Pete, I personally just use the least expensive pollen filter available at Rockauto online and change it out annually, but they're available with activated charcoal and Arm & Hammer baking soda. May check to see if the a/c compressor is engaging, blend door actuators working and hi/lo a/c pressures.

 

How do I check the blend doors?


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Any clicking/thumping in the dash? Are all hvac settings working properly? Would need a set of a/c manifold gauges to read the hi/lo pressures.

 

No sounds perfect n dash. Controls work fine. Just not really cold air coming out


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Is the compressor engaging when commanded?

 

Usually use the fram filters from walmart for cabin air, when they have them in stock.

Kick the ac on like sheila mentioned and be sure the compressor engages. Being you had cold air last week, would guess it is probably not low on refrigerant, but still possible it might be. Should be an ac fuse somewhere, probably under the hood, would check and be sure it is not blown.

 

OK taking three hour trip and it’s 64° out temperature set at 70 on auto.. Seems like the air conditioner is running on at least medium trying to keep it cold. Air is t supper cold, haven’t checked compressor


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It’s really weird how its acting all of a sudden it was blowing super cold. Like the door switched and let all the cold in. anyone know how to recalibrate that door blender on a newer impala? Possibly that is getting stuck?


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What year? Engine? On my '12/'13/'16 Limited you can pull the red 10amp "Display" fuse underhood to reset the mode (vent) actuator. Others say to remove the negative battery cable for a few minutes.

 

2014 new body style LTZ V6


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How would I know if the ac compressor kicks in? Today it ran for an hour not getting cold then randomly it got cold made a stop turned car off then back on and it wasn’t cold again. I am at a loss on what’s going on? When it did kick in it was really cold!


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I have the same car not sure it seems to be something with these cars sometimes mine is really cold other times it’s not cold at all! Has anyone else ever reached inside their bumper when washing the car? I’m not sure where the air comes into the car but I know mine had handfuls of dirt and rocks and other things piled up inside of the bumper there was white flies and everything from the dirt. Also I read you can buy some kind of cleaner foam for the ac coolers because supposedly if you don’t have a certain mode turned on your car the blower mode which dealership asked to do it bacteria grows on the coils from running the air conditioner so then when you turn it on again it blows stinky smells through the car. Mine stinks like sour stinky gym socks, it’s so nasty! What blower mode does is 15 minutes or so after you turn the car off if you leave the AC on when you turn the car off it automatically turns air on and runs it through the vents I guess to dry off the coils but like I said the dealership had to turn it on for me and I’m not sure if it’s turned on in your car.

 

I just did a little service on the car tonight to try and get things in order. Drained and put in new transmission fluid and tried the blender reset. Had the negative off for about 5-10 minutes then put back on. Just pressed the start button let sit for a minute, then turned on for 5 minute idle. When it was idling it blew antifreeze out, i paniced and shut off. Turned car back on let idle for a few and it blew again. 3rd time it worked just fine no issues. So I did press the A/C button and could hear the compressor start then i had cold air.

Other thing I did was change out the cabin filter it had some twigs and seemed dirty hopefully it will help with some of my musty smell.

We will see what tomorrow brings!!!!


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Good luck with yours, mine did it last summer with the sometimes cold and other times not, I just hope it doesn’t do it again it’s so random but that’s been the way the car has been ever since I bought it, plus I get horrible gas mileage only 14 mpg in town ?

 

If you want more info on the blower mode I can look it up in my papers because when they turned it on at the dealership they gave me a sheet on it for the information so just let me know

 

If you have it that would be great! The air in my seat coming out is cooler than the air coming out of vents set on low. This sucks and it’s not even warm out yet.


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Ok just had a guy smoking walk by car and ac was on and I could smell the smoke in the car!!! Shouldn’t the car be sealed with ac on?


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Only if you have it set to recirculate inside air. Not sure about the controls on yours.

 

Ok it was not set to recirculate.


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lol. Yep just drew in the smokers smoke.

We have some roads we travel that usually between Feb and March there are skunks hit regularly. If you set the air to recirculate inside air well before you get to those spots the stench is not nearly as bad, but you have to leave it to recirculate the inside air for a good while even after passing by those places.

 

^ Outside air, outside smoke, lol.

 

K will remember that, but still need to figure out why it’s not always cold even when turned to lowest setting!


