My 2021 Passport is the same way. I worked for almost forty years in automotive climate control for both GM and Ford, and I’ve had few vehicles over the years that have been marginal in this regard. Unfortunately, my Passport is right in there with the worst I’ve owned. This is my fourth Honda, and probably my last also. I get any GM or Ford product at dealer cost from having worked there, but I’ve chosen to buy Honda based on their previous track record of quality and customer satisfaction. Honda has lost their way in this area and now produces to the same levels as their other American counterparts. AC is more than how cool the air is coming out of the dash vents. It’s balanced with other factors such as glass area, insulation, color, and many other factors. The dealers like to tell you, “the AC is blowing out blank, blank temp air and that’s in spec”. That type of answer just doesn’t work. They can do better.
Passport A/C
My 2019 Passport Touring A/C seems to perform to manufacturer specs, according to my dealer with whom I've had many years of great service. In fact, my local dealer is the main reason I've owned very many Hondas. But the A/C just doesn't cool the car well. We live in South Florida. Our Lexus handles it just fine and my previous car, a Chevy Silverado, would freeze you on the hottest days. My Passport is a pretty good car but might be the last of a long succession of Hondas for me. So many good features, but this one is a big disappointment. Anybody else having a similar experience?
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Did you know that engaging the big green "E" button reduces the A/C, as part if the economy mode?
Yes, you mean the Prius mode that sucks my soul out of my body. Don’t like it, don’t use it and also don’t use the auto-kill mode for stops.Did you know that engaging the big green "E" button reduces the A/C, as part if the economy mode?
I reside in SWFla. and don't have the issue of a mediocre AC system.
We hit 92 yesterday and mine cooled just fine. I do notice that I need to set it for 68 or 69 where my last vehicle set at 70 kept me cool.
To be clear, my Passport A/C system functions properly but is insufficient to overcome the extreme heat load in some situations. The car lives in the sun uncovered. A typical situation would be when it sits in the Everglades for hours on end while I’m fishing. I use a custom reflective windshield shade, a rear cargo cover to reduce the cubic footage of the interior and use the remote start when my boat comes within range. All of these things and remotely opening all the windows to flush the hot air mitigate the problem, but the car just needs a more robust system.
From some of the great responses it seems Honda may have reacted to the issue in later models. And yes, the Passport is a fantastic car and the best of many Hondas I have owned. But the competition has improved.
From some of the great responses it seems Honda may have reacted to the issue in later models. And yes, the Passport is a fantastic car and the best of many Hondas I have owned. But the competition has improved.
You can use remote start to pre cool or I saw a video where you can open all the windows and moon roof with the remote to purge the heat
My process to maximize the cooling effect from my Passport's AC is to first roll the windows down to let the hot air out of the cabin and then turn all the settings on with both the AC and recirculation off. Afterwards turn the AC on and then after the cabin begins cooling off turn the recirculation on which cools things down even more.
If you don't feel like the AC in your vehicle is working well enough I would ask you to pause and consider what you may be doing or not doing to make it work too hard or otherwise cause it to be ineffective. The primary purpose of air conditioning is to remove hot air from a confined space and extract it outside, so the more that you can contribute personally to that effort the easier it will be to get the intended effect from the air conditioning system 🙂
If you don't feel like the AC in your vehicle is working well enough I would ask you to pause and consider what you may be doing or not doing to make it work too hard or otherwise cause it to be ineffective. The primary purpose of air conditioning is to remove hot air from a confined space and extract it outside, so the more that you can contribute personally to that effort the easier it will be to get the intended effect from the air conditioning system 🙂
I live in Minnesota and we've been having record heat the last few days. It was pushing 100 this weekend. A week ago it was almost freezing but I digress....
Noticed when I was driving around this afternoon (around 90F outside) that the A/C was just 'OK' and not great.
I work at an Acura dealer and some of the newer cars that have the R-1234yf refrigerant have been having issues. It's a known issue with Honda and Acura. We're not sure if they are being under filled from the factory or if they are leaking. We haven't identified any leaks yet.
I suspect my car is low on refrigerant. Which would explain the 'meh' performance. I don't believe it's inherently bad by design because the cars I have seen that have a proper level of refrigerant work great. When I have time I'm going to get it in the shop and hook up the A/C machine and suck it down, which will tell me exactly how much was in there.
It's a pain in the ass with this new refrigerant because the machine has to sit there and take sniff tests to make sure it's not contaminated, pull a vacuum, do a leak check, etc etc etc. Sometimes takes up to an hour (or more) to do that. I'm still suspecting it's low. I will check back with more results.
As a baseline measurement, the A/C system should be blowing somewhere between 35-40F when set on 'Low' temp and high blower after a few minutes of operation. Can be easily checked with a pocket probe thermometer stuffed into the vent.
Noticed when I was driving around this afternoon (around 90F outside) that the A/C was just 'OK' and not great.
I work at an Acura dealer and some of the newer cars that have the R-1234yf refrigerant have been having issues. It's a known issue with Honda and Acura. We're not sure if they are being under filled from the factory or if they are leaking. We haven't identified any leaks yet.
