Adding rear air in '06 - anyone know how?

[othercarasaab]

Anyone know how to 'upgrade' the air on a 2006? i'd like to get the rear air going back there. One of our kids gets carsick easily, and the rear air would be helpful... didn't realize she was prone to getting car-sick till after we got the car

Also, is the rear air just the vent in the center console, or are there other vents? (haven't looked in an '08 in a while) We're going to have the car for a while, so I'm willing to put in some effort to make this work and get it setup right...

Thanks

 

[Heat]

Just the center console (I have an '09).

Basically what we do is if there are people in the front seats only we use the AC. If there are rear passengers we put the windows down. Whatever the people in the back want.

 

[othercarasaab]

Most of our driving is highway with kids in back seats... didin't realize how underpowered the A/C was compared to many (most?) cars built today - doesn't help that prior cars we've had were V6, so sloppy oversizing of A/C didn't matter as much in the design of those cars. We bought '06 in the fall, so just learning how hard it is working trying to catch up from sitting in the sun - we had a heat wave last week here in the Midwest, and it took a while to cool off the car.
We use windows to cool the car to outside temp, and that works till we hit highway, but on a 90 degree day, it was struggling after we closed the windows to get the back sufficiently aired out.

Also thinking that would be helpful to have center vent b/c on vacations we pack the car pretty tight, and we'd like to be able to use the space in the footwell - but that blocks rear foot vent. (w/ kids in carseats, that space is fair game for more bags or the dog).

So original question remains - has anyone installed the rear vent on an '06-'07, or know what I need to buy/do? Is the vent a simple replacement of the flip-down cupholder, or is the entire console different?

 

[TheMAN]

the console is different for one thing, but the evaporator unit is totally different also... obviously there's ducting differences too... it will cost too much money and work to convert this over!
basically the money you spend on doing this will be as much as the difference owed in trading it for a newer 5

 

[AwaKeN]

The entire console is different, also there is a button on the dash to activate it, then at the rear there is 3 button on the console.

So i think you will need to pass some wires to activate them, also change your dash because it's in one piece now in the 2008-2009 models as shown here:

Or here:

There is a big difference between the 08-09 and 06-07 models in the fan power the 08-09 are much more powerfull. I really think it's gona be a big job to install. Also, Idon't know if there is a spot to pass the air conduct in the center console in the 06-07 models, so it's another thing to change ...

 

[AwaKeN]

Is my anwser scared you othercarasaab ?

 

[thaxman]

Maybe scared him a bit, but I am game... if'n I can find a wrecked 08-09 with black dash/console. But here's the big question: Does anyone know if the differences are just in delevery, or are there compressor differences or blower differences, etc, etc?
I may be willing to just do the '08 improvements to the mechanical aspect, and skip all the console/duct rework.

 

[AwaKeN]

It's only a duct with a fan (Not a second zone), but like i said, Mazda improved the "Master" fan in the 08-09, so maybe it's a better mod to do than adding the duct.

 

[mazdadude]

Well I guess without seeing them side by side, you can compare mazda part numbers. I would love to upgrade mine too, but I would hate to have to go to the newer console/cupholer assy.

 

[thaxman]

OK, another dumb question: Somewhere else I just read that the 08-09s rear air are only for A/C, not heat? True, what's up with that?

As for the "master" fan improvement for the 08-09s, what are the actual differences? Just the fan? Any changes to the compressor? the pulley? capacity??

 

[thaxman]

Doh! AwaKeN already answered my last questions. Sorry.

 

[othercarasaab]

not scared, just hadn't visited for a while

Thanks all for the great postings!
No, I wasn't scared off, just haven't been online much in a while.

I knew about center console, and knew I'd have to route new pipes, and that didn't scare me - especially if I could pick up out of a donor-car. Looking at how integrated the entire console is going up into the lower dash, that is more work than I expected, but if I could get a good enough deal on the parts, I'd probably still go for it.
my bigger concern came when you mentioned the different fan and air controls. I have '06 with 'manual' a/c, so I would need to change the control system. Yes the faceplate is different on 08/09, but was thinking the pinout is probably the same as from 06/07 with automatic a/c, so I could use those parts to take care of the dash.

I also read somewhere else (don't remember where now) that the compressor was the same part in both years - so the capacity would seem to be there, I'm wondering about specs on evaporator differences.

I like your idea, Awaken, I'm thinking I might start with just the fan upgrade to get more throughput, and then possibly move to getting the venting if I can find a 'donor'.

Thanks All!
I'll keep you posted on if I can learn anything more through research.

 

[AwaKeN]

Don't forget that there is a new button on the face plate that control the fan that rear, plus the other fan control at rear !