Electric and PHEV vehicles often use the A/C system in some form or fashion to manage battery temperatures.
High-voltage A/C compressors need special dielectric lubricants that do not conduct electricity.
A non-functional A/C system may lock a vehicle out of some features, like DC fast charging.
If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, then you’re likely in the throes of summer. In short, it’s hot as heck, and you’re likely doing any driving with the air-conditioning blasting. But sometimes, if you own an old car, your A/C being on doesn’t always mean cold air is coming out. Believe me, I’ve owned over sixty cars in my lifetime, and I think maybe a third of them needed A/C repairs, some of which were just too much of a hassle to fix. Sometimes it was just easier to roll around with the windows down and just tough it out until the end of the season.
But, if you’re driving an electrified car, you should know that A/C problems are affect more than just your hot-weather comfort. If you’re driving an electrified car, chances are that any sort of A/C problem needs to be rectified as soon as possible, lest your car shut down entirely, limit your power, or limit your charging speed.
