New Member here: I just test drove a cx 9 signature - "dreadful A/C" is correct
- Thread starter pholway
- Start date
karthik1516
Member
- :
- Mazda CX9 GT 2018, Mazda3 2010
Test drove a CX 9 GT
Over the weekend I went for a test drive. The dealer only had a 2016 CX 9 for test drive. I would say the AC was not very bad. Though it was working hard. But in a while it cooled below 70.
Over the weekend I went for a test drive. The dealer only had a 2016 CX 9 for test drive. I would say the AC was not very bad. Though it was working hard. But in a while it cooled below 70.
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- 2012 CX-9 Touring
So true. Saab had an ac cycle when the cabin temp was hot that started by full fans and open vents to replace the 150f cabin air with 100f outside air.
Then it went full recirculation to cool that then started opening the recirculation.
Noisy but cooled the car quick.
I have a 2016 GT Black/Black and it's honestly one of the best AC's I've ever had. I live in Florida. Hotter than hades and it performs very well. I will say that even on it's lowest fan setting it can be noisy. However it works so well, I never take it off the first fan setting. I think most run "Auto" and I've heard that can take forever to cool down the car. My windows are also dealer tinted. Now if I could just get my infotainment system to work properly....
BinDerSmokDat
Member
- :
- 2016 CX9 GT AWD
So we've had some temps over 95F recently with the dashboard temp gauge reading 106F ambient when getting into the car parked in the sun in the hot work parking lot.(shocked)
So I've noticed a few things...
First, if the windshield is facing the sun, the car is MUCH hotter than when the sun is hitting the sides and rear.
Considering my dark blue car with black interior should be getting MORE sun when the long side is facing the sun, that is telling me that the side window tint, with the sunscreens UP is doing a great job of stopping much of the sunlight from heating up the car.
It also tells me that the huge black dash, black console and black leather seats are absorbing a lot of solar radiation and converting it to heat.
And because the console wraps around the passengers more than in some cars, that means you are surrounded by lots of material that is radiating heat both when you first jump in on a hot day and when driving down the road.
Next is the vents; my wife's 2017 Mazda3 has big round vents and they have MUCH better rotation and variability in where they point.
In the CX-9 I struggle to get the two central AC vents to point at me so I can comfortably feel the air flow.
In the 3 I can easily point the vents at me and quickly get frozen out with the AC set at 74F.
So pay particular attention to how your vents are set in the CX-9.
I'm 6'6" and sit as far back as possible and find can actually get more air form the passengers central vent than form the drivers.
When riding alone, they both point at me and I shut the far passenger vent entirely.
Next if you hit the Auto AC button, check your settings.
If you are riding alone, turn off "Rear." The AC runs needlessly for people who aren't there.
Also make sure you use Recirc (the arrows pointing in an oval shape.)
It is much more efficient to cool cabin air than outside air.
Resist the urge to use the fresh air setting unless absolutely neccesary, such as window fogging.
So to cool your car quickly...
Park where the sun will be hitting ideally the rear or at least side of your vehicle IN THE AFTERNOON.
It doesn't matter where the sun hits your car the rest of the day, it matters where it hits your car in the few hours before you get inside it.
Use the 2nd row sunscreens. They work. If you have kids, make sure they put them up when exiting the car (or better just leave them up all the time, I like the extra tint and security they provide.)
When getting in the car it will almost ALWAYS be hotter than outside air, so roll down all windows immediately to get hot air out.
Set AC to 60F and make sure it is on Recirc. Note that if you switch to Defog or hit Auto, the AC will select fresh air as default, you need to set it back to Recirc.
If you do not have rear passengers turn off Rear.
When you feel cold air coming from vents, close windows.
I HATE heat and while the CX-9 cockpit is a heat magnet, once moving the AC does a great job of keeping things cool.
I do NOT see the AC as a problem at all, it's simply a symptom of the interior layout, interior color and possibly darker vehicle colors.
Once moving, I don't even give the AC a second thought and can run it on the lowest fan settings and fairly high temp settings (74F) and remain very comfortable.
So I've noticed a few things...
First, if the windshield is facing the sun, the car is MUCH hotter than when the sun is hitting the sides and rear.
Considering my dark blue car with black interior should be getting MORE sun when the long side is facing the sun, that is telling me that the side window tint, with the sunscreens UP is doing a great job of stopping much of the sunlight from heating up the car.
It also tells me that the huge black dash, black console and black leather seats are absorbing a lot of solar radiation and converting it to heat.
And because the console wraps around the passengers more than in some cars, that means you are surrounded by lots of material that is radiating heat both when you first jump in on a hot day and when driving down the road.
Next is the vents; my wife's 2017 Mazda3 has big round vents and they have MUCH better rotation and variability in where they point.
In the CX-9 I struggle to get the two central AC vents to point at me so I can comfortably feel the air flow.
In the 3 I can easily point the vents at me and quickly get frozen out with the AC set at 74F.
So pay particular attention to how your vents are set in the CX-9.
I'm 6'6" and sit as far back as possible and find can actually get more air form the passengers central vent than form the drivers.
When riding alone, they both point at me and I shut the far passenger vent entirely.
Next if you hit the Auto AC button, check your settings.
If you are riding alone, turn off "Rear." The AC runs needlessly for people who aren't there.
Also make sure you use Recirc (the arrows pointing in an oval shape.)
It is much more efficient to cool cabin air than outside air.
Resist the urge to use the fresh air setting unless absolutely neccesary, such as window fogging.
So to cool your car quickly...
Park where the sun will be hitting ideally the rear or at least side of your vehicle IN THE AFTERNOON.
It doesn't matter where the sun hits your car the rest of the day, it matters where it hits your car in the few hours before you get inside it.
