Aircon consumption

[Silentnoise713]

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but if you leave the air direction on defrost/feet in your 09 Fit you WILL run the AC whenever the fan is on. Good news is that disabling that auto "feature" is very easy on that car. And back on the sunbect of Mazas, I drove mine home this evening with the AC on and was pleased to note that the car doesn't "feel" any slower.

If this was directed toward me, thanks for the heads up. I already knew this from Fitfreaks b/c I too was wonder why the compressor was going on and off in defrost. I just didn't think much of this 'feature' and/or how it might apply to the Mz5 or that it applies to all newer cars; thought it was a Fit only thing. My last two most recent cars were a '91 and '98, which I kept for a very long time. The Fit and Mz5 were both purchase last year so this is new to me. I HATE that the Mz5 does not allow you to control/change the temp of incoming recirculating air in with the fan off, like older cars can… The Fit can b/c the controls are manual. I really do think engineers thing the avg diver is too ignorant on controls and intend for you to use Auto.

 

[Robotazky]

If this was directed toward me, thanks for the heads up. I already knew this from Fitfreaks b/c I too was wonder why the compressor was going on and off in defrost. I just didn't think much of this 'feature' and/or how it might apply to the Mz5 or that it applies to all newer cars; thought it was a Fit only thing. My last two most recent cars were a '91 and '98, which I kept for a very long time. The Fit and Mz5 were both purchase last year so this is new to me. I HATE that the Mz5 does not allow you to control/change the temp of incoming recirculating air in with the fan off, like older cars can… The Fit can b/c the controls are manual. I really do think engineers thing the avg diver is too ignorant on controls and intend for you to use Auto.

Just put it on feet/hands mode, close the hands vents if they are bothering you, A/C and auto off, flip the fan dial up to setting 1, and then control your temp. It's very very close to just controlling air that's making its way in with no fan or compressor. I agree though that these auto A/Cs are stupid. I wouldn't have another one if given the choice.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Actually I figured out the Mz5’s HVAC madness. Well, except the AC on with defrost thing. Never paid mind that all new cars have this but I haven’t had a new car in a while. This just further adds to me hating Mazda’s HVAC. My biggest grip is the heat exchanger under the dash creating a ridiculously hot glove box and cabin in the summer (great for the winter)

With the system completely off, you can still adjust the temp +/- 2 degrees (C or F) even though it does not display it on the digital read out. Set it to 60 and turn fan off. Turn it up as high as you want, then turn on the fan; you’ll see it went up 2 degrees. Turn it one click and it change 1 degree. Why limit it to 2 degrees I cannot figure why. I'm just making this up our of thin air but perhaps they are thinking if you turn off your HVAC at a set temp, you probably want to stay within that temp range, limited to 2 degree variance? Also, maybe the engineers were thinking in C (since this is more of an Asia/Euro car) and 2 degrees C is a slightly wider range then 2 degrees F.

What I do is turn the fan on to low speed just so I can adjust to the desired temp, then turn it right back off! This workaround allows me to set temp for incoming air via recirc. I find incoming recirculating air is perfectly capable of keeping the cabin at a balance temp since you body adjust to temp changes anyway. It is only when you initial get into the car and feel the sudden head/cold that HVAC is need to bring it to equilibrium with your body. This shows the system is capable of adjusting temp but Mazda’s HVAC firmware is garbage, IMO…