MarkH513

My 2023 IS500 just turned 2,000 miles and I have not driven it that much in the hotter months with the A/C on. Yesterday here in Ohio it was in the upper 80's with higher humidity, and I noticed that the A/C was not blowing very cold, especially when the car was stationary. I got out and with the car running you could feel quite a bit of heat coming from behind the front wheels as the fans worked to cool the running motor, and the driver side leading edge of the hood was so hot that you couldn't touch it. I know these things are heat generating beasts, and maybe all this heat under the hood is contributing to the poorer than expected cooling, impacting the ability of the condenser to operate efficiently. We know that heat is a contributor to the bumper separation issue, so maybe it is playing a role in what I would describe as subpar A/C cooling. Anyone else experiencing subpar A/C cooling in their IS500?

303CIDV8

Our all aluminum motors do generate quite a bit of heat, but I'm here in SW FL where it's already well into the 90s during the day and no issues. I also have a '23 IS500 (~12k miles). Are you parking outside or in a garage? While it's normal to take some time (10-15 mins) to cool down the interior if parked outside, it should eventually reach a cool/comfortable temp. If it's not, I would definitely take it to the dealer to have them take a look.

macmaster

This might sound dumb but was the green light above the rectangular "A/C" button turned on? If it's off it was just blowing the fan only which can be hot or cool air.

Benibiker1558

My heat producing beast keeps me very comfy on hot humid days in Hawaii. No issues here. See if you can hear the compressor kick in when you press the A/C button. If not, then time for a service visit .

Renault

My AC has worked fine through the couple summers I've had the car, but my vented seats aren't that cold. I was seriously considering the adapter that someone on the forums once posted, that change the direction of the rear feet vents upwards towards the bottom of the seat, but I'm afraid that will make it not cool off as fast for people in the rear.

Benibiker1558

I don't think that "mod" would work too well because our seats are just vented not cooled. That means they have fans underneath that just suck air into the seat from the top giving you that "cool" feeling that really depends on how cool the cabin is to begin with. I do agree they don't seem to work that well most of the time though.

95bat

I agree, make sure this is on.

It gets 110+ degrees in the Summer here and all my Lexus cars have ice cold ACs. After the cabin cools, I usually have to turn it up to 68-72 because it's too cold!

TCM55

+1 to making sure the AC is actually on and not just the fan blowing. I've made that mistake a few times.

Something else that worked well in my IS F and now in my IS500 is keeping on the air recirculation.

- S.Fl man

jororo

I’d definitely recommend that mod. Doesn’t make a night & day difference but is something that’s noticeable for sure. Goes from weakly vented seats to weakly AC’d seats. You can actually feel cold air coming thru but big problem of low air velocity remains.

Oloung1

I just picked up my 2024 Is500 from PPF install while driving to the shop in a vented seat Camry with the "iphone box" mod. It was enough of a difference to me that I just ordered the 3d printed plenums for the Is500. Today was low to mid 90 degree in Florida, stop and go traffic. Camry seat felt "cool" while IS seat just felt like a warm fan blowing.

Longwaldo

second that mod, it’s crazy good.

Benibiker1558

Sounds interesting... you all have links or anything to it?

HydrantHunter

Here are the vent redirects... https://www.etsy.com/listing/9011029...c-duct-convert

And, if you have a big enough 3D printer and want to bake your own, here is the STL file for a mere $6.00 US... https://www.etsy.com/listing/1229334...s-isrc-ac-duct

tapjoy

I’ve been having this issue as well! For about 6-8 months. But I haven’t been driving much and our heat here is nothing. But yeah, I made a thread here about it when I noticed it. I took my car in for checkup and mentioned it to them but they said I’d have to have a specific diagnostic scheduled for it (and I haven’t gotten around to doing that yet).

When you turn on the AC, does it have that mechanical hiss like the AC pressure is building up, but just never stops? It’s hard to explain, but on normal AC when it turns on initially, you get that mechanical hiss then you don’t hear it anymore… like the pressure builds up and stops.

I really need to take it in… I’m kinda pissed if I have to pay for some diagnostic or something. ****s expensive and I hope it’s a warranty thing so it’s covered….


Original thread Here

MarkH513

Just wanted to provide a quick update on the AC performance. I realized the other day that I've been driving around in Eco mode, mostly because I like for the transmission to downshift quickly during routine driving. In any event, from some other posts I realized that the AC performance is reduced in eco mode. When I put the car back in normal driving mode I no longer have any issues with the AC and it's blowing nice and cold. I appreciate everyone's input!