How's the Air Conditioning on a hot day?

[satz]

Hi all

looking at buying a CX7 luxury, but of course it's coming into mid-winter here in NSW...

Could owners who have had a CX7 thru summer let me know how the effective the Air Con was?

Also...i was reading that you cannot get just fresh cool (outside) air blowing in without using the AC? APparently the air comes out hot

Is that true?


Many thanks

Satz

[Raider]

I am not in Australia, but I live in swampy, muggy, melt-the-fat-guy-without-air-conditioning, really hot in the summer Florida. We set the AC to 72, and it is cold in minutes inside, very happy. Start with recirculation, you will cool off faster.

[fat tony]

In Virginia no complaints so far if you point it at your toes it feels liek frost bite in no time :) We havent hit 100's yet...

[joey010505]

Air con is pretty good. I'm in Brisbane, so the humidity is an issue (as well as having black leather seats!). I've got the luxury model, and find that having the sunroof open initially really helps cool the car down. On the whole, the a/c is pretty good - my wife turns the vents away from her now, it gets too cold for her, and we only have the climate control set on 24 degrees! We've had it through the hottest months of summer Feb/Mar and it performed really well.

As for the fresh air, you can get it without turning the a/c on. It only won't go on if you have the recirculating air option on. We use the fresh air option quite a bit, and don't find that it blows hot air out, it's pretty much the same temperature as the air outside.

[papaalex]

here in TX, temps are reaching on the average 85-90's... If the car was left in the sun for some time it takes around 5 mins to cool the interior with windows open using the thermostat set at 65, by then i leave it at 70-72...

The A/C of the CX7 is pretty good compared to earlier bad reviews, i even have the black leather seats ;)

[satz]

Hi Joey and Papaalex

Thank you so much for the replies. Both your posts have reassured me about the airconditioning :-)

Now I just have to sell my current car so I can hopefully get into my own CX7 sometime....


Wish you many happy miles (and kilometres) of touring!


Satz

[Leeep]

I'm a bit disappointed in the AC myself.
If you have the AC off and are just pulling in fresh air, yeah the air coming in seems significantly warmer than the outside air. If you don't have it on recirc, it seems to me that I can feel the AC fighting with that increased temp. The only way I get really cold air is to have the AC on and the vents set to recirc.

[fat tony]

We got into the 90's this weekend and with four people in the car it struggled to cool it down and keep it down. I put it onto recirc and it helped but its loud. When the temp drops below 85 it will give you frost bite on your toes but lets just say its going to work hard when we hit the 100's. Maybe need to get one of those windscreen covers :(

Interestingly I signed up for a survey from Mazda and they asked about the performance of the A\C so maybe they know its a problem...

[shoughun]

Here in our state it already reach 92 as my neighbor told me... It takes a lot of time cooling my interior when left directly in the sun... Even if I'll park it on a nearby tree for shade with my set at 70 and window open... No issue about my A/C though... I think it is the just weather...

[aussieCX7]

Hi Satz,

Don't do it!!!!!!

I've had my CX-7 since January, done about 10,000 kms. The air-con isn't up to QLD temps .. the worse air-con I have ever had. When I have air-con on, I get loads of condensation on the centre vents, so much so I had to buy a cloth to wipe it off, to stop the run off!

I prefer to have cool air without air-con & the windows & sunroof open, but you can't do that as the "cool" air is hot.

I'll post my top 100 reasons not to buy a CX-7 when I get chance, well maybe not 100!!!

[satz]

hi aussiecx7

you've got me dead worried now abt the AC!! Here in Canberra it doesn't get quite as hot (or at least not for as long) as in QLD, but I still like an AC that works...

What were some of your other dislikes about the car anyway? Hopefully not a list of 100!

cheers

satz

[satz]

hi aussiecx7

you've got me dead worried now abt the AC!! Here in Canberra it doesn't get quite as hot (or at least not for as long) as in QLD, but I still like an AC that works...

Guess your dealer has checked it and says it 'works within specification'??

What were some of your other dislikes about the car anyway? Hopefully not a list of 100!

cheers

satz

[aussieCX7]

Hey Satz .... I'll do a post over the weekend with my list of gripes!

[giggygiggy1]

I agree aussie CX7......when you have the vents on with no cooling it blows very warm air..............Not too sure how good the aircon works as only got the car 2-3 weeks ago and its COLD here at moment !!

I suppose also if you pick hard enough you will find fault with any car. I do find it absolutely nuts that the passager front seat only has a magazine sleeve and not the drivers also !! How much would that have saved MAZDA ????!!!!!

