A/C on a 2011 CX9 Touring not blowing cool

SupaDave03

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2011 Mazda CX9 Touring
Has anyone else notice that during the hot part of the day it takes forever for the A/C to blow cool enough to cool the car down. Also when turned down one notch from high it blows out cooler than full blast. Im going to have it checked out next week hopefully.
 
The speed at which A/C cools is really relative to what your used to. Both my 6 and the 9 take about 2 or three minutes or so to cool down my interior to about 75on a hot (>85 degrees) day. I don't really feel it's excessive. One thing I do to help with cooling is to remotely open the windows and sunroof as I walk toward the car (a very cool feature on the higher end Mazdas via pressing unlock twice with a press and hold on the second press). This allows hot air to escape.

I think one of the main mistakes people make is that they don't vent the hotter air (including the air trapped in the HVAC system) that has stagnated inside their car before you start asking the car to cool down the cabin. A car interior can easily reach 140 degrees on a hot day. Driving with the rear windows and sunroof open for a few minutes while running the A/C seems to help push the hot air up and out, at least in my case.
 
While im driving it kinda blows out cool after about 5 min, but when I stop at an idle it gets warm again. It turly only gets cold when im driving at freeway speeds. I will try your suggestions and see if it helps Thanks.
 
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I've noticed this on my brand new CX9. I drove several different CX9's and noticed the same thing. Outside temp was around 100F each time, and I drove three vehicles. It may be that the AC is slightly undersized for the vehicle. I do open the AC to outside air because it is cooler than the inside. It helps to get a windshield cover, and to also park in shade if you can. Not nearly as quick to cool as my Pilot was. One other thing: All R134a systems do not do well when sitting in traffic idling or going slow. They start to blow warm air and do not cool down until you get some speed and ram air over the condenser and get some RPM's on the compressor. The R12 systems never had this problem.
 
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i had my cx9 at the dealer recently and was told there was a recall for this issue (ac not functioning well when hot out). you might investigate with your dealer to see if you're eligibile for the fix.
 
I have no complaint with my A/C of CX9.
Much better than the one I had on Honda Odyssey.
 
Use the Recirculating Air button. It makes all the difference on really hot days.
 
Hmmmm.. Havent notice it since its been cool finally down here in Texas, but let me know what they did for you to correct it and I will ask my dealer too.
Thanks.
i had my cx9 at the dealer recently and was told there was a recall for this issue (ac not functioning well when hot out). you might investigate with your dealer to see if you're eligibile for the fix.
 
i wasn't having a problem with the ac - it was there for other reasons. they did a flash to address the ac recall.
 
I just bought a 2012 and had my A/C firmware checked this past Monday in the hopes that it would need the update and that might just make the A/C work without having to keep the OEM radio connected (I replaced the radio with my Kenwood navigation unit).

I didn't need the update per the technician when he looked up the software version.

So, it would seem that the 2012s are coming off the line with the latest - which I guess is what one would expect but you never know.
 
Hope this TSB helps solve the problem.
 

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I have a 2010 cx-9 A/C has always blown cold no problems but recently I've noticed the A/C is not cooling during the hot parts of the day. I was hearing a high pitch sound when the A/C kicked in so I had the left side fan motor replaced but the problem still exist. Any ideas?
 
dondagun: Look through your front bumper and see if a rock or something has struck your a/c condenser. Below is an example of a damaged condenser.
It could also be a small pinhole if something really small struck it. For those you would need a leak test. There are a couple ways shops do that.
There are actual leak testers which they wave in front of the a/c condenser with the car running and a/c on, and the device can detect if any refrigerant is leaking.
The other way is introducing dye into the system and it leaks out the hole in the a/c condenser.

Course it could be something else all together, but usually since the a/c condenser behind the bumper is the first line of defense, it's usually the first part a shop will look at for troubleshooting. Good luck.

EDIT: AFTER ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THE PICTURE BELOW I FOUND ONLINE...ITS A POOR EXAMPLE, AND DOESN'T REALLY APPEAR DAMAGED AT ALL.
THE HORIZONTAL LINES ARE THE COOLING TUBES AND YOU WANT TO LOOK FOR DAMAGE TO THOSE HORIZONTAL LINES.

 
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If it were leaking refrigerant wouldn't it eventually stop cooling altogether whether outside was hot or cool?
 
Yes at some point. I'm not sure exactly how much refrigerant the CX-9 holds, but most sedans hold somewhere around 1.5lb of refrigerant. If it's a very slow leak, say 1 ounce per 3 months, and in 9 months you're 3 ounces low, just being 3 ounces low can make your a/c sluggish. If you're a "little low" on refrigerant due to a leak, that could certainly cause an issue.
Again, your issue could be damage to the condenser, or could be something else. Could be a bad switch somewhere, could be a compressor issue, could be many things. A/C guys always look at the condenser first though, on newer vehicles where the compressor is not likely to have failed yet.
 
Checked the condenser and everything looks fine. With the engine on I noticed the fan is still not spinning.
So what ever activates the fan is where the issue might be.
 

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Ok, so the mechanic told me its the fan control module CY031515YA that needs changing #12 in the diagram left side. its around $300 (boom02)
 

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