You are here: Forums Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazda3 Climate Control Questions

Mazda3 Climate Control Questions

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

You are in the Mazda3 Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer

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

Messages Page 11 of 16 1 ... 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 16 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

#100 of 155 Re: waygrabow [smallcar1] by chacobleu Aug 04, 2006 (8:34 am)
Replying to: smallcar1 (Aug 02, 2006 6:14 pm) U r a much braver soul than I to have test driving 5 vehicles in triple digit temps after they've been baking under the sun. I mean, I naturally assumed u test drove the civic, corolla, and jetta as well as the 2 Mazdas under the same extreme conditions. Did u? Replies to this message: smallcar1 (Aug 04, 2006 10:15 pm)
#101 of 155 Re: waygrabow [ex_tdier] by smallcar1 [z71bill] [smallcar1] by dc_driver Aug 04, 2006 (8:48 am)
Replying to: smallcar1 (Aug 03, 2006 8:05 am) smallcar1,   When I was shopping for a car in June, I drove the 3 and 06 Civic EX (sedan) back to back (it was about 93 degrees) and I thought the A/C performance was very close..   That said, you should definitely not buy a 3 if you have any reservations... Replies to this message: nifty56 (Aug 04, 2006 6:37 pm)
#102 of 155 Re: waygrabow [ex_tdier] by smallcar1 [z71bill] [smallcar1] [dc_driver] by nifty56 Aug 04, 2006 (6:37 pm)
Replying to: dc_driver (Aug 04, 2006 8:48 am) Tested a Camry and found the A/C was like my Mazda...sucks, wouldn't buy one, also it had a 6 spped auto tranny that was not smooth, always hunting for gears. Also tested the Hyundai Sonata and the A/C was GREAT. Cold right from the start up, no need to roll windows down etc. Both tested with outside temp 30C and both cars sun soaked. The hyundia also had a moon roof that had the shade open but the window closed. Come on Mazda find out what Hyundia is doing right.
#103 of 155 Re: waygrabow [chacobleu] by smallcar1 Aug 04, 2006 (10:15 pm)
Replying to: chacobleu (Aug 04, 2006 8:34 am) I tested 2 3's and the Jetta the same day although the Jetta was parked indoors. I first noticed the bad a/c when I tested a 3 when the temp was in the '70s and it took a while to cool the car. I tested the Corolla on the same day and it cooled the car in a block, plus I know someone who has a Corolla and the A/C is cold.   I tested the Civic w/ temps in the '80s. Incidentally, a co-worker has an '03 Mazda MPV and his A/C sucks too.
#104 of 155 My a/c seems to work OK by tomkozski Aug 06, 2006 (9:08 pm)
Hello all,   Bought a 2006 3i, Titanium Gray with black interior, a month ago. A/c in 80 degree weather works fine. I live in DC, so I just experienced the 100 degree hell. The air coming out of the vents was cold, but the dashboard was really hot, preventing the interior from getting cold, but it was still bearable. When the sun was out, took about 10 min for car to cool to a comfortable level. To keep it cool, I had to have it on recirc and on speed 3. Once a few clouds covered up the sun, it got really cold in my car, even with the thermometer showing 103degrees outside. On nights during that hot week, when the car's thermometer showed it was still 96degrees outside, the car got really cold.   So from my experience, it seems that the black interior soaks up a lot of sun and heat, and the a/c struggles. But once that beating sun is gone, a/c works fine. Replies to this message: chacobleu (Aug 07, 2006 9:48 am)
#105 of 155 Re: My a/c seems to work OK [tomkozski] by chacobleu Aug 07, 2006 (9:48 am)
Replying to: tomkozski (Aug 06, 2006 9:08 pm) That is why tinting the side/rear window will result in a marginal improvement on the interior. It’s the front windshield and the black dash that the driver/passenger sits closest to, but over a period of several hours under direct sunlight, that absorption radiates and cooks the rest of the interior. The windshield screen helps a lot in this case. Someone on this forum disagreed in that once the screen is removed for driving purposes, the dash begins its task of heat absorption. Albeit true, at least with the sunscreen you get ahead of the curve instead of behind the eight ball on hot sunny days. This way, the ac is better able to keep up with the heat absorbing dash/interior.   We had 100+ temps in NJ last week. I took that as the opportunity to do some digital vent temp testing. Here are some discoveries.   First test: early morning (7:00am). Car has been sitting about 12 hours outside. Still in the shade as the sun has not made it over the trees. The rear of the vehicle is facing the sun. Turn on aux power and fan speed to 2. The car’s engine is off at this point. 20 minutes later, the middle vent temp is equal to outside ambient temp. Vent temp = 79.4   Second test: still early morning (7:20am) Car has been sitting about 12 hours outside. Still in the shade as the sun has not made it over the trees. The rear of the vehicle is facing the sun. Turn the vehicle engine on and fans speed remains at 2 with ac off. Twenty minutes later the middle vent temp is reading between 1 and 2 degrees higher than the outside ambient temp (which is up a degree). Vent temp = 82.3   Third test: the drive to work. Consists of a 4 mile highway stint eastbound. Sun is directly in front of me; no shade. Takes about 6 minutes cause of volume. Average speed 35 mph. The fans speed remains at 2 with the ac off. Before exiting towards another highway due north, the middle vent temp is read 11 degrees warmer than the outside ambient temp (up another degree). Vent temp = 92.7   Fourth test: A 25 mile highway haul northbound. Sun is now to my right for the most part, at times directly in front of me and, at one point, to the left of me. There is partial shade from trees to the right of me. So it’s a good mix. The fans speed remains at 2 with the ac off. Cruising speed of 70+mph is reached quickly. In the first mile or two, the middle vent temp drops almost 4 degrees while the outside ambient temp is up 2 degrees to 83. Time: approx. 