[satz]

the AC issue really worries me...not sure why but it does.

My current car, '00 Camry, seems to have a reasonably good AC so perhaps I'm expecting another Toyota to have similar.

I know my current car does blow warm air for a few minutes after driving (if the engine was already warm). However it does eventually just blow out ambient air temperature.

Imagine trying to drive a car on a summer evening without AC, and getting warm air from the vents!

I've written to Mazda to ask whether they are changing the compressor (at least for the lack of cooling aspect), if not for the warm fresh air coming through...

The RAV v6 seems to make sense...much quicker, more economical, but a dreary interior :-(

I'm expecting price to be pitched against CX7 prices when it comes out in August...

[fat tony]

When its hot outside and you don’t use the AC the air is cool for a short period as soon as the engine heats up you so does the air(even on the cold setting) if your stuck in traffic it gets hotter and if your moving its a little cooler. They clearly have the heat exchanger trapped somewhere under the hood so its not getting a good stream off air moving at it.

The Cabin size will be much bigger than the Camry and the windshield is a big heat attracting to device so you do need maybe more cooling because of this. Also this car is techically a big station wagon/ estate so even more air to cool and move around.....

[satz]

Here's what Mazda Aust wrote back to me regarding my query about outside air being warmed too much:

"It is possible the outside air may pass over the engine bay area before coming through the ducts, however we have not had much feedback on this aspect with respect to it being of concern. We suggest you arrange a test drive with a Mazda dealer to determine if this is something that doesn't suit you."

fair enough...but I felt it was slightly arrogant! Car's obviously selling well :-)

In regard to another email I sent regarding the AC ineffectiveness they wrote:

"Thank you for your email. Generally we have received no negative customer feedback on the use of air-conditioning on the CX-7 model, so your feedback comes with some surprise. The Classic CX-7 model has normal air-conditioning, while the Luxury model has climate control air conditioning. Australian imported vehicles do not have any modified a/c compressor fitted at production.

We forward you some information from the owner's manual on the air-conditioning system and trust this will be of assistance."

They provided the pages on AC from the manual which clearly states that Recirc mode should only be used to cool the car down quickly...not for longer term use...

cheers

Satz

[Ziemstas]

Hi Satz

Firstly, I gotta say, I currently have a Camry wagon (my 2nd camry wagon in a row over last 10 yrs!) THERE IS NO OTHER CAR THAT CAN OUTDO THE FACTORY AIRCON IN A TOYOTA CAMRY. So don't even try to compare.

Secondly, my hubby's company car is a climate controlled Holden Statesman & I find that if I turn off aircon & just want outside air that it too can be "warm". After much trial & error I discovered that the temp of the outside air seems to be affected (ongoingly - not just initially) by what temp was on the climate control when you turned the aircon off! So if I have aircon on 24 deg for eg, then when i want no aircon & just outside air - before i turn climate control off I lower it to say 18/19 deg. This seems to make a great diff. I know this sounds like it doesnt make sense since the climate control is OFF but it really does in the Statesman!

By the way...we live on south coast NSW so know what your temps are like...I would suggest if you are choosing black interior (same as my hubby's), that you def invest in a windscreen sun shield (cheap interior foil one is fine!) to protect front dash from sun. If you have a cool dash board when you get in the car it makes all the difference!! The black dash takes AGES to cool if you don't & the heat hits you full in the face. Plus your aircon is gonna struggle because you have this extra latent heat continually heating up the car.

We are currently making the choice between the logical family choice of a Mazda Wagon or the CX7 (hey...theres only 3 of us anyway!)

Have fun!

[satz]

hi ziemstas

I was hoping that by now Mazda would have sorted the AC issues...

never mind I guess it's just something I'll have to get used to

I ended up ordering a Copper Red one with the Sand leather interior.

The black leather looked great, in mid-winter, but I felt it might look (and feel) a little oppressive in mid summer!

Though it does look great

Thankx for the tip on the dashboard. I'll get hold of a windscreen shield.

I think I will the Camry in many ways...had it since new in 2000!

best wishes

Satz

[claycx7]

Hi Satz,

Being in Canberra it is a lot like Adelaide - hot, dry heat with no humidity.

You had quite a few people from the US post replies and people in Qld (humidity is a different kettle of fish).

Welll today in Adelaide it is 35 and yesterday it was 32. I have a black cx7 with leather and I found the AC to be very adequate. I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old in the back and they were fine. If anything I had to turn it down as they got cold.

