Call Cust. Service about A/C
 

I just got off the phone w/ Mazda customer service and she asked me to post something to this forum about the issue. She said that she hadn't heard anything about the A/C cycling problem. She said that everyone with the problem should contact them at (800) 222-5500 to inform them of the issue with the VIN of your car.

Well isn't the first thing they ask is "did you discuss this with your dealer?"

I used my ac on full blast today for the first time and have to agree the cycling is kind of annoying, it was cold, than warm than colder then warmish than COLDER YET than warmish then COLDER AGAIN, than I just turned it off.

Mine tends to do that if I have it in the "fresh-air position", when in the "recirculate" position, it seems to work much better.

They have heard about my a/c problems. I requested a lemon law buy back on August 15. I have the certified mail receipt where they received my request letter.

lemon?

i'm sure it might vary a bit from state to state as to how they want to handle lemon cars but usually the rule is if the dealer cannot repair your car after the fourth time regarding the same exact problem (in this case the A/C) then its a lemon and the dealer/car manufacturer must indemnify you in some way, usually by buying back your car.

curious how many times you brought your car to the dealer to have the a/c fixed? please reply with feedback 1fine8, thanks.

it seems the a/c is a problem on most cars and not others. hopefully it wont be a problem for me in two weeks.

well i guess this buy back issure works out great for you then. no need to do all the lemon law paperwork just the buyback stuff.

The selling dealer has has it twice in their shop and the other Mazda dealer in town has had it twice also. One other dealer diagnosed it as a faulty expansion valve but Mazda tech line refused to replace the part under warranty. The selling dealer has told me Mazda engineering is working on a part to help my a/c get cooler and I will get the first one when it is made avaliable.
If the a/c gets repaired satisfactory by October 1 my wife wants to keep it. If Mazda can not get it right they will get it back under the buy back program.

Doesn't get cold, or cycles? Because honestly I think they ALL cycle. I've read enough about them and felt it, it goes cold hot cold hot, you really don't notice unless it's REALLY hot and it's on fan speed 4.

Well, in Florida, the cycling is really evident. "Wing" said it perfectly in his post:

"it was cold, than warm than colder then warmish than COLDER YET than warmish then COLDER AGAIN"

Not only does the A/C do this annoying cycling, the A/C even at full chill is not near what a good A/C should be. I want it to freeze my butt off, if I so desire.

Furthermore, I think there is some sort of problem with the vent air being mistakenly heated. If I am not using the A/C and just have the fan blowing external air through the vents, I swear that the air from the vents is several degrees warmer than the outside air. I think the vents are either designed poorly by running next to warm areas under the hood or there is some sort of air leak. Our A/Cs may be able to cool just fine, it is just that the A/C air is being heated by a faulty vent design after the air is chilled. Our poor A/Cs are working hard to chill only to have the chilled air warmed before reaching the cabin!

Are you guys seeing the "cycling" diminish if you enable the "recirculation" mode?

I took some quick reading with my laser thermometer tonight and it seems to quickly cycle from 53 to 67 degrees in the centre vent,the side vents are about 8 degrees warmer. I'm in California and I don't see a problem with the way it works, it's not as cold as my Audi but it seems to get the job done, there is just so much heat produced by the car that it may look like it's ineffective. the base of the stick shift was at 106 degrees while the ambiant teperature was around 85. I was in Palm Springs on Saturday and it was 106 degrees and It had no problem keeping the car cool.

In addition to the poor performance of the a/c, is anyone getting a real rough idle when the a/c is operating?

No difference in idle for me.

The first week of having my car I had the cycling A/C. One month later, it doesn't cycle anymore. Weird huh?

I think you have it exactly correct. Hotter air DOES come out of the vents wo/air on, and I think that is what the A/C tries to cool, so when it cycles it goes cold, warmer, cool, warm, etc.

Either the hot water to heater core valve is faulty and does not shut off completely ever, or the routing of the vent ductwork is poor. Where is the shop manual to show us these things? It has to be one or the other and can't be THAT hard to fix!

I suspect it's the routing of the HVAC; when the A/C is off the air is being warmed by the engine, thus the noticeable transition between warm and cool air when the compressor cycles and the complaints by some that the cold air is not cold enough.

If it was simply the heater core flap, that would be easy to fix, but if it's the routing of air from the intake to the blower that's a whole different matter... :(

The lady I spoke w/ mentioned about speaking w/ the dealer. She said that you should also put a call into customer service since it seems to be a widespread problem. I'm just the messenger (don't kill the messenger ;) ). Only 1 more day & I should have my car... WOOHOO!