Fully Automatic Climate Control System blasts cold air from startup

Avoidin Deer

Zoom Zoom, baby
Contributor
:
Central Virginia
:
2019 CX-5 Reserve
Another member commented that he liked his Automatic Climate Control system because it does not start blowing air until his car warms up. Mine has never worked that way.

I've had the car for about a year now, and the fan is nearly full-blast (one or two segments below 100%) the moment I start the car...this is in Auto mode.

Most recent incident: I had not driven my car for a couple of days (there was no residual warmth.) I got in last night about 9PM (several hours after sundown), started it up, and the fan immediately blasted ice-cold air. The outside air temp was 35°. The System Temperature Setting was 68°. Driver & Passenger temps are Synched. One the cabin temperature reached 68°, the fan automatically kicked back to a low setting.

The system seems to be operating as described in the manual (which is silent on this issue.)
-The Power light is lit
-The Outside Air Intake is lit
-The AUTO indicator in the driver side control is lit
-The SYNC indicator in the passenger side control is lit
-No other lights are lit (including A/C)

Of course, in the summer, the A/C is immediately available and the fan should start blasting right away.

It's worked this way since I got the car.

Is this normal? Shouldn't the fan be off until the car warms up, then heat the car, then kick back when the cabin is at temp?
 
Our's does not blow at a high rate as soon as started, but it does blow harder than expected. My Lexus is dead silent until it reaches temp, then starts blowing. I've had several vehicles with auto climate. Some are better than others. I would put the Mazda somewhere in the middle of the pack.
 
My 2018 GT also has the annoying feature of blasting the A/C when I turn on the climate control. The difference is I always shut off the climate control before I shut off the engine.

When I drive to my vanpool location in the cooler months, I keep the temperature at 60 degrees (the lowest it will go) to direct the coolant away from the heater core. I want the engine to warm up as much as possible since the commute is only 3 miles.

If it's especially cold or I need some heat to defrost the windshield, I turn on the auto climate control and it blasts the A/C until I manually turn it off.

I'm not sure why it's designed that way. It's irritating since I have to take my eyes off the road; one time, I almost had an accident searching for a button. If the collision warning light hadn't lit up in my HUD, I would've rear ended the car in front of me. The automatic braking didn't kick in since I was able to brake in time.
 
Thanks, guys.

It sounds like this is normal behaviour (I've not had climate control before.) I either misread the other comment or the guy was being sarcastic (which is his 1st Amendment right.)

Now I know, I'll keep the system turned off until the engine warms up. As I said, it manages itself fine when the set temp is reached, both with heat and with A/C.
 
I'm not sure why it's designed that way. It's irritating since I have to take my eyes off the road; one time, I almost had an accident searching for a button. If the collision warning light hadn't lit up in my HUD, I would've rear ended the car in front of me. The automatic braking didn't kick in since I was able to brake in time.
This is the one thing I dislike about modern controls, or having the stereo embedded in the computer (infotainment). I almost rear-ended somebody when I first got my car and I had my nose in the screen changing radio stations (whereas before I instinctively knew where each preset button was and what it was set for without having to take my eyes off the road.) In that instance, my automatic braking DID kick in. Scared the poop out of me. I now know better. Things can wait until the road is clear.
 
Another member commented that he liked his Automatic Climate Control system because it does not start blowing air until his car warms up. Mine has never worked that way.

I've had the car for about a year now, and the fan is nearly full-blast (one or two segments below 100%) the moment I start the car...this is in Auto mode.

Most recent incident: I had not driven my car for a couple of days (there was no residual warmth.) I got in last night about 9PM (several hours after sundown), started it up, and the fan immediately blasted ice-cold air. The outside air temp was 35°. The System Temperature Setting was 68°. Driver & Passenger temps are Synched. One the cabin temperature reached 68°, the fan automatically kicked back to a low setting.

The system seems to be operating as described in the manual (which is silent on this issue.)
-The Power light is lit
-The Outside Air Intake is lit
-The AUTO indicator in the driver side control is lit
-The SYNC indicator in the passenger side control is lit
-No other lights are lit (including A/C)

Of course, in the summer, the A/C is immediately available and the fan should start blasting right away.

It's worked this way since I got the car.

Is this normal? Shouldn't the fan be off until the car warms up, then heat the car, then kick back when the cabin is at temp?
That’s why I never use Auto Mode with Automatic Climate Control system on my CX-5.
 