I will be definantly be investing in a window shade for when the car is parked. When you first get in it is HOT...give it a minute and the car is at a great tempreture.

Bloody hell, I have been stressed about this for the last four months, but all is good.

Clay.

[mancx7]

for me i dont think its good enough...
we shall see when summer hits us hard...

[satz]

hi Clay

thanks for the post. We've had a couple of days here in canberra with 30C so managed to test the AC a little.

I deliberately left the car in the sun for a few hours, without a windscreen shade.

I think it's pretty cool in the front seats, though the passengers in the back said there wasn't enough cool air, despite me directing the 3 centre vents to the rear.

Did you use the 'recirc' mode? I prefer to just use fresh air mode....

Glad I had the tinting done!

cheers

Satz

[MAZOOM]

To get the best performance on a hot day you must use recirc, because you're just mixing in all that hot air with cold air, and not to mention if you're standing still AC performance will be noticeably lowered.

[satz]

According to the manual recirc should only be used to cool down the car, and then fresh-air should be used

Also I leave the rear windows down for a few minutes to help evacuate the hot air....

cheers

Satz

[SassiMac]

More than comfortable for us yesterday in Melbourne's Hot October Day.

[scottwheels]

G'day Satz,

I live in Darwin and we are currently in the middle of the build-up season here (think high thirties with >60%RH). We don’t have wind chill here, we have heat index, and that regularly gets into the 45°C range this time of year.

My overnight test drive put me at ease with the capability of the air-con, I have a 4 and a 2 year old in the back and they were quite comfortable, even after having left it in the sun for a few hours. I'm in the process of obtaining finance now!!

There are a few provisos that I will mention:

Use a sunshade or park in the shade where you can. It has a huge windscreen, and as other posters have noted, a vast acreage of dash space to absorb and radiate heat. I use one on my current car, they take about 15 seconds to install and remove.
Use the recirc option on the aircon on hot and humid days. I don't care what the Mazda manual says, in my opinion it's 50% of safety warnings (some of which are warranted but others are blatant arse covering to conform to modern acceptable standards of duty of care.) It's simple thermodynamics - the evaporator can only cool down the air by a certain amount, the hotter the outside air the hotter it will blow through the vents. On humid days there is a huge amount of latent heat of condensation added, hot to mention the condensation forming on the vents. Perhaps the aircon is deficient at cooling and dehumidifying fresh air intake, but I think the only reason Mazda specify using recirc is to ensure you have adequate fresh air flow in the cabin to meet airconditioning standards. Once again, in my current vehicle, when I switch on the A/C, I switch to recirc and leave it there. Call me irresponsible for starving my passengers of the required Australian standard fresh air flowrate per person, but no car is airtight and there will always be some fresh air ingress. Besides, I'm doing my bit for the environment since I'm not trying to continuously cool hot, humid air and make the aircon (and therefore the engine) work overtime. It's too bad there's no partial recirc/fresh air setting, so you can have the best of both worlds.
Tinting is your friend


Bit of a diatribe there, but I've lived most of my life within 100km of the Tropic of Capricorn, so air conditioning is a subject that is near and dear to my heart.

Cheers, Scott

[claycx7]

with you scottwheels...all correct

[aussieCX7]

Well I must have had great air-con in my previous cars .. 'cos mine is ****. It's not even summer yet & it can't cope. Perhaps I just like sitting in a fridge!

[Raider]

That sunshade has really helped ours cool off. We live in Florida, hot and humid all the time. We bought it, and it cools a lot quicker now.

[cx7monsta]

Just arrived in Townsville from SE Qld for 3 months with my CX7. Locals tell me its hot. I thought so: 32 degrees both days on the W/E but with 70-80% RH. Feels like Thailand to me. Air-con hummed at 18C setting at 1/2 to 2/3 fan so a but more obvious than usual in the dB stakes. Afterall, the CX7 does have a large, raked (and sexy) front windscreen which lends itself to a quick heat up of the cabin in the direct sun when standing and ongoing source of cabin heating even with A/C on.

Mine is tinted which I think makes a difference.

A reflector for the windshield when parked, makes obvious sense because of the rake. I usually didnt bother with other cars (layzeee!), but I think I'll be changing my mind.

Just my 5 cents...

[giggygiggy1]

When I got my windows tinted I went a little bit darker on the rear glass and also got the guy to put a strip of tint on the top of the windscreen.....I reckon it make a noticable difference.

[MAZOOM]

I got the front windows tinted at 50% along with the little corner windows, makesa huge difference, the design on the CX-7 just soaks up the sun, which is not good for the AC, would be good if you wanted to remove the windows and tan away.

