Friggin WEAK A/C!!!

[WalksInDarkness]

Hi All,

This goes out to all those who live in the warmer states:
How well does your A/C perform on 80F+ days?
It is only about 60F here today, and with the widows rolled up the A/C took forever to cool the car down!!! (rant) FRIGGIN LAME! Even cheap ass Honda Civic has a really good A/C, grr...
One of the Car magazines did mention that the weak A/C and black interior were no match for Arizona's 100F+ days. But I didn't worry as I live in Massachusetts, and it doesn't get too hot except for a few weeks in the middle of summer. I think the HVAC system is cheapo in general, as the heat didn't seem all that strong on 40F morning either (maybe the fan is underpowered???).
I guess I could tint the windows, maybe that would help?
Let me know your experiences.

TIA

 

[m_long84]

Hi All,

This goes out to all those who live in the warmer states:
How well does your A/C perform on 80F+ days?
It is only about 60F here today, and with the widows rolled up the A/C took forever to cool the car down!!! (rant) FRIGGIN LAME! Even cheap ass Honda Civic has a really good A/C, grr...
One of the Car magazines did mention that the weak A/C and black interior were no match for Arizona's 100F+ days. But I didn't worry as I live in Massachusetts, and it doesn't get too hot except for a few weeks in the middle of summer. I think the HVAC system is cheapo in general, as the heat didn't seem all that strong on 40F morning either (maybe the fan is underpowered???).
I guess I could tint the windows, maybe that would help?
Let me know your experiences.

TIA

I'm from Nebraska man and it does get pretty warm here in the summer also. As you can see in my sig I have a black mica 3s with blk leather interior. It got incredibly hot when I first bought the car as the windows weren't tinted. I went and got them tinted and now it is better although it is still pretty warm in there on a hot day. I expect it though because that's just the way my car is since it's blk on blk. Tinting and windshield shades help, beyond that keep a window or two cracked and you should be alright.

 

[goldwing2000]

Another couple ounces of refrigerant may help, too. I'm going to experiment with mine this summer and see what I can come up with. If I make any good discoveries, I'll post the results.

 

[Dmack_901]

Yea, it's bad with my black car. But tinting helps, and rolling down your windows help even more, and it provides some beautiful music(I try to look at the good side).

 

[MASTERNC]

I test drove a black Mazda3 in the middle of the hot Virginia summer (can't remember the interior color though...think it was black). While it was definitely hot inside I don't think it took that long to cool down. Despite pressure from the salesman, we refused to buy it (black is also harder to see at dusk...safety issue). My blue/tan Mazda3 cools fairly quickly (heat is another story). I still am using a sunshade since my car sits outdoors and it helps a lot.

 

[RonH]

The original poster wanted to know about owners in the south. I went through last summer and it cooled down enough. Not cold, but cool. The air coming out of the vents was cold in a few blocks, but because of the all black interior it wasn't cool enough for some. I'm talking 90 + degrees, not 60 degrees. At 60 degrees I have the heater on.

 

[REMillers]

The original poster wanted to know about owners in the south. I went through last summer and it cooled down enough. Not cold, but cool. The air coming out of the vents was cold in a few blocks, but because of the all black interior it wasn't cool enough for some. I'm talking 90 + degrees, not 60 degrees. At 60 degrees I have the heater on.

Psst temps there and here get close most times, we generally hover in the 90-100 range with 80 degree days rare. You guys just have them most of the year while we get them quickly for a few months. You also get the humidity, which is high for us but only sometimes a week or so.

But overall the car cools off fine, it isn't a mad beast though. In the P5 remember you have alot of cabin space to try and cool, therefore it will take slightly longer.

 

[mobomelter]

i think the a/c is pretty damn strong considering i can barely get the car moving in first gear with the a/c on.

 

[GimmeA3S]

There's a TSB for this problem...there's a diffuser that the dealer can install behind the coil that slows the air down as it passes over the coil, cooling the air more before it enters the car. I'm waiting for the first hot day in Texas to see how it does.