fray

iTrader: (1)

Someone mentioned in another part of the forum that the Euro or J-spec cars had a climate control option.

I was wondering if anyone had tried to retrofit a US/North American model with climate control. If so where did you get the parts, what did it cost, and how well did it work?

truemagellen

hey bud the RX-8 Euro/J spec climate control is an automatic unit...it is very similar to the one used in the Mazda 6 and previous Millenia S's

From almost all reports the unit is not great and is rather annoying to all...I can verify as the Millenia unit never seems to be right...while the US RX-8 manual unit after a few weeks I've figured out how to play with it so it is perfect (usually too cold or too warm not anymore).

Interstingly though the LCD display for the HU and Climate control is the same all over the world as if you look at the display on an angle you can see the automatic CC's lcd outline

-J

Someone from the UK said "the automatic climate control in my RX-8 is like a toddler constantly playing with the dials while I drive...I put the toddler back in his seat but eventually he wriggles free and annoys me to the point were it is unsafe"

fray

iTrader: (1)

Heh.

Well the dial in my 8 is pretty bad. It's either cold or hot... there is no inbetween. (At this point I suspect the problem is a broken temp switch. If you tap it or jiggle it.. sometimes you get warm for a bit.. and then it goes cold again..)

My dealer said they'd look into it at the next visit.. (later this month)

Sigma

I have to disagree 100%. I couldn't sing more praises about the ACC in my Mazda6s. If not for unplugging the battery to do mods, I would never have touched the climate control from the day I bought the car. It's set on 75 and does a marvelous job of maintaining it sillently and totally transparently.

It's big enough for me that it's one of the reasons why I'm waiting for a feature announcement on the '06s (if anything) before buying an RX-8.

truemagellen

that is bizarre...yes it is possible it is broken...there was a TSB but it was for a cosmetic problem (dials cracking/defrost button cracking)

I guess after I had the HVAC amp replaced on the TSB I've had no problems...also I have the Aldehyde cabin filter which increases flow while still blocking all contaminents...


hey when we meet up I'll look at your ACC and you can try mine...see the difference :D

-Jason

fray

iTrader: (1)

I already did the Aldehyde filter upgrade.. man I love that..

I checked the ****, and it's definatly not cracked or anything. So it's possible the HVAC AMP is having a problem, but like I said it acts like the switch is bad.

So far the HVAC system is the only major complaint on my car.. everything else is "minor" (including the cat that went bad).

--Mark

hotpot

The climate control on my car does not work that well. It seems to react to outside temperature rather than the inside temperature. Meaning that it could be very hot outside but the inside may already be at a comfortable temperature, but the blower would still be blowing at full blast. I don't know where the temperature sensor is located, but it could be that it's not adequately positioned.

Also it will decide which vents to blow the air through. E.g. sometimes when you want the blower to blow to your face only, the climate control will decide to open the foot vents as well (usually when the temperature has reached the level you've set).

It works ok, but I wouldn't spend a fortune upgrading the unit that you get in the US.

truemagellen

hey hotpot...long time no see, I remember you were one of the ones who had issues with the Automatic CC nice to hear your perspective again

(btw did you figure out the auxilary input?)

cool'n'funky

I have a UK 8 with the CC, and I have no problem with it at all. Set the dial to 18 and leave it alone. Only time it goes a bit mental is if you've stopped the car for a bit and it thinks the outside temp its 40degC (when its 1degC really) 'cause its getting heat from the radiator, or if a bright light gets shone on the sunshine sensor - both of these a pretty transient and it settles down again quickly. Don't know how I lived without it beforehand.

MDRX8

Big complaint with me in US......No real Climate Control it's guess want temp you want control

hotpot

My opinion of the climate control has not changed since the last time. But I do think that the climate control dials look better than the normal US a/c dials. :o

The auxiliary input is still doing the whirring sound but it's not too bothersome as I can only hear it at low volume. Above level 10 volume, it's not audible.

shinka1959mike

Who knows the the best fix for the temperature control ****. I would like to fix this myself. So if anybody can give me step by step instructions on how to disassemble panel and repair please let me know.