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the reason why it blows cold sometimes and doesn't at other times is because it may probably be set to pull air from outside. if the temp outside is 64 degrees for example, and you set the AC to 60 degrees with the air circulation coming from outside, the air will feel warm. but if you set it to recirculated, it'll cool down faster

 

Ok so it seems to be acting up again. I have the fan on high and it barely comes out of the vents. Like the fan is blocked. I can hear it blowing but not much coming out of vents!!!


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Ok so it seems to be acting up again. I have the fan on high and it barely comes out of the vents. Like the fan is blocked. I can hear it blowing but not much coming out of vents!!!

Can you do some more diagnosing and post back? I don't have a gen9 Impala, but if the HVAC works like the gen8's, it sounds like you have a vent actuator (aka mode selector) problem. Can you move the vent selector knob to different positions, wait a minute, then see if the air flow changes in each of the outlets (defrost, dash, feet)?

A bad vent selector actuator could explain the lack of air coming out, especially if it's stuck between turning one off and turning another on. But it does not explain why the temperature is not right - that is controlled by a separate hot/cold blend actuator(s).

If the air temp is still an issue, do likewise with it, and adjust the temp knob(s), wait a minute, and see if the air temp changes, then report back.

This could imply multiple actuator issues, which seems improbable, but not impossible.

One other thought, is it set for fresh air or recirc? Again, I wonder if that actuator could be a factor in no air flow. Try changing that setting to see what effect it has. You can hear the effect. If you tear into the dash a bit, you also can see if it's moving.

When it was idling it blew antifreeze out, i paniced and shut off. Turned car back on let idle for a few and it blew again.

Where did the antifreeze come out? This might indicate some sort of over-heating problem, which can affect the HVAC air temp. For example, if the radiator cooling fans are not functioning properly, the lack of airflow thru the radiator can result in the motor getting hotter _and_ the AC not cooling properly.

When you noticed the air temp issue, how did the engine temperature gauge read? Was it in its normal position, or perhaps elevated?

Doug

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i found on the wifes 2011 cruze she had a car garbage bag in the glovebox. which had also been sucked into the fans above the glove box thus killing airflow. maybe check the glovebox for anything of that nature? also how is the cabin air filter doing?

 

Recently replaced the cabin filter. Will check the glove box nothing comes to mind as to what could be in there.


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So when i was driving it this morning i did switch the vent select around and it didn’t seem to change where the air was coming from. Like it was stuck and not moving. There is cooled air blowing out but it is so minimal air flow!

Does anyone know where that actuator is located or how to service it? I would switch it out if it’s not overly difficult to get to.

My temp on the car was around 180 i think. It hasn’t done it since then. It does blow cold air more often then not! I would agree that it seems that some actuator is getting stuck and not allowing the fan to blow air through any vents.


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Does anyone know where that actuator is located or how to service it? I would switch it out if it’s not overly difficult to get to.

The Chilton procedure calls for removing the "Evaporator and Blower Module". That's the box under the center of the dash that houses the evaporator and heater core. No way would I want to do that.

But I think that has been recommended in the past, on gen8 Impalas, but most folks managed to avoid all that. Instead, on the gen8's, the glove box was dropped and then the actuator was accessed from the left side of the glove box opening. It may have even been accessible with the glove box still in place.

The drawing for the gen9 (attached) shows the actuator forward and above the right side of the radio, much like the gen8. So it appears to be accessible via the glove box opening.

What I recommend is to drop the trim above the passenger's feet, get on your back and inspect with a flashlight to see how accessible it is. Look to see how hard it is to drop the glove box. For example, you may need to pull the trim off the dash, which isn't too hard, but needs to be done with care to avoid cracking the plastic. I've even cut a small hole in the glove box to facilitate access for things like this (rather than removing it).

In short, the key is to find the actuator and size up the job. Does the glove box even need to be removed? Then decide if you want to get a part and try it yourself, or take it to a shop. (BTW, on the gen8, a 5.5mm (ie, 7/32") socket was needed for the actuator.)

Also, inspect the wiring. Make sure the connector hasn't become separated from the actuator. Maybe all that's needed is to plug it back in.

HTH.

Doug

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Would definitely take Doug's advice and take a look through the glove box and see if you can get to it. No way I would pay a dealer for a job like this.

No idea how similar the glovebox and dash are to the 8th gens and how tight it is to get to the actuators. I have had to replace one actuator in our 2012. I could see 2 of the other actuators, luckily the one I had to replace was the easiest one to get to, but I am sure I could get to the other 2 if I have to. It is tight, especially for someone with larger than average hands, but in our 8th gen(2012) I did not see where anything had to be removed.