[giggygiggy1]

A slight tint on the windscreen would be nice but not legal............

[MAZOOM]

A narrow strip of tint across the top is, I think here in california.

[Alpha Wolf]

Well mine seemed fine until the over 2 over 100 deg days we road up the central valley and the the A/C glitch got us. The #### a/c strarted blowing super hot air out the vents instead of cold when we had to stop for traffic.

It is pretty bad when the outside 108deg air feels cool compared to the a/c vent air.

There was a TSB on this and I am finally getting the new unit installed Friday. But it took them so long to get the parts I won't know if it worked until next summer!

Aside from those two trips it has worked fine though.

[AZCX7]

AC is fine if you're moving. But here in Arizona, it simply will not cool in slow, stop and go traffic. Have to admit, it is the worst AC in my last several cars. The engine temp always stays fine though. But no, if you're idling here in the desert, you just learn to literally sweat it out. Think they need a smaller pulley on the compressor and/or better fans up front.

[MAZOOM]

Take it in and make sure that the A/C is working properly, someone bought a used CX-7 because the previous owner said the A/C wasn't good enough, and the new owner found out the A/C system was faulty.

[AZCX7]

Had AC checked. They said it was fine and that it does have a hard time above 105 outside - which it is here for more than a few months out of the year. I did tell the dealer that the cooling fans come on for about 7 seconds, then go off...and continues this cycle when it's idling. They said that was normal. Wonder if the factory rep. would agree...

[MAZOOM]

Then I would go for a window tint up front to compensate, and I think the cycling is normal as my CX-7 does it too.

[AZCX7]

Would like more tint.....would NOT like the fine you get for doing it here.

[MAZOOM]

Front Side Windows Must allow more than 33% of light in.
So you're at 33% now? Damn, It's gotten to 110 here in CA and I haven't had any problems.

[AZCX7]

it's not the side windows I worry about, it's that big one up front!!! :)

I have to bring it in for the July TSB, so I'll have them check again. It's still in the mid 90's here. Works fine then. But at a 115, 118...stop and go traffic, or even coming up to a light - it's almost like you turned it off. I'll let you know if the dealer finds anything else.

[Alpha Wolf]

Had AC checked. They said it was fine and that it does have a hard time above 105 outside - which it is here for more than a few months out of the year. I did tell the dealer that the cooling fans come on for about 7 seconds, then go off...and continues this cycle when it's idling. They said that was normal. Wonder if the factory rep. would agree...


By the way that over 100 like I had is exactly the symptom of the a/c defect.

Humidity sensor shuts the a/c down when any frost forms.

New unit has corrected sensors so this will not happen.

There is a TSB out on this and my dealer says they have no way to check and just go by owners symptoms and so your dealer may just be blowing you off

I can send you the TSB if you do not have it.

I would check it out especially if lived where you do.

:cool:

[AZCX7]

Thanks Alpha. I've read about the sensor/frost buildup problem, but we don't have that problem here with barely 10% humidity. It doesn's shut off completely, but you can barely notice any cool air at all. That's why I was wondering why the cooling fans only cycle on for 7 seconds. Wouldn't it be better if they just stayed on when the sensors read a certain temp? Just curious. Will have to wait until next summer again to investigate more. I was driving my '01 Escape for the majority of the time this summer, better AC (and I didn't want the get the CX7 dirty!!).

[mikomi]

100% humidity (almost always) and 35-40C weather is not uncommon (85-105F) here.

In these conditions, the AC does work, although it does a while to get things cooled down when compared to cooler conditions.

[satz]

now the weather's getting warmer here (28C upwards) i've had more chance to test the AC.

Find it pretty good in the front seats, but a not so good for the rear passengers. Even with the 3 centre vents directed to the rear...

Wonder what's going to happen when it hits the high 30s!

And i have tinting already!

[Alpha Wolf]

The dealer finally go the replacement A/C controller to fix the TSB issue I had with over 100 degree F heat.

Even though Sacramento is a very Dry heat (desert) it would quit on us.

Now it is too late in the year to get over 100 deg temps to see if the fix worked until next summer..

I will report if the problem persists. :cool:

[satz]

does anyone know where the little 'window' is to check the AC gas level?

I'm beginning to think that the AC system is not running at 100%. Tried it on a 32c day yesterday and it barely coped... Sort of leaves us feeling a little breathless with the lack of cold air (even on max fan speed)

I know if I take it to Mazda to check the AC they'll say "it is fine"!!