Air conditioning weak; new 2012 mazda3

MARCSCHARF

Member
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2012 MAZDA3 HATCHBACK
JUNE 7, 2012
I HAVE A NEW 2012 MAZDA3 WITH SKYACTIV. HATCHBACK. THE AIR CONDITIONER SEEMS WEAK. OF COURSE, I WILL ASK DEALER WHEN NEXT THERE. BUT I WANT TO 1ST GET WELL PREPARED.

I NOTICED THAT MY INTERIOR WAS NOT COOLING AS EXPECTED; CHECKED A/C OUTPUT TEMP AT CENTER DUCT: ABOUT 45 DEGREES F. (ALL SETTINGS AT MAX; OUTSIDE TEMP 85 DEG.). NORMAL FOR MOST CARS IS 40 DEGREES, OR LOWER.
BEFORE I CHALLENGE MY DEALER ABOUT THIS, I AM RESEARCHING HERE 1ST: DOES ANYONE KNOW OF (UNDER HOOD) A/C SYSTEM ADJUSTMENTS THAT CAN IMPROVE THIS? OR OTHER HELPFUL INFO.
I LIVE IN TEXAS; THIS WEAK COOLING WAS OBSERVED DURING MILD SPRING WEATHER; MAYBE 85 DEGREES OUTSIDE. I DREAD THE RESULT WHEN WE SOON GET DAILY TEMPS AROUND 100 DEGREES!
THANX FOR YOUR HELP.
MARC
(DIRECT REPLY WOULD BE GREAT: marcscharf@att.net)
 
Weather, humidity, and how long your car has sat out in the sun are going to play a part in your car feeling cool in the interior. What color is your car? Their are no adjustments under the hood. I live in Texas too, as well as work for Mazda. Take it in when you can, and they should check freon levels and High/Low side pressures. Where are you located exactly? I've noticed my 2.0 NON skyactiv takes a little bit to cool. off the interior when its hot out, it just takes time.
 
Although an older Mazda, our Speed3 takes a while as well but we know that it is due to the heat we have now. After about 10 minutes of driving around it feels nice and cool but if your numbers are not coinciding within specs then as stated above take it in to get checked.
 
Mine too. They don't use R-12 anymore, it's probably R-134A which is not as efficient. Let us know what the dealer has to say...
 
This is shocking to me and I'm sorry you're dealing with this as summer kicks in. I've had my 3i hatch for about three weeks now and I think the A/C is too strong, even compared to my previous Mazdaspeed 3's auto climate control (which was pretty pointless, I'd say). I start to get too cold beyond the "1" fan setting. As for how quickly the cool air starts to arrive upon start-up (even on hot days), that only takes a minute or so. I'd get that checked out.
 
You're not the only one, I feel like my Mazda 3's AC is really pathetic even compared to my old 2009 2.3 and I'm in one of the cooler regions of the state.
 
It was 105 here in Sacramento today. It took a good ten minutes to cool down but after that I had to turn the fan down. Too cold. I'd have yours checked.
 
You're not the only one, I feel like my Mazda 3's AC is really pathetic even compared to my old 2009 2.3 and I'm in one of the cooler regions of the state.

Even though I'm die hard Mazda, and even work for them, I'd have to agree somewhat. If you look at the size of the compressor, they seem to have gotten smaller. However, my thermometer that I leave stuck in the vents reads anywhere from 35-45 degrees. With that said, I don't complain at all lol. Let's see your house get that cold ;)
 
My '03 Protege5 takes a while to cool the interior down, well over five minutes in 90 plus ambient air. Even with the Sunlight Silver paint, it still absorbs a ton of heat inside. I guess the all black, leather interior contributes to that. The A/C puts out 35 degree air from the center vents at full fan speed and on recirculate. That's the spec. from the shop manual for this car. My home's central air puts out 55 degree air from the vents. All temps. measured with a digital IR device.
 
I just bought my Mazda and I feel mine has the same issue. It was probably 90/95 up here a couple days ago and my AC seems like it took about 10 minutes to get going, but once it did get through the heat and humidity I find myself turning it down in a hurry.
 
You guys should try this trick. When you get in the car, roll all the windows down(weather permiting of course) as to release alot of the built up heat since it's hotter inside the car than it is outside the car. Drive the car for at least half a mile before even turning the A/C on and roll the windows up. Mine cools down pretty nicely. You have to remember if it's 100* outside, it's at least 130*-140* inside the car if the windows are up. Under the A/C's max setting which recirculates the air it's trying to cool off 130*-140* air instead of 100* air or less. Just some food for thought
 
AC efficiency is measured by the temp drop from air going into the AC unit to the temp of air coming out, so the temp of the air coming out is only one factor. It also takes into account the relative humidity of that air as it takes a lot more work to remove the water than to cool the air. On rec it is the temp of the air in the car going in vs coming out. If you are in hot and dry it may better to use outside air if it is cooler until the car cools down, but if you are in hot and humid you should use rec. After a pass or two the humidity gets removed that's why the rec gives the best AC performance and it works a lot better after a few minutes as the air dries out. The engine speed and the outside temperature and speed of air going through the condenser is also significant. All units have antifreeze switches that keep them from freezing up so the air is never passing through a below freezing unit so it will never be below 35 and if car is hot it will take a while to get that cold. In a hot car 45 is good...
 
I noticed my AC takes a while to start up too. But has anyone noticed the grinding sound when you turn on the AC after a cold start? I took it into the dealership and they said it was the AC compressor and it was normal, but it doesn't sound normal to me... To me it sounded like the dealership didn't know what to do and they didn't want to deal with it... Any thoughts?
 
I noticed my AC takes a while to start up too. But has anyone noticed the grinding sound when you turn on the AC after a cold start? I took it into the dealership and they said it was the AC compressor and it was normal, but it doesn't sound normal to me... To me it sounded like the dealership didn't know what to do and they didn't want to deal with it... Any thoughts?

My A/C also has pitiful performance. I have to run it for a good 15-20 minutes to cool the car down in 90 degree temps. I brought it into the dealer and they said it was performing just fine.

My car does the grinding noise also when I first turn on the air conditioner or the defroster. I have a mechanic friend who listened to the noise and he said it sounds like the AC compressor clutch needs to be adjusted or replaced. Unfortunately, when I had it in to the dealer they said they could not replicate the sound, so they did nothing about it.

I have read several people complaining about the grinding noise on various forums. What is the build date of your Mazda?
 
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