CX5 Air Conditioning and Hot Weather

[Chas]

My wife is honing in on a CX5 and wonders if the AC is adequate in hot humid weather. She currently drives an older Toyota Sienna with front and rear AC units so she is never really that uncomfortable. We drove another family member's 2009 Honda Civic (black), and it never really cooled down in the hot summer weather in the Washington area.

Any opinions? Thanks

 

[Texas Mazda Fan]

It's not really summer yet in Texas, but it gets pretty warm soaking up the sun in the parking lot all day. I've been really surprised how fast the CX-5 cools down the interior. It's comfortable in a minute or two. We'll see how it does in August!

 

[frz]

Just drove mine in 33 celcius and was completely comfortable with cooling capacity to spare. Might be worth a test drive on a hot day to find out if it'll work for you. 2014 GT 2.5L.

 

[SmurfaceWarfare]

I just completed a long trip across half the country in the CX 5. Under normal operation the AC never came off 1, and my Boston Terrier and daughter in the back had blankets on. The temperatures were in the high 80's and low 90's for most of the trip. For normal day to day driving it stays on 2 until I get home then I realize I am cold, that might also have to do with the uniform I wear to work.

Overall I would rate the CX 5 good at cooling down. I doubt your wife will have an issue.

 

[rmac]

Compared to other recent mazda's that ive owned, the cx5 is the best.

 

[123373]

Had our first hot and humid 80 degree days here and the air conditioning cooled the CX quickly and was no issue to maintain.

 

[mongo2004]

My wife is honing in on a CX5 and wonders if the AC is adequate in hot humid weather. She currently drives an older Toyota Sienna with front and rear AC units so she is never really that uncomfortable. We drove another family member's 2009 Honda Civic (black), and it never really cooled down in the hot summer weather in the Washington area.

Any opinions? Thanks

I live in Louisiana and I can tell you with a black interior it takes a long time to cool. I am getting ready to tint my windows on my sport

 

[Chas]

I live in Louisiana and I can tell you with a black interior it takes a long time to cool. I am getting ready to tint my windows on my sport

Just out of curiosity, what is the exterior paint color? We are thinking of going with a lighter color to help with any heat load issues. Thanks!

 

[MikeM.]

Just out of curiosity, what is the exterior paint color? We are thinking of going with a lighter color to help with any heat load issues. Thanks!

Mongo has a black exterior which probably explains the difference he reported. Also, he has the manual transmission which can lower the A/C cooling depending on shift patterns. When the air conditioner is activated on a CX-5 with auto transmission, the ECU "knows" this and can adjust the shift points to suit. Net result is slightly higher rpm's and more cooling from the A/C.

 

[erhayes]

I think Mazda learned their lesson with the CX7 and mediocre AC, which I have. Ed

 

[V8toilet]

Best AC I have ever had. Having a manual vs automatic should make no difference. RPM at 60 MPH is around 2000 RPM for both.

 

[birdman579]

Great to hear the CX-5 has a powerful AC system. The AC in my 2004 Mazda3 is terrible!

 

[CX-SV]

Exterior color makes a significant difference in amount of time required to cool down a sun-baked vehicle.

I spent Mother's Day weekend in area with sunny/mid-90's days, no problems with interior temp/comfort. My exterior color is white, so time to cool was reasonable. Black leather interior not a big factor, I kept sunroof and shade closed entire weekend, GT has rear tint and my 2 front sides have 3M CS 35% tint.

 

[Latitude Adj.]

I think Mazda learned their lesson with the CX7 and mediocre AC, which I have. Ed

The A/C is definetly better in my CX-5 than it was my CX-7 but being black that would have put a bigger load on it.

 

[Chas]

Thank you all for your experiences. I think we will be OK if we stick with a lighter color.

 

[rcs914]

I live in Tucson, Arizona and I drive a Meteor Grey 2014 CX-5 GT, with black leather interior. I was really concerned about how it was going to be when I first got it. I did purchase a Heatshield sunshade for when I do have to park in the open, and this prevents the steering wheel and front seats from becoming ridiculously hot. I am EXTREMELY pleased with the AC on this car. It does an amazing job of cooling the car down to arctic temperatures in just a few minutes. The automatic feature is great, as it will turn the blowers on full blast for a while to quickly cool the interior, and then back off to maintain once it is there.

BTW, we have already had days over 100, but with almost no humidity.

 

[CX-SV]

rcs914 - Nice report, wow that's really putting it to the test (Tuscon summer heat + dark meteor gray exterior/GT tint).

 

[Chas]

Nice to know. Thanks for the report!

I love the Heatshield sunshade. Been getting them since they first appeared in the back of Road and Track magazine. Have gotten one for every car, and I think it makes a huge difference, not only in a cooler interior, but I believe it also helps preserve the dash area.

I live in Tucson, Arizona and I drive a Meteor Grey 2014 CX-5 GT, with black leather interior. I was really concerned about how it was going to be when I first got it. I did purchase a Heatshield sunshade for when I do have to park in the open, and this prevents the steering wheel and front seats from becoming ridiculously hot. I am EXTREMELY pleased with the AC on this car. It does an amazing job of cooling the car down to arctic temperatures in just a few minutes. The automatic feature is great, as it will turn the blowers on full blast for a while to quickly cool the interior, and then back off to maintain once it is there.

BTW, we have already had days over 100, but with almost no humidity.

 

[madar]

First new car I've had in 15 years where I didn't have to drive 3 miles to feel some cool air coming out of the vents, actually took about 2 blocks...very impressive, Mazda.

 

[Chas]

As a followup, we have just had our first hot and humid Washington DC days, where the car was reading 92. The CX-5 did great, and my wife is very happy with the AC performance.