Subaru AC Not Working (Easy Fix)

AC cold air stops working on my 2015 Subaru Forester, thankfully it's an easy fix. Same compressor design is found in Subaru Outback and Impreza.

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[WarrenPeace]

This is unbelievable. I’m going on the fourth spring/summer with intermittent a/c in my Forester. My daughter hates riding with me. I finally broke down and took it in to have it looked at. They told me they couldn’t reproduce the issue, it could be the expansion valve, and gave me a $555 estimate. I watched this video, spent $29 on feeler gauges and a clutch tool, and I’ve been driving around in AIR CONDITIONING FOR A HALF HOUR! You, sir, are a hero!!!

[MIKE]

Having seen your video, I took my car to a repair shop and requested they do this repair. The A/C tech there said they would not do that. They only replace parts. I said that had to be $300. He said it was way more than I would think. I bought the gauge, some picks, a magnet and the variable pin spinner wrench. Didn't need the picks. The O ring shims came off with the clutch. 10 minutes of work and done. Drove the car 430 miles over the following two days without a break in A/C. Thanks so much!

[brapbrapbrat]

Can we all just appreciate that this man one hand this operation to hold his phone and show us? Thank you sir, we appreciate the effort it took to film this for us.

[joanmarrero]

Thank you for saving me hundreds. I did it today. It took about 20 mins and now the car’s ac is running perfect.

[ericwidany]

Dude look at all these people who you saved hundreds. You're like the car messiah. Thank you so much man.

[MotoCampAdventure]

Just another person checking in to say you likely saved me hundreds today. Thank you for making this video!

[jacobcatron]

Thank you! I completed this fix on my wife's 2016 Subaru Forester yesterday and now the A/C is ice cold and working perfectly.

[paverza]

Same problem here. I realized that the problem was on the clatch because sometimes when I was going down the hill the car was able to start the compressor and the cold air was coming up again. Thank you for this video. I took the car to numerous idiots that only want to take money from you for nothing. I think that I can do this myself. I will keep you posted

[gerardfalco]

Add me to the list. Two years not working even after bringing it to a mechanic. Thanks for saving us.

[LawyerPapa]

The clutch on my 2004 Subaru Forester wouldn't come off. The center bolt was easy enough to take off. But the clutch was royally stuck. Putting 3 screws couldn't push out. You used 2 holes out of 3 to hold the clutch. (I used visegrip to hold the clutch.) Those 3 holes used to have screw threads in older Subaru AC clutches. You could put in 3 bolts to push the clutch out. Since I couldn't take the clutch off, I just put pieces of cardboard under rubber grommets to reduce the gap. On your clutch, there are 3 stubby arms with holes that used to hold grommets. But I see that there are no grommets on yours. It's been a year since that impromptu-fix, it works fine. Except for one time, it wouldn't disengage. But it's been working fine again.

[MarieLovely]

Just tried it and it worked, You are the man. I would have never thought of that. Been in upper 100's for over a week now. My daughter is loving it👍👍👍👍👍👍

[Duffman-xh]

THANK YOU! 2015 Impreza. As someone else mentioned, I used a paper clip to get the shims out. Also, don't fret if this doesn't work right away. The first test drive resulted in warm air after 11 minutes. Then, I stopped for about 15 minutes, then drove it again, and no more warm air! Less than $40 of tools and 30 minutes of time!

[huntermullins]

I just started having these issues on a 2014 Forester with right at 70k miles. Intermittent cold air, wet hot air, noisy ac clutch engagement, additional strain on the engine. Checked the relay and it was functional. The ac clutch was out of tolerance similar to the one in your video. Removing the thin spacer brought it back into spec. I was able to use the wrench for my angle grinder to hold the clutch in place. I also cleaned both surfaces before reassembly. It would appear that Subaru intentionally designed the ability to make this repair. AWESOME VIDEO! Saved me a ton of money!!!

[ilikedeathmetal]

I went to 3 different shops and all 3 wanted to dig into my pockets for $2k. Amazing that "professionals" don't know about this fix. Or just want the quick cash to charge $2k for $150 compressor replacement which isn't needed. Criminals... Trust nobody. Thanks for the tip, you're saving people lots of 🤑 money...

[ps]

I had the exact same issue with my 2015 Subaru Impreza and went two years without AC. I knew it worked when it was cold and it stopped working as soon as it heated up. The mechanic said he'd have to replace the compressor for about $1000. After watching this video, I spent about $30 on the two tools I needed. I removed one shim and now my AC works perfect! Thank you very much for this video. I really appreciate it!

[binnsh]

You can check ac clutch function by pushing on a stopped one (with ac on)with a stick, if it spins air gap is worn too large. A common problem with a no parts fix.

[ShaunGuth]

Took me a single trip to autozone for the wrench and I have working AC again! Thanks very much! 🎉🎉

[bradparker]

This short video saved me hundreds - got the tools off Amazon, and 30 minutes of work fixed the problem. Many thanks! (PS. I had three shims in there, and left in the thickest and thinnest, and brought it just to 0.4mm.)

[jimw]

An informative video of removing and returning the clutch to the AC compressor at the very least. Good job and thank you.

[heebiejeepie]

Thank you so much, I've never had an easier problem to solve. It's such a simple process.