Poor AC cooling on Ritz LXi

Hi,

I purchased a Ritz LXi in Aug'09 and have clocked 2300km till date, which also includes one long road trip. I have got the car serviced once.

I initially faced below average cooling of AC during city usage and assumed the AC did not get sufficient time to cool due to short runs in the city limits, even when the AC was kept at maximum and the fan on position 2.

During the trip, I drove  in day time in highway and on the same AC and fan settings and found the cabin was not very cool either. It was "comfortable", but not "cool". I took the car over to the dealer- Pratham motors, who told me that a switch needed to be replaced under warrenty, but told me to come back as they did not have it in stock. I took the car to Mandovi motors, where the mechanic checked and informed me that this was the best the AC could do for me.

Does any other Ritz owner have the same problem? Please respond.

Hi,

If Maruti Sevice Masters outlet is available in your city, take it there. They are possibly the best.

Yes Service Master is the best but its not available in Bangalore.

They are in Delhi and chennai only

Hi All,

After the end of 2 years and 13k  usage, and very satisfactory ownership of my Ritz, I still think the AC could do with some improvement. The only grouse I have about the Ritz is its substandard AC. The dealer is convinced it is ok, but I dont think so. Surprisingly, even Bangalore weather is too hot for it to cool!!

Any other users facing the same issue?

A hot car is harder to cool. Also if the AC ducting has lost its insulation, cooling will suffer because by the time the air comes out of the vents it has already absorbed heat from the ducts themselves. This means cooling the cabin will take longer. In this situation all AC related checks like gas pressure, etc will check out to be normal - and this is what AC guys always check, they do not check the ducting primarily because it needs the dashboard to be opened (tedious and time-consuming, which even customers wouldn't want).

IMO, the only way to remedy such a problem when all other solutions have failed is to check the ducting insulation (basically everything related to air-flow under the dash).

Have you got the AC system checked? In some cars, during PDI we come across unusually low R134 pressure. Such cars will need checking of the AC sstem for leaks and then refilling of gas takes place. After that, the AC works well without much future problems. That too in bangalore, speed 2 is more than sufficient for good cooling. Get the system checked by an AC mechanic for diagnosing the problem. The AC is not so bad in the Ritz.

Thanks Sanshrinand,

Your suggestion seems more plausible. Where do I take my car to? Would a chech/ repair outside Maruti void the Maruti warrenty? I have extended warrenty.

Hi ,

First of all check if the cooling is proper during night/evening period(When the sun is down), during day time (In Sun) the car is hot and it takes time to cool(Extra load on A/C) and even though the A/C is on high you may not get the chilling effect, for that you will have to get sun- film installed, if the car is cooling properly during night-evening time you A/C has no trouble, also one thing to be noticed: when you are on highway and engine is running on continously high rpm's the a/c cooling will be more effective, whereas in city drives the a/c doent cool that effectively ?

I hope that will help a bit ?

Rajesh, nothing to worry about warranty. Just get refrigerant pressure and all other AC parameters checked. Even if the AC efficiency is said to be low, the mechanic will have some suggestion. If a problem is found, then report the same problem in the maruti ASC. If you go there armed with details, they cannot refuse repairing it. However, if you go there without much information on whats wrong, they are more likely to tell "its like this only", " Sir I dont find any problem" etc as most of them are too lazy when it comes to a running repair like this.

Hi,

I am also having RITZ LXI and facing the same problem with my car. AC of is RITZ is very poor as compare to other cars of its segment. AC of RITZ always let me down when ever its required even at the temp of less than 40 deg C, what will happen when the temp is more than 45 deg C. I did complain to Maruti ASS about it and they said taht "they have changed the gas clean the evaporator/condenser and check the out let temp and every thing is fine now" but I dont feel any kind of improvement in its cooling. AC of RITZ is one more example of cheap quality products of MARUTI. If any one has any solution to that please reply.