2008 Mazda5: Fan-speed issue

[arock712]

I have a 2008 Mazda5 Touring with around 16k miles. Been a great car so far.

However, a strange thing occurred the other day. After driving for about 3 hours with the AC on and the fan-speed set in the mid-range area, I noticed that it started getting a little warm in the car. When I put my hand up to the vents it didnt seem like it a lot of air was coming out. I cranked it to the highest fan-speed setting and it was still barely coming out, just a tiny bit of air flow. I cranked the fan-speed up and down; turned the AC on and off; turned the Recycle on and off; turned the Auto Climate Control on and off; and I cycled through the various air direction modes. Nothing worked. It was as if someone put a sheet of paper between the fan and the vent so barely any air was getting through. The only thing that did work, though, was the rear vents seemed to keep the same air flow.

The only thing that fixed it (temporarily) was we pulled over for a few minutes and we looked under the hood. Seeing nothing obvious we started up the car and left and suddenly it worked again fan-speed working at full blast again. However, within about 30 minutes it started doing the same thing once again. When we got home after having the car off for a little bit I started the car again and the fan worked again. It has been working since then with the short 20 minute trips weve made.

Im taking the car in for an oil change and will have Mazda look at this problem. But, does anyone have any clue what this strange issue could be?

 

[blacktalon13]

i had it happen to me a while back.. i was coming back from a fishing trip. I kept driving and my car actually started over-heating. the needle shot right up to HOT!!! according to the tech, if the car is over heating, the a/c will stop working. if i remember correctly, my blower fan was working, just no cold air coming out.

 

[arock712]

blacktalon13: Thanks for the reply. The engine temp never went out of the normal range and didn't appear to be overheating, so probably a different issue.

 

[SGT_OKINAWA]

Buy a CPU code reader (Error reader) or swing by the dealer and see if they can run a code on it.

Ask if there is any known technical service bulletins about that or issues.

I suspect climate control error in the CPU is all I can think of. (sick)

keep us posted please and post a video maybe?

Peace!(rei)

 

[TheMAN]

the evaporator is freezing, that's what's happening

some mazda3s have this problem (which shares the same evaporator core as the 06-07 5s)... a TSB for the 3 was released and the fix to it was to install a resistor cable to the evaporator temperature sensor to make the ECU think the evaporator is 1.8 degrees colder than it really is... that there is enough to prevent the evaporator from getting into a freezing threshold

there isn't a TSB for the 5, but since many parts are shared, the dealer can call mazda to get repair approval for using a normally unapproved part under warranty

 

[arock712]

TheMAN: Do you have a TSB number or a link to it?

 

[arock712]

I found the TSB: http://www.finishlineperformance.com/pdf/mazda3/bulletin/07-004-08-1961.pdf.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[arock712]

My local Mazda dealer got permission to use the TSB for the Mazda3 to do the work on my Mazda5. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

 

[SGT_OKINAWA]

My local Mazda dealer got permission to use the TSB for the Mazda3 to do the work on my Mazda5. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Congrats! Let us know how it all works out, okay?

Peace at Ya! (rei)

*This was a good thread, simple, to the point and worked.*

 

[schokie]

Interesting. Had this happen once on our 2008 Touring. The TSB describes our situation to a T. We found that by just turning off the A/C for a bit fixed the problem. Have never had it again so don't know if I'll force the repair at a dealer.