Another Mazda 3 rant

[Greggy_D]

Inspired by Buster's post on the 3's dipstick, allow me to add another rant.

I have a 2007 3i with the 2.0L and MT. The A/C is the WORST of any car I've ever owned. It simply cannot cool effectively. Which doesn't make sense since the car has a small interior space. The other day, the air temp was 90 degrees when I left work. After a half hour of highway driving, the car finally felt comfortable inside.

Also, I'm fairly happy with the power and peppiness of the 2.0L engine. Decent power and really good gas mileage. However, when I turn the A/C on it becomes a complete dog. No power whatsoever. The engine even lags (as in you don't move anywhere) until you hit 2,200 rpms in first gear.

Do you guys see the same things on your 3's?

 

[rjundi]

A few things. Are you using the recirculate button (eg no outside air vent) when running the AC? This makes a major difference, its the equivalent to Max on domestics.

I do not own a Mazda 3 and but can sympathize your plight of low power from a 2.0L. I own a Subaru WRX with 2.0L that has lacking power below 2900RPM (out of boost) especially with AC. However if you floor the throttle(wide open) the AC compressor will cycle off for a bit and deliver that needed power.

 

[Greggy_D]

Yes, I should have clarified that. The recirc button was on the entire time.

 

[badtlc]

I dont have a mazda3, but a mazda6. I'm sure it has similar equipment. The only problem I have had with the A/C was i received my car with no refrigerant in it. Once they filled that up, it has worked great for over a year now.

It is under warranty. Have you had them test the temp at the vent? There is a mazda spec for what that temp. should be according to my mazda dealer.

I take that back, i also had a small problem where the temperature knob cable was loose. It wasnt actually telling the A/C unit to fully cool. They just tightened it at the same time they filled the refrigerant.

 

[buster]

Greg, we have the 2.3L and I did notice a significant decrease in power with the AC on. It's funny you mentioned this because I was just telling her the other day that the AC doesn't get that cold or as cold as I thought it should. The Accord I have (2.4L) is horrible when the AC is on. Very sluggish.

 

[tripleM]

Quote:

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Inspired by Buster's post on the 3's dipstick, allow me to add another rant.

I have a 2007 3i with the 2.0L and MT. The A/C is the WORST of any car I've ever owned. It simply cannot cool effectively. Which doesn't make sense since the car has a small interior space. The other day, the air temp was 90 degrees when I left work. After a half hour of highway driving, the car finally felt comfortable inside.

Also, I'm fairly happy with the power and peppiness of the 2.0L engine. Decent power and really good gas mileage. However, when I turn the A/C on it becomes a complete dog. No power whatsoever. The engine even lags (as in you don't move anywhere) until you hit 2,200 rpms in first gear.

Do you guys see the same things on your 3's?

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Ha ha. & Supposedly they've improved the AC for the '06+ models.

Yes the A/C sucks on 1 & 2 is the prevalent opinions.
My Prius gets sub zero cold on setting 1 as oppose to #3 in the Mazda.

The C on even in the 2.3. However, this is a typical Japanese engine so, it likes revs about 4k for it to be hauling.

Of course I find I don't need it to haul <3k for fuel purposes these days.

 

[milwaukee]

Usually the resident Mazda 3 owners on bitog trip over themselves to heap nothing but praise on the 3. I guess people see what they want to see.

I live in the south and a car has to have bad mutha of an AC or you show up everywhere with sweat stains.

 

[Greggy_D]

Other than the A/C issues, the car is phenomenal for the most part. It really is a joy to drive. I have a couple other minor issues with the car so I guess it's time to make an appt with the dealer.

 

[surfstar]

Quote:

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Usually the resident Mazda 3 owners on bitog trip over themselves to heap nothing but praise on the 3. I guess people see what they want to see.

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Those darned auto magazines have been singing praises for years too! I mean, come-on, what are they thinking?

 

[crw]

Some of use just live in places where AC is nice, but not crucial. My '95 Mazda Protege' has the tiny 1.5L engine, which burns so much oil I'm thinking of reclassifying it to be a diesel... but it runs the AC relatively well. Of course, just about any AC will work here in the desert.