That’s why I never use Auto Mode with Automatic Climate Control system on my CX-5.
The only issue I have with it is the fan fires up too soon when I need heat and the car's not warmed up.

As I said, with A/C it can fire up immediately without causing issues, and it adjusts fine once temperature is reached whether you're using chilly or heat..
 
Well, it does kick on but not at full. In my experience, electronics are definitely Mazdas weakness. My last car was a lowly Hyundai Sonata. Didn't handle worth crap but the electronics were superb. The HVAC remained off until it could blow air of the correct temp. The HVAC fan would automatically turn to low if you made or received a call via Bluetooth in order to keep the noise down. The infotainment interface was great. And even though I thought it was pointless when I got the car, I got used to the fact that it displayed current headlight and wiper switch positions in the center display any time you switched them. Now I miss it.
 
Well, it does kick on but not at full.
There are 7 speeds, with Speed 7 being the highest. When the cabin is ice cold (35° in the middle of the night), the fan immediately blows at Speed 5 or 6, as thought it's blowing lots of heat to warm things up by 30° or more.

I got in this afternoon about 5PM when the outdoor temp was 40° and it was sunny (so the interior was warmed up.) The fan started at Speed 2, as though it was blowing just enough heat to warm things up by 10°.

In my experience, electronics are definitely Mazdas weakness.

Preach it, Brother! It is so disappointing. I really don't understand. I was gonna say "Especially disappointing for a Japanese car," but I honestly cannot think of any country-of-origin I would expect this from. It makes no sense. It just feels so dated.
 
I have the center dash vent and side vent adjusted to blow air in my face when it is in the fresh air or AC position. And it usually works fine at the lowest fan setting.
I never use the auto climate control feature. I really hate the thing coming on full blast at start up and in my face. Like most automatic features in the CX 5 they never seem to work the way I want them and making my own decisions according to what I feel is needed at the moment is more satisfactory.For example getting in my car when it has been sitting in the sun: I get better results opening all the windows for about a minute with the AC on in my normal setting and then rolling them up once the car is moving and the hot air has been flushed out of the cabin. It cools down quite rapidly with maybe the fan turned up one notch. Same with the heater. I turn on the heated seat and steeling wheel and then turn the HVAC system on to heat after a few miles and the car coming up to operating temperature.
 
example getting in my car when it has been sitting in the sun: I get better results opening all the windows for about a minute with the AC on in my normal setting and then rolling them up once the car is moving and the hot air has been flushed out of the cabin. It cools down quite rapidly with maybe the fan turned up one notch.
I always open the sunroof to let the heat escape out the top on hot sunny days. It's about the only time I use it.
 
I always open the sunroof to let the heat escape out the top on hot sunny days. It's about the only time I use it.

I've always been surprised by comments like this. Ever since my '79 T/A with T-Tops, I have never owned a vehicle without a roof that could open. It's the next best thing to a convertible. I only wish our CX-5 had a panoramic sunroof.

Do people not like being outside?
 
Do people not like being outside?

I don't care to have my head fried by the sun. I only crack the thing (tilt) with inner shade cracked about an inch to let heat escape while parked in the full sun, and, while initial driving until A/C gets cooling. An expensive hole in a perfectly good roof….just to get the premium Bose factory audio.


As to Mazda's auto climate control in a 2018 CX5, poor implementation. I've finally learned to keep the 'auto' climate system off completely until at least the engine warms up (blue dash indicator has turned off). The I turn it Auto on at 66 degrees and that seems to be the sweet spot for starters. If it's really cold out, sub 30, it's off longer at the get go, and then I'll manually adj. it to 67 or 68 while driving. So much for 'Automatic Climate Control' aye? And what is with having to push one large button to enable and that stupid small separate button to turn it off? More poor implementation.

Conversely, my 2010 Kizashi's ACC implementation is far superior. I get in, start it, and hit the large Auto button/ctrl dial same as in the CX5. However, when first activated, the fan is at its lowest setting, barely a trickle, and on full defrost. No arctic breeze blowing all over me making me colder. As coolant temp begins to rise, the fan kicks up a notch and it begins bleeding warm air to the floor. As coolant warms further the fan speed picks up until the cabin reaches setpoint and will modulate to maintain cabin temp. I have no knowledge of the 'behind the scenes' workings of the plumbing/ducting going on. Don't care, this is an example of proper automation. Same large button (like the CX5's) also turns it of as well as on. Novel (and cheaper) idea. Much newer CX5 automation...not so much as is being described above. Most likely, Mazda robbed Peter (ACC) to pay Paul (DDAT). Can't have everything, implemented flawlessly, for an affordable price.
 
