kadunkadunk

I've read more than one review that said the RX8's AC isn't all that powerful.

donald121

My rx8's ac is not super cold. It was ok. I would say it is better than some of the european cars and worse than most of the japanese cars.

loco4rx8

It's just OK. I use recirc a lot because I hate humid air, and the outside air setting is tough for me to take on those 95 degree 100% humidity days. However, today it was dry and in the mid 80s, and I had it on the outside air setting. I actually had to turn the temp setting a couple notches warmer because I got chilled.

umpuck

my 8 isn't all that cold...it's been hot here in virginia beach, and i've been going ***** to the walls w/ my car. So you know the engine is gonna be HOT. but if i did really wanted to get it cold just don't be too heavy on the gas, and put the ac to 4 :P

Elara

I'm not having any problems with the a/c. If it gets warmer than I like, I just turn on the re-circulate. I haven't had to put it past the 2 setting yet, even with three extra people in the car.

lbrintle

For me, the air conditioning does not work well (at all?) when the car is idling. Once under way, it does "fine," but doesn't have much oomph.

highspeed8

A/C is adequate, when it gets hot/humid I notice more cool to warm air cycling but it isn't anything too annoying.

91vert

I personally think it sucks. I have to have the vents pointing right at me, blasting cold air into about 3 concentrated spots on my body just to stay cool.

I prefer to have the vents pointed away from me but have enough indirect circulation to keep me chilled. If I point the vents off of me, I feel like I have to have the blower on 3 or 4 just to keep enough cool air moving.

It is definitely an insufficient system IMO.

antman_x

Not very strong. My 98 avalon is still better and we haven't even had the A/C serviced. My only complaint about the car.

JSG

I'm with 91vert...I'm dying every time I travel in the car. It's the peak of summer now - up to 35-40C and 70-80% humidity.

I took it to the dealer this weekend with 3 problems. They agreed to fix the oil pan instantly (for free) *after* I explained to them I knew the problem inside out. They have worked out a fix for my navi which will cost me another $500 but if it fixes it I'm ok with that. But on the aircon they would not budge! They swear there is nothing wrong with it and nothing they can do.

I want 24C but the fan is on full permanently (using Auto therefore recirc). This situation never changes - 3 hours or so in the car it'll still be on full blast, which is pretty defeaning. They said, "what can it do", to which I answered 27-28C (fan 3/7). They said that's reasonable and 24 was unreasonable - in fact impossible to achieve as it's too hot outside. I told them that means the unit is too small - they said no, all Mazda cars use the same one and also Nissan and Toyota use the same. They say it's a black box with no settings where you could make the exit temperature lower.

What happened to the guy on here who was an A/C engineer and was going to take it apart?

I'm planning on writing a letter to Mazda to complain. I love my car but this is really spoiling my enjoyment hugely. Really pissed off after the dealer blanking me.

91vert

I think all of us who have the complaint about the A/C should start flooding Mazda with complaint letters about it, and continue to make phone calls bitching about this until they do something about it.

I truly believe that the problem is just something with the mechanism (ECU or pressure switch?) that controls how frequently the compressor cycles on and off. It's almost like they designed it to cycle just enough to keep the average consumer content, while providing all consumers with better fuel economy. Well.....sorry Mazda.....there are a few of us out here who would not mind getting 1/2 mpg less in the hot days of summer to be comfortable and cool while in our cars.

Why didn't they put a A/C Econ setting on the cars (like in my Millenia) to cater to those consumers who care more about saving fuel than being comfortable?

P00Man

my ac is ice cold

keeps me nice and comfortable, sometimes it gets too cold, just adjust it by temp or fan speed, ive found it very effective, used to be "Scared" that it would suck, but after owning the car, i now know the "fears" were simply imaginary and uncalled for
________
Black Ebony

nowr2go

It appeats that the a/c is cold and unaffected when the outside temperature is below 75 degrees. At above 75, the a/c is not as effective when it is cycled off. Not sure why this happends since I never noticed this on my 330ci but do so in the RX-8. Overall, I would say the a/c does an adequate job in hot weather.

TomsterRX8

Careful what you say. The Mazda apologists who griped about us complaining about the power issue are gonna jump all over you. They're STILL griping about our power complaints even after Mazda has given THEM the same deal offered to us "complainers".

The a/c is inadequate in Texas summer........but I didn't say it.

Gord96BRG

No problems with my AC. I just finished a 6400 km road trip to California, and we saw temperatures of over 32C (~90F) on every day we were on the road (10 out of 14 days - 1 sightseeing day in San Francisco, 3 days in Monterey, all on the coast where it doesn't get hot, were the non-driving days). 2 days saw highs of 36 or 37C (98F). Even at 37C, I could turn the temp dial back a notch or two from full cold, and only needed fan speed 3 to remain comfortable (ie full cold setting would have been too cool).

Regards,
Gordon

jferg

The A/C is marginal for the Gulf Coast. Using "Recirc" and higher fan makes the temp bearable, but the a/c is noticibly wimpy. My Accord is much cooler (temperature, that is).

kadunkadunk

Well after much thought, sleepless nights and day dreaming, I have made up my mind. The RX8 is a very nice, cool car, handles well and is very refined. To me it is in line with a BMW. Well, I guess that is not what I'm looking for. The reasons I'm not going to get one are:

HP issue
Price
AC (Or lack there of)
MPG (Or lack there of)

If any ONE of these factors were modified, Higher HP, Lower Price, etc., I would get it. I said ONE, just give me one of them and I would be happy! I live in Kansas where we've had 10 days of 100+ degree heat and wife can't handle the heat. She complained about the AC in our MX6. Being that all four factors are not acceptable, I cannot justify the purchase.