My AC on the Jetta works so well you have to switch it off on occasion. With a black interior.

On the old pickup, the AC is two 55's. (Roll down the windows.)

 

[badtlc]

Quote:

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Greg, we have the 2.3L and I did notice a significant decrease in power with the AC on. It's funny you mentioned this because I was just telling her the other day that the AC doesn't get that cold or as cold as I thought it should. The Accord I have (2.4L) is horrible when the AC is on. Very sluggish.

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I guess I never noticed the sluggish aspect w/ the A/C on. W/ or without A/C my 6i ATX gets 33+mpg on my trips and 30+mpg in town. I notice a slight change in engine sound for a split second when i first turn my A/C on, but then it is gone.

 

[rpn453]

I've heard the A/C isn't great in these cars. My A/C works fine but it's rarely humid here.

I've never noticed any big power losses with the A/C, but I really only use it on the highway where it's a non-issue anyway.

 

[tripleM]

Quote:

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Usually the resident Mazda 3 owners on bitog trip over themselves to heap nothing but praise on the 3. I guess people see what they want to see.

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Not really, the owner satisfaction is extremely high for the 3 unlike something like the Focus.
Even chatboards like mazda3forums where it's a 3 luv fest, the complaint threads out number the likes threads 9-1.

It's the internet, ppl complain about everything. Doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

One trick I always do is run my A/C with recirc off for the first few minutes of my drive so the super-hot interior air can be purged. Once you turn recirc on, you're stuck with the same hot air, even if it's hotter than the air outside. When it's 90 degrees outside, the sun heats your interior to 120+. Purge that hot air before you use recirc. Turn your A/C on, fan on high and drive for a couple of minutes. Crack the sunroof if you have one.

I do agree that the A/C in the 3 is anemic. I had the 'baffle' TSB performed in my 2004 i, but it did little good. Either the compressor is too small, runs too low PSI or the condensor is too small. The A/C in my 6 will freeze your butt off.

 

[Greggy_D]

Yep, I crack the sunroof and all 4 windows for at least 5 minutes. Doesn't help one bit.

 

[tripleM]

If the car has been sitting outside for a while in hot weather & sun: I COMPLETELY ROLL DOWN ALL 4 windows & Sunroof opened for 1 minute or so to let out hot air.

Then I start rolling.

I will park with windows cracked & sunroof tilted & silver sunshade on dash if I am going to be parked in the sun during the summer.

No Matter what, the 1 & 2 position will not cool the car down appreciably.

It only starts working well @ 3 & 4.

 

[Greggy_D]

I had it on 3 for the 30 minutes before the car felt comfortable. The A/C design is FUBAR'd.

What can I use to test the vent temp? A long, skinny food thermometer?

 

[olddognewtrks]

Auto supply stores sell "food thermometers" (labeled with some A/C company name on them). About $7-8 if I recall. Stick it in the left center vent with full fan and recirc.
I have an '03 Protege. A/C is nothing to write home about, but it does get down to 34-36 F when it's stabilized. Takes about 15-20 minutes on the highway with a heat-soaked black interior. On flow-thorugh, when stabilized, the outlet jumps up about five degrees, and it's obviously more humid. I use recirc almost exclusively.

 

[Auto-Union]

Some people don't get the concept that driving with windows down AND a/c on is the quickest way to cool off a hot car. The climate control is lucky to cool the dash and immediate 6 inches around it, while the windows will exchange the air and cool the rest of the interior while the a/c gets cranking. The point is to start driving with the windows down and the a/c at the same time. many of us were raised to NEVER put the windows down while the a/c is on. Uhhh? Mom and I still get into it over this.

 

[LouDawg]

Quote:

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Some people don't get the concept that driving with windows down AND a/c on is the quickest way to cool off a hot car. The climate control is lucky to cool the dash and immediate 6 inches around it, while the windows will exchange the air and cool the rest of the interior while the a/c gets cranking. The point is to start driving with the windows down and the a/c at the same time. many of us were raised to NEVER put the windows down while the a/c is on. Uhhh? Mom and I still get into it over this.

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Yep, +1 on what he said.