Owners of 2016 Chevrolet Camaros are frustrated by air conditioning problems

This has been one of the hottest summers on record, in many areas of the country, and some 2016 Chevrolet Camaro owners are really hot about their air conditioning malfunctioning. PJ first raised the issue, about his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro 1LT, on a popular Camaro site. “I am so disappointed that I felt the need to share. I have had my 6th Gen for 5 weeks now and of that, I've driven it for maybe 3.

The air conditioning randomly goes from blowing cold air to warm, with no reason found to date. The dealership has already replaced a wiring harness and is now in the process of replacing some other parts of the unit. They also managed to chip my door the last time it was there so they are supposed to repair that too. The scary part is they don't seem to know what really is causing the problem.”

Other Camaro drivers affected

PJ is not alone. Once he mentioned, others quickly followed suit. A Florida driver says, “My AC decided to turn off randomly this week for a brief period. Once I was able to come to my destination and turn off the car I turned it back on and it decided to start working. Kinda scary.”

PJ tried turning it off and on. It appeared to work for a time, but what a hassle, driving in the Arizona heat. “It happened to me pretty much daily. And every time I would have to restart the car and it would go back to blowing cold air. I just got the car back and they replaced an hvac sensor this time. We'll see if that does the trick. They also repainted my door. Overall I'm not happy with the dealership and will not be buying another car from there, ever. Here's hoping it's finally fixed and I can enjoy the car finally!”

PJ’s happiness was short-lived. “Just an update, the dealer replaced the HVAC control module and it worked ok for about a week. Now it's back to going out every day. Car is back in the shop again for the 4th attempt to repair. It also seems like the dealer is doing everything possible to not tear apart the dash to get at the HVAC wire harness. I have a feeling that will need to be the next step though. So much for a "new" car.”

PJ’s saga continued. “Latest update: the dealer actually got the AC issue to happen while hooked up to their computers. They will need to replace the HVAC temp actuator on the left side of the system. This is the part that they thought it was to start with but GM tech told them it wasn't...go figure.”

In the meantime, several other owners say they are having the same issues and frustrations with having the fixes repeatedly fail. Skydiver, from Virginia, says, “.I test drove a Camaro 1SS and had the A/C problem. Left that dealer and went to another a week later. Picked up a different SS last Saturday. Had it less than a day and had to take it back with A/C issues. They replaced an actuator (so they said). A/C was working nice n cold, drove off and by that evening, I was back at the dealer. Same issue; compressor will not come on at all. Driving around in a loaner.”

Jay, from Columbus, adds, “I'm not sure how prevalent this issue was but I came here to post this exact problem. My a/c cuts out all the time. I was waiting for a tsb or something to come out before I brought it in.”

PJ posted another update. “GM told my dealership techs the dash would need to come out. Luckily it did not and they were able to replace the actuator without tearing anything apart. I mentioned in another post that I suspect this is going to become a well known issue as the actuators seem to be cheap and failing. I've had my car back for a little over a month and everything has been working fine. But I fully expect it to happen again at some point. Hopefully by now GM should have some case knowledge on this issue and be able to get to the root cause faster for anyone affected.”

And drivers are still affected. Just today, another driver posted, from California, where the weather has been crazy hot. G writes, “My 2016 2SS has the same problem. We've been having 103-112 days here and I have found the passenger side center and dash vents blow hot air with the AC on. I've tried restarting the car and that worked once. Now it does it overtime we really need the ac. Hot air from the right vents!”

I have not been able to find any TSBs about the air conditioning problem on the 2016 Chevrolet Camaros. I have written at length about problems with the air conditioning on 2014 Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras. In the trucks, the condensers have been failing and it is an expensive fix, usually over $1000. In those cases, drivers have been told that there will not be a recall. Recalls are apparently only required for safety issues and air conditioning is considered a comfort issue.

Mary Conway covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin. Follow Mary on Twitter at @maryconwaymedia.