<p>After much comparisons, we finally decided on a Camry instead of Prius. We were out in Boston today and the temp was a slighly warm 76 degree when we returned to a parked car. We found the air condition in the 09 Camry very weak. We had max A/C on with the highest fan setting, still it barely cooled. Only after like a half an hour did it finally sort of rest within pleasant range.</p>
<p>I am wondering if anyone owns or drives the new generation Camry, do you find the air conditioning kind of weak ? I am preparing to take it back to the shop but wonder if this problem is endemic.</p>
<p>I think you should have the a/c checked out. From your description something’s wrong. You either didn’t operate it correctly (a stretch) or maybe it’s low on charge.</p>
<p>I have a 2009 Camry and while the a/c is very cool the fan is not very strong. But, I had the same condition with my previous Toyota - a Corolla.</p>
<p>yes the blower fan is weak. But the air comes out even max A/C is barely cold. I would say it is cool at best. Would you characterize your A/C is very cold ?</p>
<p>Having the air be barely cool is an indicator of an insufficient charge of refrigerant in the system. This is something that’s very easily checked by the dealer. As to the reason it might be insufficient it could be it wasn’t properly charged to begin with or that there’s a leak in the system. A recharge if necessary, should be quick for them to do. Fixing a leaking hose connection or something will take longer. Of course, it could also be something other than the refrigerant charge, like a compressor issue or something.</p>
<p>A 30 degree drop in the temp blowing out of the vent compared to the temp in the car is considered very good. Try sticking a thermother in it and seeing the temp before you run to the dealer.</p>
<p>I bought an extended warranty for my Jeep- not through dealer.
I will hunt the company that it is through
worth it because when the cooling system needed an overhaul, it was covered.</p>
<p>On a previous car- the transmission needed to be replaced- which was covered under warranty, but they did a crappy job & it had to be redone. ( after doing with out my car for quite a while)
In my experience, after factory warranty runs out, the extended warranty is better because then you can take it to where you want- don’t have to go to dealer.</p>
<p>I bought an '07 Camry last fall and think the A/C takes a little time to crank up, but once it does get going it’s fine. Same with the heat. When I’m driving on the highway I have to cut it back after it reaches the desired temp. I previously had a Taurus and liked it, but am really happy with my Camry.</p>
Of course they are nicer, they want you to continue buying cars from them. Contrary to some beliefs, some dealerships actually pay the techs less for working on warranty work.</p>
<p>One thing that the OP might want to check out is if your warranty will let a regular neighborhood automotive work on your car. They don’t advertise it (they’d loose money/customers if they did), but if you call the warranty company they should be able to tell you if you are able to. So many people are surprised when the place I work at is able to do the repairs!</p>
<p>My last several cars (Dodge, Ford, Jeep) I never took back to the dealer I bought them from - I took them to other dealers in the area and never ran into any issues. They were all happy to work on the vehicles. I bought the cars at the least expensive dealerships and had them serviced at the most convenient dealerships.</p>
<p>Slightly off the topic, but related. Have you tried cars from American manufacturers? The superior Japanese quality made famous in the 80’s is much less a factor now, as many feel the U.S. has significantly improved.
Equally important(to me) is that I’d like to help Americans and the American economy. And, before anyone jumps in that some foreign brands are assembled here(employing Americans), I know that. I’m just stating my preference and asking the OP to consider my point of view. American owned car plants generally pay workers better than foreign owned ones, plus the profits would stay here too.
P.S. I don’t work in a car related industry. I just prefer to buy American as/when I can.</p>
<p>Glad you brought it up. In fact we have visit GM or Ford. Toyota had a sale-a-thon at the time when I needed a new car. The Malibu was comparable but more expensive to buy. We were all set to go GM or Ford but the dealer incentive just wasn’t there. Ford’s only family sedan offering was Tarus but it was a rebadge of the tank-like Ford Five Hundred. They had competitive Tarus models in prior year. Then for no reason stopped making them. That was the first thing the new Ford chairman commented - who discontinued the Taurus? Our other car is a Sable which is a Taurus cloned sold under Mercury. Beside unsturdy cup holders and such, the engine-trans is bullet proof reliable and performed well. Ride characteristic is on par or better than the Camry. Unfortunately it is no longer available.</p>
<p>So I decided on the Camry. It is actually made in Kentucky. For that I am grateful, that my purchase helped American workers.</p>
<p>We have an old Avalon that was made in Kentucky too and we took the factory tour. Well worth the time and a fun family experience. The Avalon had something like 92% domestic content. It was amazing to watch the process from rolled steel to a finished car.</p>
<p>The output of cool air in our car is dependent on engine speed and fan speed. We generally keep fan speed on the second setting and that works most of the time. When it isn’t cool enough, we put it on the third setting and that takes care of things the rest of the time. I never put it on the fourth setting.</p>
<p>If we’re creeping along in traffic, then output is quite a bit weaker than if we’re driving on the highway and we’ll have to kick up the fan.</p>
<p>I was inside for most of the day yesterday but there were some heavy-duty storms in the afternoon so I assume that there was some humidity out which made 76 degrees uncomfortable.</p>
<p>The engines in the Avalon are bigger today (3.5 vs 2.8). I think that the Camry’s have a few engine choices and there might be some variation of AC output with engine choice.</p>