I suspect my car is low on refrigerant. Which would explain the 'meh' performance. I don't believe it's inherently bad by design because the cars I have seen that have a proper level of refrigerant work great. When I have time I'm going to get it in the shop and hook up the A/C machine and suck it down, which will tell me exactly how much was in there.
It's a pain in the ass with this new refrigerant because the machine has to sit there and take sniff tests to make sure it's not contaminated, pull a vacuum, do a leak check, etc etc etc. Sometimes takes up to an hour (or more) to do that. I'm still suspecting it's low. I will check back with more results.
As a baseline measurement, the A/C system should be blowing somewhere between 35-40F when set on 'Low' temp and high blower after a few minutes of operation. Can be easily checked with a pocket probe thermometer stuffed into the vent.
This is my second Honda and they just seem to be merely adequate in the A/C department. The remote start range is short and they're not very aggressive with the cooling fans plus the ventilated seats are fairly weak. I still love my Passport, but the A/C is definitly a weak spot and requires speed to get air across the condenser. I live in the hot Southwest and have yet to hear the cooling fans at more than low when idling. This is in contrast to previous GM, Nissan, and FCA (now Stellantis) vehicles that seem to have designed the car around the A/C and were very aggressive with bumping the cooling fans up to high to get air across the condenser when at idle. A previously owned 2013 Tahoe was a particular beast in A/C capacity, though it also sounded like a jet when at idle with the cooling fans cranked up and both interior HVAC fans at full blast.
I wanted to chime in too after reading this, I am experiencing similar temperature conditions where I am at in Wisconsin and on top of that I am located near Lake Michigan so the humidity in combination with the heat creates misery.I live in Minnesota and we've been having record heat the last few days. It was pushing 100 this weekend. A week ago it was almost freezing but I digress....
I feel like my Passport's AC takes longer to cool things off compared to other vehicles I've had, but that being said once it does cool down it can freeze you out really quickly following my method of use I described earlier in the thread.
that's interesting....i use the Econ mode and noticed the A C is not as cool as my other cars. Now that we are getting heat and humidity in the North that requires AC, I'm going to turn of the Econ mode and see if there is a difference.Did you know that engaging the big green "E" button reduces the A/C, as part if the economy mode?
I had to replace the AC units on a 2017 and a 2018 Honda CRV recently. Both were out of warranty and it cost me $3600 for the two. I noticed that in my 2021 Passport when the AC has been on for a while cool air blows to the front seats and warm air is blowing to the rear seats. I then have to turn off the blower going to the back.
Ditto - I think the addition of a rear compressor (does the pilot have one...?) Would help compensate for the cubic footage of the interior. The Passport unit just can't cool off the inside of the vehicle. I can direct the cold air towards me in the front and be satisfied with that, but even after hours, pointing the vents away from me or leaning over to pick something up out of the passenger seat or back row, I can feel how hot the interior actually is... disappointing to be sure, but I bought a Honda for the engine and build quality, with feature strength as a distant concern, so... so be it.
I had to replace the AC units on a 2017 and a 2018 Honda CRV recently. Both were out of warranty and it cost me $3600 for the two. I noticed that in my 2021 Passport when the AC has been on for a while cool air blows to the front seats and warm air is blowing to the rear seats. I then have to turn off the blower going to the back.
Mine did this also... I took it in and they said that two tubes or something were switched when they tried to fix the whistling in it one of the about 4-5 times they worked on it.... UGh. It did only take them a couple minutes to fix the switched tubes! The whistling Ive given up all hope for.. Its going to just whistle until I trade it in for something else that will most likely not be a honda. I really really want to love my passport but I've spent more time in the service department than I have driving my car Ive had for 18 months.
I believe you mean to say that adding a rear evaporator would help with the cooling. My old Ford Explorer had a rear evaporator. The evaporator is the component that is under the dash. The air is cooled when it passes over the fins in the evaporator. The compressor is driven by the engine. The condenser sits in front of the radiator.Ditto - I think the addition of a rear compressor (does the pilot have one...?) Would help compensate for the cubic footage of the interior. The Passport unit just can't cool off the inside of the vehicle. I can direct the cold air towards me in the front and be satisfied with that, but even after hours, pointing the vents away from me or leaning over to pick something up out of the passenger seat or back row, I can feel how hot the interior actually is... disappointing to be sure, but I bought a Honda for the engine and build quality, with feature strength as a distant concern, so... so be it.
Perhaps your AC needs to be checked ??? I have a MSM/black Touring and have traveled across the desert to and from AZ in 100F- 105 F conditions and the AC has worked great. ...And I like it COLD ! The again, it was a DRY heat as they say
Never heard the Emode 🌿 referred to as Prius mode!Yes, you mean the Prius mode that sucks my soul out of my body. Don’t like it, don’t use it and also don’t use the auto-kill mode for stops.
That‘s hilarious and so true! 🤣
I'm too cynical to buy this stuff $25 cool car interior spray
Someone that can afford CC could buy it and give a review.
Someone that can afford CC could buy it and give a review.
Mine sucks too. I have it on full blast but still bead sweat on my forehead. The blowing temp feels adequate at touch but for some reason it can't displace heat fast enough.
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