Use the 2nd row sunscreens. They work. If you have kids, make sure they put them up when exiting the car (or better just leave them up all the time, I like the extra tint and security they provide.)
When getting in the car it will almost ALWAYS be hotter than outside air, so roll down all windows immediately to get hot air out.
Set AC to 60F and make sure it is on Recirc. Note that if you switch to Defog or hit Auto, the AC will select fresh air as default, you need to set it back to Recirc.
If you do not have rear passengers turn off Rear.
When you feel cold air coming from vents, close windows.
I HATE heat and while the CX-9 cockpit is a heat magnet, once moving the AC does a great job of keeping things cool.
I do NOT see the AC as a problem at all, it's simply a symptom of the interior layout, interior color and possibly darker vehicle colors.
Once moving, I don't even give the AC a second thought and can run it on the lowest fan settings and fairly high temp settings (74F) and remain very comfortable.
BinDerSmokDat
Member
- :
- 2016 CX9 GT AWD
Not exactly...the front and rear AC you the same compressor and condenser.
You have a front system evaporator and a rear evaporator.
That means your vehicle only makes "X" amount of cold and then you can choose to blow that cold in the front, back or some combination of the two.
If you only have front row passengers, running only the front air ducted towards the occupants is the most efficient method of cooling the occupants.
If you have 2nd (and or 3rd) row passengers, running both will be the best way of cooling everyone.
Running the rear might speed up cooling the interior for the first few minutes of driving, but it isn't doubling the output and once the interior is close to comfortable, running the rear is a waste.
The first time I checked, I thought you were right... until I realized that I was using the back of my hand to feel the front and the palm of my hand to feel the back vents. Using the same side of my hand to feel both, found that they feel the same.
Yes, I find the same thing. Probably why so many have reported poor A/C after a test drive (which tends to be short).
Yes, I find the temp reading consistently shows about 5 degrees warmer than actual.
Finally had a few days of heat here in Toronto, and I can now say that the A/C is just fine. It is a bit more dependent on having the recirculate mode turned on but is also colder and more aggressive than my previous car (MDX) in summer temps on auto setting.
I will say that there is a particular temperature range (say, 18 to 25 degrees celcius) where the A/C system is comparatively passive (both coldness and fan speeds), and maybe that's where some of this talk about weak A/C is coming from. But it ramps up quite aggressively as the temp reading goes up.
I will say that there is a particular temperature range (say, 18 to 25 degrees celcius) where the A/C system is comparatively passive (both coldness and fan speeds), and maybe that's where some of this talk about weak A/C is coming from. But it ramps up quite aggressively as the temp reading goes up.
5ittingduck
Member
- :
- Mazda CX-9 TC 2016 Touring
Hi guys, I thought I should chip into this thread from the other end of the world, Australia, where it is currently WINTER.
The climate control on my 2016 Touring runs 4 to 5 Celcius hotter than the displayed temperature.
I warm up the car, set it to 20C, it stabilises between the driver and the steering wheel between 24 and 25.
I set it to 16C when the external temperature is 8 to 10C and cloudy, it runs at 20C. I just did 400 KM like that yesterday and it was OK. Summer here might be more of a problem.
I made a short video showing what happens when it's cold outside. I let the car warm up well beforehand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAz5ZYMCvgY&t=2s
We have tested every CX9 we can get our hands on, and every one runs hot. There is only one temperature sensor in the car (even though they advertise 3 zone climate control) at the driver's knee on the dashboard.
The climate control on my 2016 Touring runs 4 to 5 Celcius hotter than the displayed temperature.
I warm up the car, set it to 20C, it stabilises between the driver and the steering wheel between 24 and 25.
I set it to 16C when the external temperature is 8 to 10C and cloudy, it runs at 20C. I just did 400 KM like that yesterday and it was OK. Summer here might be more of a problem.
I made a short video showing what happens when it's cold outside. I let the car warm up well beforehand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAz5ZYMCvgY&t=2s
We have tested every CX9 we can get our hands on, and every one runs hot. There is only one temperature sensor in the car (even though they advertise 3 zone climate control) at the driver's knee on the dashboard.
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Cooler heads will prevail
http://www.mazda-parts.com/accessor...-sunshade/windshield_sunscreen_00008MN03.html
I'm a big fan of sun shades. Kinda dorky but much cooler inside maybe 10 - 15 degrees, just crack the windows if no threat of rain. Protect dash and interior, steering wheel won't burn your hand and seat won't burn your legs.
http://www.mazda-parts.com/accessor...-sunshade/windshield_sunscreen_00008MN03.html
I'm a big fan of sun shades. Kinda dorky but much cooler inside maybe 10 - 15 degrees, just crack the windows if no threat of rain. Protect dash and interior, steering wheel won't burn your hand and seat won't burn your legs.
5ittingduck
Member
- :
- Mazda CX-9 TC 2016 Touring
It's worse than I expected.
Video from rear seats (climate control zone 3).
Set to 20C, blowing at 40C, rear temp above 26C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3sRgCv9Rw8
Video from rear seats (climate control zone 3).
Set to 20C, blowing at 40C, rear temp above 26C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3sRgCv9Rw8
Testing the temp at idle and parked won't get as cool as when you are at speed.
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- 2016 CX-9 GT
We are having around 100F the last few days, AC blows cold air and cools the car down no problem.
5ittingduck
Member
- :
- Mazda CX-9 TC 2016 Touring
Quite true. Exterior temperature was 10C during the test, so we were testing heating and control accuracy rather than cooling power.
If the system is set to "15", the system goes to full cold and will easily cool the incoming air, even at idle.
I suspect the control system is the problem, rather than outright cooling capacity, and we are trying to figure out if there is some strange sort of logic to what the system is deciding.
And I can't record while driving
..
