My '08 Exp EL has an issue with the rear air conditioner evaporator coil freezing up on long trips. the dealership tried to flush the line, but it was plugged up and they replaced the entire evaporator in October. It happened again this weekend. the large piping over the exhaust tip is extremely cold with frost starting to form and there is frost that forms on the bottom where the pipes enter the unit. After putting the heat on full blast, it thaws out dumping a LOT of water out the drain of the coil and the a/c will work again. I'm taking it in again on Monday, but wondering if anyone has any inputs....this is the 4th time taking it in and I'm seriously thinking of pulling the lemon law on it as my vehicle will be one year old this april.

 

No expert but here is what my book says. Heater core remains hot, low refregrant, restricted or clogged liquid line, thermostat inoperative or expansion valve inoperative. I am none the wiser but hope this helps.

 

Possibly a design flaw?

 

Lazy K hit the nail right on the head. Except insufficent air flow across your coil (evaporator) will also result in icing. Have your service person check for 1 of the 5 causes of icing.

 

well, they have had my EXP for over two weeks now. they had to send out their "field expert" to the dealership to try and fix it and his solution is to charge the lines over the recommended level to increase the amount of refrigerant available. If this doesn't work they are supposed to replace the lines. Right now I'm just fed up with the vehicle and want Ford to take it back...almost 60 days in the shop this year!!!

 

coils will freeze if the refrigerant is low

 

Yeah I feel your pain on this. That is crazy that anyone should have to deal with going without their truck for 60 days and your truck is only 1 year old. Increasing refrigerant decreases its ability to pickup heat. Too much refrigerant can cause a liquid flood back condition to the compressor and possibly damage it. If Ford isn't receiving a lot of complaints on this issue then they should replace your truck with a similar model, year, options level, and mileage Expedition. And take your truck in so they can diagnose the problem on their own time. Not yours. My 2 cents

 

Why have you not filed for the lemon law on this vehicle?

 

I'm working through FORD Corporate for a buy back next week. I'm trying to do this instead of having to get a lawyer, but it may come down to it next Monday. I know the vehicle has a major flaw and that it qualifies under the lemon law for my state, I just don't know how to invoke it. Any thoughts/recommendations?

They "fixed" it, or so they say. the Field Tech said to remove all the refrigerant and then replace it to the manufacturer's spec level. then they test drove it and it didn't freeze. It just so happens that it's an ice storm out in Oklahoma right now and when the AC is on set to max cold, the air is warm out of the vent so it's thawing any part of the condenser that would freeze.

 

PM me and I can help you.

 

I sent you a visitor message on your user profile...not sure if that's what you meant by a "PM." I could really use some help/advice. Thanks in advance!

 

PM is private message.

 

Well, just got done with Arbitration with Ford through the BBB and the arbitrator ruled in my favor. Ford is buying my vehicle back within 30 days. Ford's original offer was to pay me one month's payment for my inconvenience.

I want to thanks everyone who helped me with this issue. I honestly didn't think that it would be this easy. As long as everything is documented and the vehicle qualifies, the BBB looks out for the consumer.

After getting the vehicle fixed in Jan, it froze up on me on my drive back from the Arbitration hearing, so there clearly is something wrong with it.

 

Great news! What kind of car are you going to buy if any?

 

Not sure. My fam and I are moving in a month so we'll prob wait till after. My wife is going to drive my F-250 and I'm going to use my Cj-5 that's more of a toy than daily driver, but will do for a month or so...we loved the Exp, just hated when it didn't work right. I'm prob going to stay away from buying a new vehicle until I find out if i'm going to stay state side for my next assignment. I hear big vehicles don't do well in Europe so thie timing couldn't have been better for us...again, thanks for the help!