8:30a.   During this part of the ride, the middle vent temp held anywhere from 6 to 8 degrees higher than the ambient outside temp. Both temps creped up equally. At the end of the whole ride (only a couple of misc miles remained), the middle vent temp was reading 92.2 while the ambient outside temp recorded 84.   With the car off, the difference was 0 degrees. With the motor running idle, the difference was a couple. But once the sun started baking the dash, that difference jumped. No doubt a colder ac would help, but like tinting windows, the difference would be marginal. Its like having the hot oven door and a cold refrigerator door open at the same time.   One more thing I’d like to point out. I tested the ac on those hot days, as well as on the not so hot days (about 90). Car baked in the sun for about 8 hours with a windshield sun screen installed and the moon roof open to vent. Again, I tested the middle vent with fan speed on 3 and recirc all the time. These are the results while driving on the highway at 70+ mph. On the very hot days (99 and 100), the vent temp range was 43 to 51. The lowest temp of 43 was reached towards the end of my 30 mile drive home. On the not so hot days, the middle vent temp range was 39 to 49, again with the lowest temp reached towards the end of my 30 mile drive home. Closer to home, in stop and go conditions, the middle vent temp range would be higher by 6 to 8 degrees, regardless of how hot the ambient temp. Mind you, this was after the ac had been on for the better part of 40 minutes and had a chance to cool things down a bit.   Even though the ac temp coming out of the middle vents was higher by 2 or 3 degrees on the hotter days vs. the not so hot days, it just felt colder the hotter the day. Go figure. Funny as this may sound, I had to turn the far left vent away from the steering wheel because it felt as if I was getting frost bite on my knuckles. And I know for a fact the temp coming out of the vent isn’t that cold.
#106 of 155 Re: A/C Mod for the somewhat adventurous [ex_tdier] by seasideclub Sep 10, 2006 (5:08 am)
Replying to: ex_tdier (Jun 21, 2006 6:53 pm) That page is missing. Can somebody repost? I'm ready to actually order the MS3. My VW Passat's AC sucks, so I know a bad AC when I get in one. Thanks. Replies to this message: ex_tdier (Sep 10, 2006 5:44 pm)
#107 of 155 Re: A/C Mod for the somewhat adventurous [seasideclub] by ex_tdier Sep 10, 2006 (5:44 pm)
Replying to: seasideclub (Sep 10, 2006 5:08 am) Post 932: http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=53106.930
#108 of 155 First real test of my 3's AC by bruce6 Sep 11, 2006 (8:24 pm)
Living in San Francisco, my AC rarely has to work hard, even in summer.(For the record, my car is a 2006 5-door, 2.3L, without auto climate control, purchased 1/31/06). But I recently drove from SF to Los Angeles and back, through the central valley in 100-degree, baking sunshine. The car's AC did fine. It didn't make the car frigid, but did make it pleasantly cool -- enough that I had to turn down the fan speed after a while to keep it from getting too cold. Living where I do, I could cope with weak AC, but I'm glad I didn't experience what others have described.
#109 of 155 M3 AC on Backorder by klowe Sep 27, 2006 (8:01 pm)
I just had to post about my frustrations with my 3. I bought a used 3 w/ 11K miles, it now has 26K on it. A friend of mine had it on his lot and gave me a good deal. On August 10th, I was driving home from work in the rain so I had the de-fogger on (Compressor running). I heard a belt squeal as if it were slipping and then the AC stopped working. When I arrived at home, I popped the hood and noticed that the compressor smelt like it had burned up. Took it to the local dealership the next morning (on Friday, Aug. 11th). The service clerk said I'd have to make an apointment for Tuesday of the next week (Aug 15). I told him that the AC had burn up. I took the car in and dropped it off the morning of the 15th. I get a call later that day and he proceeds to tell me the AC compressor has burned up and he has to order a new one. Wow, I would think they could have taken 10 minutes to look at it the first day I took it in and made that decision especially since I told them what the problem was. So I wait and finally get a phone call around the 25th that the new compressor is in. I scheduled an appointment for Aug. 28th. Again, I dropped the car off in the morning and left it there. I get a call at work that day and the service clerk proceeds to tell me that they had ordered a compressor for a Mazda6 and not a 3. Arrrrghhh!!! Then, to top that off, he lets me know that the compressor for the 3 is on back order. Well, here it is a month later, and I still haven't heard from the dealership. Obviously, they have major problem. I've had some additional issues w/ the car including the trip meter / radio presets resetting. The battery is fine BTW. I did have the dealership check that out and they found nothing. Additionally, the washer fluid sprayer will not work. I'm not sure if it's the pump not working or if it's just not getting power as I haven't had time to check. I must say, I fell in love with the car when I bought it and my 16 yr. old daughter loves it also . I love the way the car drives, rides, and handles. But what gives with all of the small issues with the car? This is my 1st Mazda, and it very well may be my last. I'm considering getting rid of it based on the track record I've had with it so far. I also, currently , own a 99 Chevy Silverado, a 2000 Mercury Villager (aka Nissan Quest), a 79 CJ-7 (project vehicle), and a 92 Merc. Tracer (currently disabled). Replies to this message: ex_tdier (Sep 27, 2006 8:13 pm)

Messages Page 11 of 16 1 ... 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 16 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

You are here: Forums Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazda3 Climate Control Questions