Very weak HVAC under certain conditions?

[PandaBoi]

Hey y'all,

So I've had my raptor since early February (MY21) and have noticed that the HVAC system strength quite frankly sucks. Under certain configurations, the system does not allocate fan speed to the various vents around the car equally at all, certain vents are always stronger than others. I think I saw a post in the past about this but ultimately there wasnt really a solution anyone was able to find. Ive noticed the following problems with the system:

• Of the four vents on the dash, the two middle vents (next to the screen) blow air much stronger than the vents on the sides (near the windows)
• If you turn on the foot-well vents and the dash vents at the same time, the foot-well vents blow way stronger (80%) than the dash vents (20%), it's definitely not 50/50 air distribution.
• If you turn on all the vents at the same time (wind shield/dash/foot-well) surprisingly the air distribution seems to be equal throughout but of course the strength is weak.

It's good to note as well that I'm not complaining about the temperature of the air but rather the strength. I'm ok if the air gets a little warmer on max fan speed if it means i get more air hitting my feet or torso when driving. Was this truly a design flaw in Ford's HVAC system or could there be an issue with my truck?

Anyway, figured I'd post this to see if anyone has found any solutions or knows anything about the issue. It sucks that a Ford Escape or Nissan Altima has better HVAC than my expensive raptor lol. All I can say is thank god for the ventilated seats otherwise I'd likely be way more uncomfortable in this Texas heat.

Thanks y'all and looking forward to the discussion.

 

[GCATX]

The Max button is a gamechanger in the Gen 3, much more so than on other trucks. Generally not pleasant without it in TX till the truck cools off.

 

[catinthehat85]

Love my AC, works fantastic. I’ve had it blasting away with outside conditions up to 114 degrees. Love the seat cooling function too, huge improvement over the gen 2 seat cooling.

 

[CoolrainRaptor]

It struggles at times… once cool it can keep it cool but as you said the fan speed can be an issue
Design issue in my observation

 

[derise]

I have the same issue. Took it to the dealer and they said everything was operating normal. Go figure.

 

[New recaros]

I had something wrong with my 21, I had to have it adjusted to 65deg to keep it cool. The tech adjusted something with the heater or damper door. In other words it was heating and cooling at the same time. Works great now.

 

[flwrappeder]

After driving mine a short distance and parking, then getting back in 10-15 minutes later the vents don’t blow at all. It’s happened 3 times so far. The last time it happened was a stop at a gas station in Tallahassee and then no AC for 4-1/2hrs all the way to Clearwater fl. So was super pissed. But I know it’s one of those things that won’t happen while it’s in for service and would be told “all is fine”. I’d have to drive it up there while it’s happening for them to actually see what it’s not doing. Hasn’t happened in a while though.

 

[RaptorND]

After driving mine a short distance and parking, then getting back in 10-15 minutes later the vents don’t blow at all. It’s happened 3 times so far. The last time it happened was a stop at a gas station in Tallahassee and then no AC for 4-1/2hrs all the way to Clearwater fl. So was super pissed. But I know it’s one of those things that won’t happen while it’s in for service and would be told “all is fine”. I’d have to drive it up there while it’s happening for them to actually see what it’s not doing. Hasn’t happened in a while though.

Yup. Happened to me twice in four months of ownership. Actually happened on my way for service but was dropping it off before they opened. They couldn’t “replicate it”.

 

[4wheelinAZ]

My left vent sucks ass. Like my left arm gets warm AF so I’ll usually always use my right hand on the wheel. Unacceptable in a 80k+ vehicle.

 

[housecat]

This has been my main complaint so far with the truck, I've not been able to take mine off of MAX + LO temp since getting it. If I use anything other than just the front vent setting, the front vents might as well not be on.

In other words, if I turn on ventilated seats, very little airflow comes from the main vents even at max speed. Same if I use feet + main, main has no airflow. If the temp is any higher than LO, it honestly feels like heat, even at 65, which is only one tick up from LO.

Granted it's been a hot summer, I feel like I should have control over more than just the fan speed.