I've always been surprised by comments like this. Ever since my '79 T/A with T-Tops, I have never owned a vehicle without a roof that could open. It's the next best thing to a convertible. I only wish our CX-5 had a panoramic sunroof.

Do people not like being outside?

I have a convertible as my other car and I love it. I rarely go out without the top down - anything above 40 degrees and it's down.

But I don't like sun/moon roofs. I've had many cars with them, but can probably count on the fingers of my hands how many times I've had them open. Just noisy and drafty and annoying. (Yes I know my 'vert is probably noisier and certainly windier, but it's expected there.)

<shrug>
 
I've always been surprised by comments like this. Ever since my '79 T/A with T-Tops, I have never owned a vehicle without a roof that could open. It's the next best thing to a convertible. I only wish our CX-5 had a panoramic sunroof.

Do people not like being outside?
I've had a rag top, a car with t-tops, 2 trucks with sunroofs, and my CX-5. I have nearly always driven with the tops down/open and the windows down--eschewing the A/C--even in Virginia's sticky humid summers. Heck, I would drive my Austin Healey with the top down in the snow! (Such are the follies of youth.) I also liked being connected to the sounds around me as I drive and not be insulated from them, mostly for safety. Then one day I stopped. Not sure why.

Part of it was comfort, I think. I hit an age where I just got intolerant of the heat & humidity ("humiture.") Heck, I used to ride my bicycle to work in the stuff when I was in my 20s.

With my CX-5, a big part of "windows up" is to keep it clean.

There's so much pollen in this region of the nation that cars will be thick and yellow with it...we have a very long blooming season, as anyone with allergies will attest. It covers everything. DEEP!! It's the stuff of legion. It's actually part of the weather forecast.

Then here in the country there's lots of agriculture and logging, with its attendant dust tacked on to the stuff kicked up from the road.

My other vehicles were either older, or they were trucks, all with cloth seats. so the dirt didn't show/wouldn't ruin them. I'm trying to keep this car nice.
 
Like some one mentioned above the climate control in Mazda CX 5 is very average. But the car itself is very good. It was the other way around with my BMW E91 that I had earlier. The climate control was superb and had even auto outside air shut off during driving around polluted environment (smoke, bad odour, chemical spill and smell out side etc) and there was a good rest heat redistribution in the cabin. But the car BMW E91 was a piece of junk, needing constant repair. So I would rather have a reliable good car than the other way around.
 
So I would rather have a reliable good car than the other way around.
I agree with this.

But the juxtaposition of the things that really matter being so finely engineered (handling & performance) against the almost clumsy treatment of the lower-level mundane things that others have done well for years (infotainment system, climate control, BSM according to some) is interesting.

Or perhaps it's because Mazda gets the important things so right that the things that are "merely adequate" are so very much out of place.
 
What important things has Mazda gotten right? It rolls down the road, check. It steers when you turn the wheel, check. So far, CD engine has potentially long-term serious issues (srry, don't buy the software fix for mechanical design errors) and my transmission falls within a grouping likely to have expensive trouble (it does have a light gear whine around 45-55mph). These are the two most 'important things' of any vehicle, the motive power components, and they aren't exactly stellar here. I don't call that "so right'.

The ride is nice, handling is so-so (it is a bloated top-heavy car, better known as a CUV), the AWD system is def. well done, and performance is nothing out of the ordinary. It looks good and it's interior is refined (doesn't light up like an arcade game) and is very quiet. It is, in fact, 'merely adequate' overall, as is just about any other rolling techno-marvel in a similar price range these days. The juxtaposition of things is merely the difference between where manufacturers spend their limited design/build dollars on the vehicle to put it at a price-point that will actually sell. Too many gadgets and gizmos to spend money on and perfect with a limited budget. Jack of all trades, master of none syndrome.
 
Apparently I'm the only one happy with my ACC? Works as it should. Slowly doing up the fan as the car warms up.
Maybe another Gen2 "improvement?" 😝
 
Apparently I'm the only one happy with my ACC? Works as it should. Slowly doing up the fan as the car warms up.
Maybe another Gen2 "improvement?" 😝
Mine's the opposite. Whether cold or hot out, the fan always starts out nearly full blast, then cuts back as the set temperature is reached.

How in the heck can this work properly in older models but not in newer ones?
I wonder if your Gen 1 experience is universal.
 
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