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Mazda3 Climate Control Questions

155 messages,  Last post on Sep 24, 2009 at 7:30 AM

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What is this discussion about? Mazda MAZDA3, Mazda MAZDASPEED MAZDA3, Heating / Cooling, Hatchback, Sedan

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#71 of 155 2005 3s sedan no A/C probs, but... by vlipgyore Jul 12, 2006 (10:47 pm)
I have noticed that the severe slope of the windshield and the large dash board cause what I consider a super heating effect of the dash. The dash super heats (mine's black)and works like a radiator and it takes a bit of time to cool the cabin off because of this. I live in southern California and it can get pretty hot but we have very little humidity so I don't know if that's a factor or not, perhaps I just got lucky with a good A/C. Just my 2 cents!
#72 of 155 Re: Still unsolved? [nifty56] by chacobleu Jul 13, 2006 (9:01 am)
Replying to: nifty56 (Jul 12, 2006 6:03 pm) I have an 05 hatch built in May 05. That cycling was noted in the first 10-15 minutes of driving. The coldest middle vent temp I observed was 37 and the warmest was 46 using either fan speed 1 or 2, respectfully.   tweaking a few things could improve things. sure a larger capacity a/c could improve things, but do u really want a radiating dash while sitting in commutter traffic under direct sunlight and 90+ temp and humidity? my previous vehicle had a silver tone dash; lighter color dashes to pose more relection in the windshield, but not enought to be nuisance when looking out. btw - coldest temp out from those middle vents was 31 degrees.   home a/c duct runs through many attics, but they are/should be well insulated so that once the a/c air is able to reach it's coldest, the duck itself is cold and stays cold thanks to the insulation. If the ducts carrying the air are exposed (not insulated at all) to direct heat from a deeply radiating dash, what a waste of energy.
#73 of 155 No problems with '06 GT Auto-Climate Control by slate1 Jul 13, 2006 (7:07 pm)
I was posting here for a while a few months ago and just thought I'd chime back in to say that I've had absolutely no problems whatsoever with the level of performance of my A/C in my '06 GT Sedan.   I'll qualify this by saying that I live in South Carolina where we've routinely had mid-90's and high humidity this summer. I commute about 10 minutes to and from work and it always cools off pretty quickly in the afternoon going home.   I do keep a Mazda sun-shade the dealership gave me in the front window to keep the dash and steering wheel from getting too hot. The car typically bakes in the sun all day and is usually quite hot. I vent the heat by opening the window and sunroof for about a minute.   The auto-climate control will run full blast on recirculate for probably 4 minutes and by the time I'm home it's running on Level 2-3 and the car is comfortable. I'd say within 4-5 minutes the car is comfortable.
#74 of 155 AC issue - plus - void my warranty! by z71bill Jul 17, 2006 (10:03 am)
I had convinced myself that the AC in my Mazda3 was working better than it did last summer. Then my wife buys a new car - it blows ICE CUBES out of the vents - you must turn it down (or is it up?) after driving only a block - even on a 97 degree - high humidity day (like yesterday in Houston) - it will just plain freeze you.   Then I jump in the Mazda3 and its like - why doesn't this thing cool better?   I added a little R-134a to my old truck - it only took part of a can of refrigerant - so I though what the heck - lets hook up to the Mazda3 and see what we can see.   I drove the Mazda3 around the block a few times to get the AC working -per the gauge the refrigerant level was good - low side right at 45 PSI - my vent temp was running between 55 and 59 degrees - recirc on - fan speed 4. So I add a little R-134a - vent temp drops to 52-56 - I wait a few minutes - vent temp still 52-56 - so I add a little more - vent temp drops again to 50-53 - add more 48-52 - add more still 48-52 add a little more 50-54. So I bled a little gas out of the low side - as I did the vent temp started dropping - after a few tries I got the vent temp down to 48-52 again - so I figured I must be at the exact sweet spot.   Just a few of the fine points & things that seem strange.   The reading on my gauge started at 45 PSI and even though I added R-134a several times - and then took gas out several times - the reading stayed right at 45 PSI. Its not a very fancy gauge - but when I added refrigerant to my truck the PSI went from under 40 up to about 50 PSI. So I think the gauge does work. I have no explaination why the PSI reading on the Mazda3 did not change.   