I have a 2001 Mustang Cobra and had offers from two dealers with multiple RX8's sitting on the lots. Needless to say they are not budging on the price. Today is the last day to get the $500 offer. I might go in over lunch and make one final offer.

Looks like I will be getting an STI.

Gord96BRG

Kadunkadunk,

maybe you should read this latest review from EVO magazine in the UK. They compare it to the AWD Golf R32, which won their recent hot hatch comparison (beat the WRX, btw).

Here's their summation: .

HP isn't really a problem, despite the rating screwup. Overall, it's an incredible performer and is great value for the money - just stop thinking solely in terms of $/hp (otherwise you'll end up driving a Neon SRT-4! )

Regards,
Gordon

kadunkadunk

Went there for about a 1/2 second...
Bad Dobby...BANG! BANG! BANG! (Head against slamming door)

I was blown away by the finesse and refinement of the RX8. After my first test drive and I got back into my Cobra, I felt like I had bricks tied to my feet and had mittens on my hands.

RXhusker

A/C report from Nebraska - we have had temps between 95 and 103 the last 10 days. I have had no problems with the A/C but have learned a few "tricks" to maximize effectiveness.

1. If driving alone -- close the passenger vent -- greatly increase cold air flow at low fan speeds.

2. If the car is really really hot (just sat out in 100+ sun for 5 hours) just use the mode that blows air out the top vents (not the feet) -- dramatically improves performance. The top/bottom mode just doesn't seem to put out much air -- my guess is because it sends air down to the rear passenger footwell which may somewhat overpower the system.

3. Check that the recirc is on -- I always forget to change this.


Real World A/C test today -- drove to client one hour away -- car sits in sun for 4 hours -- outside temp 98 according to bank sign -- RX-8 ambient outside temp reads 96. Open car VERY VERY HOT! Start car -- turn on A/C to max fan. Check watch. Start driving back to Omaha. At 90 seconds inside temp feels fine -- turn down fan to level 3. At 5 minutes uncomfortably COLD -- turn down fan to level 2 and turn off recirc. At 15 minutes still a little cold -- turn down fan to level 1. Kept there for next 45 minutes. Check ambient outside temp in RX-8 -- reads 97 degrees. Mental note to self === Why is everyone complaining about the A/C? I am not doubting others -- but this has got to be a scattered issue not an overall RX-8 issue.

hot_RX8

My A/C feels like cool air not cold air at full blast! It was over 100F here in Southern Cali. for the last couple of week and the A/C doesn't keep me cool. My friend's tiny Tercel feel much colder than my RX-8. Plus we can't control the temperatures like in my Maxima. I feel that Mazda needs to listen to us if enough people complain. Don't you aggree?

RX-8 Zoomster

And the "tiny" Tercel's cabin space dimensions is how much smaller in cu ft. than the RX-8's interior? Seems logical that the Tercel would feel much colder.

At first I was a little disappointed that the climate control was removed from US spec'd cars. But the manual controls seem fine enough for me and many other owners. I'm not going to fault Mazda for not including the climate control, especially since it's not a luxury sedan. There are too many other things I'm happy with on this car, that more than make up for that.

As for the AC not working sufficiently enough, my wife feels it doing quite well in 90+ degrees of Florida heat and humidity.

Complaining won't affect current owners from receiving a climate control. You will probably see that included in future models though.

JSG

No point worrying about not having climate control - it doesn't work. I have to resort to manual controls to attempt to cool.

I also found all RXhuskers tips but they only take things from horrendous to bad. From reading this page I think it's an intermitent fault that hits some 8's and not others.

There is absolutely no way my car could achieve some of the cooling people are talking about on this page. The thing that really gets me though is that the dealer won't listen (thinks I'm nuts). We need to set up a low A/C support group. I'm waiting for my junk mail folder to contain the mail "How to enlarge your A/C safely..." :D

tank

Perhaps expectations of cool vs. cold air make the difference in perception of A/C effectiveness. Living here in pleasant Dallas Texas :p , we have had several days above 100 in the past couple of weeks. The record thus far on the ol' dashboard temp indicator showed 114F after work one day last week. After rolling down the windows for about 30 seconds, blasting the furnace like air out of the car, my A/C honestly had the car cool by the time I pulled out of the parking lot (90 secs later). Now I say cool, by no means was it frigid, but it was definately comfortable, then again when it is 106 outside, 80 degrees cabin temperature feels like a brisk early spring day. Within 5 minutes of driving I had to turn the A/C down to 2 or 3. Take this for what it's worth, but I personally think the A/C is definately not excellent, but from my experience has been sufficiently adequate.

Urchin

The only way to have consistent comparison is to is to measure vent air temp. For a few dollars you can get a vent thermometer. On recirculate and 2 fan setting miy compressor cycles off at 45 degrees and comes back on at about 51-52 egrees. It should be closer to 40 degrees to cycle off and 45 to cycle back on. That is still plenty warm to keep the evaporator from freezing. It would be interesting to know the vent temp of those who think the air is fine and those who think not.

The airconditioning dude was ZOOM44 I think, and he was waiting for schematics etc.