Weak 2016 CX-5 Vents

[bbtfastback]

This is my first venture into Mazda after being a lifelong Hyundai owner.
- I live in Ottawa and it's normally -20 here (celsius)
- I keep the car in the garage and find my the car cool, but not frigid
- I would appreciate people responding who are in similar climates

I am finding the vents extremely weak in both power and temperature. I drive 30-40 minutes back and forth to work and find i have to crank the heat up to the max, the entire ride. Temperature is decent, but the force of the vent is extremely weak.

The heated seats are weak too, but I've talked about that in the past, and don't want this discussion to touch on that.

Has anyone found the same? I am in love with this car from the safety features, drivability, user interface, and about every other aspect.

What do you guys think - have you experience the same? It's to the point that I'm debating driving my 2009 Sonata beater in the winter because the vents are so bad.

Anyone?

 

[nubbers]

This is my first venture into Mazda after being a lifelong Hyundai owner.
- I live in Ottawa and it's normally -20 here (celsius)
- I keep the car in the garage and find my the car cool, but not frigid
- I would appreciate people responding who are in similar climates

I am finding the vents extremely weak in both power and temperature. I drive 30-40 minutes back and forth to work and find i have to crank the heat up to the max, the entire ride. Temperature is decent, but the force of the vent is extremely weak.

The heated seats are weak too, but I've talked about that in the past, and don't want this discussion to touch on that.

Has anyone found the same? I am in love with this car from the safety features, drivability, user interface, and about every other aspect.

What do you guys think - have you experience the same? It's to the point that I'm debating driving my 2009 Sonata beater in the winter because the vents are so bad.

Anyone?

I live in Upstate New York and the winter weather here can be similarly unforgiving. I start my car in the morning and let the cabin warm before driving to work - so far I haven't noticed any weakness or deficiency in the ventilation system. The car provides enough warmth for me to drive anywhere without wearing a jacket (I don't like to feel restricted when driving). The heated seats are sufficient enough for me - not as powerful as our 2015 Odyssey, but they do the job.

 

[frenchbiker]

There are several things that I'm not happy with and you mentioned 2 of them: the weak Heat/AC blower & the lack of vents in the back + the seats. Only 1 seat is powered (???) and their heating system is weak too.
I have not checked the effectiveness of the mirror defroster system yet but based on the 2 previous items, it wouldn't surprise me if it was also sub-par.
I wouldn't complain if I paid $25K for my car but for a model listed at $32K with its options, I think Mazda could and should do much better than that. Like I said, there are other things that don't cut it. For example, the lack of light in the glove box (and footwells). Just saying......

 

[bbtfastback]

There are several things that I'm not happy with and you mentioned 2 of them: the weak Heat/AC blower & the lack of vents in the back + the seats. Only 1 seat is powered (???) and their heating system is weak too.
I have not checked the effectiveness of the mirror defroster system yet but based on the 2 previous items, it wouldn't surprise me if it was also sub-par.
I wouldn't complain if I paid $25K for my car but for a model listed at $32K with its options, I think Mazda could and should do much better than that. Like I said, there are other things that don't cut it. For example, the lack of light in the glove box (and footwells). Just saying......

Thanks for all the feedback. Really looking for some feedback on the weak vents in the front. There are other posts that can speak to the other areas you speak to.

The vents in the front have virtually no power at all. I find myself driving with them on max for my daily 40 minute drive.

Anyone else who has a cx5 that lives in cold climates have any other opinions? What are my options if I don't like this??

 

[Anchorman]

Really? No vents in the back of a CX-5? I thought I read they did and my CX-3 definitely has......

 

[bbtfastback]

I live in Upstate New York and the winter weather here can be similarly unforgiving. I start my car in the morning and let the cabin warm before driving to work - so far I haven't noticed any weakness or deficiency in the ventilation system. The car provides enough warmth for me to drive anywhere without wearing a jacket (I don't like to feel restricted when driving). The heated seats are sufficient enough for me - not as powerful as our 2015 Odyssey, but they do the job.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the force on my vents.

 

[inlinev]

Do you have a digital thermometer that you can use to record the temperature at the vent and repeat the the test for your sonata? When using the heater, do you have the airflow split between multiple vents?

Is this your first car with automatic climate control?

 

[bbtfastback]

Do you have a digital thermometer that you can use to record the temperature at the vent and repeat the the test for your sonata? When using the heater, do you have the airflow split between multiple vents?

Is this your first car with automatic climate control?

Good questions.

I'll grab a thermometer to do the check in the coming days and do a test and report. A b.

I have the airflow switched off on the passenger vent and only used in the Center and driver vents. I also find myself going between the feet only and body only vents as the mix is woefully inadequate on both. I'll switch once one body part is getting too cold.

This is my first car with automatic climate control. I don't use the automatic control. I use it like a traditional vent system where I am controlling everything.

 

[Goguinness]

The outer vents nearer the doors have always seemed a lot weaker in air flow than the center two. This has been true in my 2013 Touring, and my current 2015 Touring.

 

[inlinev]

Have you experimented with using the full automatic setting and seeing if you notice a difference? The automatic system is always monitoring the return temperature and isn't quite completely "disabled".

If you have not, I'd suggest you try setting the temperature to whatever you desire and push the "auto" button.

 

[bbtfastback]

Have you experimented with using the full automatic setting and seeing if you notice a difference? The automatic system is always monitoring the return temperature and isn't quite completely "disabled".

If you have not, I'd suggest you try setting the temperature to whatever you desire and push the "auto" button.

Interesting. Let me try that. Hope that would do it. Thank you!!

 

[MikeM.]

