Hesitation And Aircon?

[Yelramp]

Hello All,

would anyone happen to know why my Rav4 drives noticeably sluggishly when the

air-con is switched on? It feels like the car's being held back slightly but when I switch

off air-con she drives perfectly well again.

The air conditioning itself works fine but this issue is mighty irritating.

Many thanks

Phil.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Air conditioning does use a fair bit of power, so when you switch the air con on the engine has to accommodate this extra demand. Effects vary from car to car, but some decrease in responsiveness is common.

[uniquestar]

I was out in South Africa a few years ago and was driving a Toyota Avanza 1.5 petrol 7-seater. We were out in October, and the Air-Con was very much needed, especially when we had 7 bodies in the car.

The problem was though, that I don't think this car was really made for carrying people around that kind of terrain. We were staying outside Cape Town, and had a few nice hills to go up, however we had no chance of getting up those hills with the air con on, as there just wasn't enough power left in the engine to get us up the hills!

The worrying thing was that the 1.5 petrol was top of the line at the time, and they did smaller engines with the same 7 seats and air con....

[Cyker]

Diesel FTW :D

[igormus]

Hello All,

would anyone happen to know why my Rav4 drives noticeably sluggishly when the

air-con is switched on? It feels like the car's being held back slightly but when I switch

off air-con she drives perfectly well again.

The air conditioning itself works fine but this issue is mighty irritating.

Many thanks

Phil.

hi matey

it seems you own petrol powered engine. what is its capacity ???

my 2.0 ltr vvt-i has never faced to an issue in question - it runs each time when the engine is started (365 days).

It seems you might to have another issue with maf sensor or sparks (my guess). i do not believe you have an underpowered engine for rav and it is dificult to believe it. regards/Igor

[Parts-King]

In the hundreds (yes hundreds) of Toyota cars I have driven, I have never come across that problem

I feel you have a problem elsewhere, not connected to the A/C

Kingo

[anchorman]

If I use the aircon on my little Daihatsu it nearly flips onto it's roof. It draws a significant load on the engine and it is noticeable on some cars.

Kingo won't notice it with the weight of his pies to provide momentum.

[Yelramp]

Thanks for the replies folks.

I've driven a fair few a/c equipped cars myself and though I've noticed

a very slight power loss in some models, what I'm experiencing now is

completely new to me.

It's a 2.0 litre petrol model so certainly not underpowered I'd think. Imagine

gently pressing your foot brake for a second or two, then releasing it. That's

what it feels like when A/c is on. Turn it off and all's well.

Weirdest thing I've had happen whilst driving for a long time. Apart from this

issue, car drives perfectly. Still very puzzled.

Phil.

[igormus]

Phil

in case you do still feel power drop then it might be the following - back pressure originating in 134a circuit (throttle orifice might be partly blocked due to frozen down -- because of an air part is inside/diluted with 134a gas) or you have an issue either with compressor or pulley bearing/driiving belt -- these are only possible problem chain links guesses. By the way - can you observe liquid flow thru inline sight glass on the 134a pipe system? If not -- the throttle is definitely frozzen down. Regards/Igor