Its hard to quantify how much R-134a I added (or took out) each time I adjusted. I started with a new 12 ounce can (on my truck) I guess it was a little over 1/2 gone when I hooked up to the Mazda3. Think I added less than 1/2 of an ounce each time - just a few seconds with the valve open. In total I added 2 ounces - then took out maybe 1/2 an ounce. So the net amount I added was very small. Could be why the PSI reading did not change!   It is strange that such a small adjustment can make this much difference.   Although 48 - 52 is not great - (my 7 year old truck was kicking out mass quantities of 42 degree air) - the few degrees improvement from the 55-59 starting point is very significant.   I am not recommending making these or any adjustments to your AC system - its dangerous - it could damage your car & even kill you - it could possible void the warranty on your AC system - which IMO means little or nothing since Mazda has not exactly honored it so far anyway. Replies to this message: nifty56 (Jul 17, 2006 12:40 pm) nifty56 (Jul 17, 2006 3:20 pm) richml (Jul 18, 2006 10:31 am)
#75 of 155 Re: AC issue - plus - void my warranty! [z71bill] by nifty56 Jul 17, 2006 (12:40 pm)
Replying to: z71bill (Jul 17, 2006 10:03 am) Bill what car did your wife buy. I tried a Camry 2007 V6 and the A/C was not very good, at idle with the car sun soaked it never really got cold..I thought I am still in my Mazda, waited and waited to see how long it would take to cool, gave up, after some average speed the A/C started to cool down the car, not impressed. noisey fan also. Also tried the Hyundai Sonata, V6 same day, car was sun soak, moonroof open, the A/C was cold right from the start up. No waiting, no need to lower the windows and open the door etc, start and go..After a few minutes turned the fan to almost 1. Fan was very quiet even at max.speed. outside temp 30C+ Replies to this message: nifty56 (Jul 17, 2006 3:20 pm) richml (Jul 18, 2006 10:31 am)
#76 of 155 Re: AC issue - plus - void my warranty! [nifty56] by nifty56 Jul 17, 2006 (3:20 pm)
Replying to: nifty56 (Jul 17, 2006 12:40 pm) also forgot to mention, The center vents on the Camry are located the same place as the mazda 3, top of the center console. While the Sonata is in the middle. Is it because where the vents are located that could cause a weak A/C. Vents closer to the top of the dash which is hot, vent piping not insulated. Replies to this message: richml (Jul 18, 2006 10:31 am)
#77 of 155 nifty56 by z71bill Jul 17, 2006 (4:21 pm)
After an extensive search she decided on the Acura TL - the IS 250 was my first choice - but I could never find a car (250 or 350) that was close to what we wanted (option wise) plus most had black interiors - even though the AC seemed to work well we just did not want that color.   We did test the Camry - something I said I would never buy - but the 2007 SE looks good - the AC in the Camry was not great - it took a while to cool off - but eventually did - if we had not just experienced the AC system from hell (thanks Mazda) maybe we would have not been so sensitive. Replies to this message: nifty56 (Jul 17, 2006 5:54 pm)
#78 of 155 Re: nifty56 [z71bill] by nifty56 Jul 17, 2006 (5:54 pm)
Replying to: z71bill (Jul 17, 2006 4:21 pm) The 2007 Camry V6 with the 6 speed tranny are having some serious issues.
#79 of 155 Re: AC issue - plus - void my warranty! [nifty56] by richml Jul 18, 2006 (10:31 am)
Replying to: nifty56 (Jul 17, 2006 3:20 pm) Probably over a year ago, on a site with Asian 3 owners, an owner had posted pics of his install - he'd taken the dash apart and wrapped the AC ducts in a foil covered insulation, probably about 1/4" thick.
#80 of 155 Cold A/C by sandman46 Jul 20, 2006 (8:08 am)
Our '05 3s sedan is working pretty well. I did take it back to the dealer last month while getting the oil changed, asked the service writer to check the a/c. All working according to specs and I notice I keep the dial at 2 and I have no problem. The wife prefers 3 at first, then 2. My new ride is a '06 Civic LX and the a/c works just great. I think that some people are having a/c issues, but the majority of folks probaly aren't. We're happy with ours & having the dealer recheck the system made us feel better about it. But I do think that all the bickering is tedious already. If anyone has had a successful fix for their "problem", that should be shared by all. But when it starts to get personal & a bit nasty, that person looses all credibility in my eyes. We're all adults here & are looking for the greater good with the a/c issues. We should try to remember this and act accordingly. As Pat Benetar said..."take your best shot"...let's just keep things simple & agree to disagree!!!!   The Sandman

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