Hi, my Ford Kuga has potentially got an issue with the Air Con.

Basically, when turning it on, there is a distinctive noise change / increase (kind of a whirring). Then the air stream is cool, but not cold (even when turned down to LO). I have had the Air Con pressure checked & its in the middle of the 'healthy' section on the gauge. Topped up with a bit of gas & pressure initially increases before reverting back to the middle of the 'healthy' range.

Also i noted that when MAX A/C is selected, the fan turns on to MAX. the temperature is set to LO & it switches to INTERNAL CIRCULATION mode. Is this normal?

I also noticed that there was a oil/water deposit on floor beneath car recently but this seems to have stopped now. I check the oil level regularly & there been no real change. Could this be related to the A/C system??

Any suggestions / advice appreciated.......

31 minutes ago, divettri said:

I also noticed that there was a oil/water deposit on floor beneath car recently but this seems to have stopped now.

This could be symptomatic of a failing A/C compressor. The oil deposit may be from the compressor, and the fact that it's now stopped could simply mean the compressor is now empty of oil after failing. It would also cause the failing A/.C symptoms you describe, especially the cabin not getting proper chilled air. I would nip down to an A/C specialist to get it checked out before they get inundated with increasing warm weather! (If it does need replacing, consider a used unit, new ones are extortionate!)

16 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

This could be symptomatic of a failing A/C compressor. The oil deposit may be from the compressor, and the fact that it's now stopped could simply mean the compressor is now empty of oil after failing. It would also cause the failing A/.C symptoms you describe, especially the cabin not getting proper chilled air. I would nip down to an A/C specialist to get it checked out before they get inundated with increasing warm weather! (If it does need replacing, consider a used unit, new ones are extortionate!)

Thanks for this advice, I have now reached out to local A/C service garages to see what they propose.

As for the MAX A/C, does the steps ive indicated above (mainly the switch to internal recirc) sound normal?

1 minute ago, divettri said:

As for the MAX A/C, does the steps ive indicated above (mainly the switch to internal recirc) sound normal?

No...

5 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

No...

Ok so what should happen?

4 hours ago, divettri said:

As for the MAX A/C, does the steps ive indicated above (mainly the switch to internal recirc) sound normal?

I am unsure as to the specifics of your A/C, but your owners manual should help out. On some cars, turning A/C to 'MAX' may operate the recirculating function, as this may aid cooling to be quicker, just using the air already in the cabin rather than drawing in fresh warm air. There is no 'standard' A/C operation as different cars do different things.

On a 2001 Galaxy with auto climate control and on a 2010 Kuga with auto climate control both used to select 'Recirculating air' if you either set the fan to maximum or selected 'Lo' for the temperature. So my thought would be this is normal on your model.

I've not needed that amount of cooling in the time I've had my 2019 Focus despite global warming so I've no idea what it does ! 🤣