes.

Let me know what happens.

 

but I thought they switched from freon to r-134a in the USA market vehicles long before 1996
models?

lee's love and slooooooow are right

but even the '93s are known to have the expansion valve issue so maybe your 'hubby' changed everything but not that, or, he changed that and it then went bad etc etc etc. especially since we might assume you had the a/c problem even after ''hubby'' worked on it since you didn't quite say

i love my r12, that's all i gotta say, so glad they put it in the 92s and 93s, works so fast, so damn cold, so well