Really? No vents in the back of a CX-5? I thought I read they did and my CX-3 definitely has......

Yes, all CX-5's have two rear vents just like the CX-3, one on the left and one on the right.

There is a lot of negative misinformation about the CX-5 spread as if it's a fact.

 

[yugrus]

Our automatic climate control has been very adequate in Southern Ontario. We used to have dips to -20 last winter and my wife had no complaints on her 3mi drive to/from work. Neither it felt weak on the long drives. I expected worse heater performance on SkyActiv engine, providing how efficient it is, I was thinking of the diesel heater level. Nothing like that. I get warmth way before the blue light turns off. And then I toast to perfection in few minutes, while my wife turns her temp setting below room temperature...

 

[Woodys2718]

I've had both a 14 Touring and currently a 16 GT and haven't had any heating issues what so ever.

The coldest my 14 Touring had seen was -14F. I never had the heat on High for all of my 20 mile commute. I would get about 8 miles into my commute and then begin turning the heat down.



The coldest my 16 GT has seen is -5F this year. I keep my Auto setting at 67F. Once the engine begins to warm up the fan speed will increase, then once at full operating temperature the fan will turn up to nearly full blast. It will illuminate all the bars except the last one. It will only run at this level for a short time and then gradually decrease.

We are expecting -7F tonight so we will see how my commute at 5:30am goes. My vehicle is kept in a garage which I find in this cold weather will be ~15-20 warmer than the outside temp.



My GF will sometimes turn the passenger side up above 70 and at times I have to ask her to turn her side down due to the heat migrating to my side.

Even though this isn't about heated seats... When I leave work when this cold I turn on my heated seat full blast and it's warm within about 3-4 blocks. I leave it on for another 3-4 blocks and turn it all the way off. I still feel the warmth when I get home 20 miles later.

Now mind you I have been told I'm a mini furnace myself, so this may not be typical.

 

[Paul-C]

I leave the system in automatic mode and it heats up in a reasonable amount of time - I only have a 10km, all highway drive to work, and even on the coldest days (we had -20 for most of last February) it would warm up by the time I got to work on those coldest days... although on the coldest days it would take 8km for the blue light to turn off

The auto system controls the vents used and the speed - it will almost go to the highest fan setting once the engine has enough heat. Which is nice that Mazda thought to not blast cold air at you when you first get in.

I'm on a cabin filter kick recently - perhaps your filter is plugged with leaves or dirt from the fall? Maybe that would restrict air flow? Or this will sound stupid - but on the vents that open and close, perhaps they're closed?

If it's not any of these things I would take it to your dealer.

 

[Unobtanium]

It's normal. The system blows air out of every vent, which causes weak force from the selected vents. It's abnormal except for mazda in my experience.

 

[MikeM.]

I leave the system in automatic mode and it heats up in a reasonable amount of time - I only have a 10km, all highway drive to work, and even on the coldest days (we had -20 for most of last February) it would warm up by the time I got to work on those coldest days... although on the coldest days it would take 8km for the blue light to turn off

The auto system controls the vents used and the speed - it will almost go to the highest fan setting once the engine has enough heat. Which is nice that Mazda thought to not blast cold air at you when you first get in.

I'm on a cabin filter kick recently - perhaps your filter is plugged with leaves or dirt from the fall? Maybe that would restrict air flow? Or this will sound stupid - but on the vents that open and close, perhaps they're closed?

If it's not any of these things I would take it to your dealer.

I'm glad it's working well for you in Ontario - I know it can get brutally cold there.

My vents have no problems keeping me and the wife toasty and I've learned to never turn the fan above "2" or the heat controller past 2 o'clock or it'll cook me before I realize it! However, we live in WA and, even in the mountains it rarely goes below 10-15F.

Last year I checked my cabin air filter and it looked like this:

Of course things need maintenance to perform well. Also keep the air intake at the trailing edge of the hood free of debris for the most powerful airflow. Personally, I don't like really strong breezes in the cabin so, after the cabin warms up I turn the fan from 2 to 1. I can't imagine who would want the fan at setting 4! Even 3 blows too hard for me!

 

[Unobtanium]

I'm glad it's working well for you in Ontario - I know it can get brutally cold there.

My vents have no problems keeping me and the wife toasty and I've learned to never turn the fan above "2" or the heat controller past 2 o'clock or it'll cook me before I realize it! However, we live in WA and, even in the mountains it rarely goes below 10-15F.

Last year I checked my cabin air filter and it looked like this:

Of course things need maintenance to perform well. Also keep the air intake at the trailing edge of the hood free of debris for the most powerful airflow. Personally, I don't like really strong breezes in the cabin so, after the cabin warms up I turn the fan from 2 to 1. I can't imagine who would want the fan at setting 4! Even 3 blows too hard for me!

Mine had 40k miles on it and the filter looked very good. Maybe 1/20th that fouled. I dunno if it was changed early or not.

 

[frenchbiker]

Yes, all CX-5's have two rear vents just like the CX-3, one on the left and one on the right.

There is a lot of negative misinformation about the CX-5 spread as if it's a fact.

I was talking about rear adjustable center vents, in the back of the console, where you would expect to find them and not under the front seats.

 

[minnesotaart]

It was -15F here yesterday morning. With controls in auto mode and set to 70 degrees, it warmed up nicely and plenty of air came out of the vents. As Woodys2718 mentions above, the fan starts out not blowing and then kicks in all the way to "almost full" when heat is available. Seems like plenty of airflow to me, but not sure how one could measure that. So to answer your original question, no I do not feel that the airflow from the HVAC vents is weak at all.