Its 70+ degrees with a very high humidity and I've been running the AC as cold as I can get it, just on 1 or it will freeze me to death. Intermittently as I'm driving I'll crack a window to let the cold air out. Tonight when I got home I noticed that the vents above the stereo were wet, and I checked the side ones as well.

The same humidity with a temp of 70 in the house has caused the window glass to do the same. I'm sure the house windows will be ok, but will it be ok to continue to run my AC the same way, or should this be happening at all? I know this sounds like a dumb question, but if I turn it down even the slightest bit, its almost stifling in the car with the windows rolled up.

The only thing I can think of is to turn my settings from outside air to re-circulating and hope for the best..

Any ideas?

 

Sounds like "condensation" to me. Sounds norm for that kind of climent.

 

I would worry about mold...

 

This is true, but the system is suppose to have drain tubes to give the moisture a place to exit outside. If those are plugged up then you can get a mold problem. Turning off the recirculate system is the same as running with the window cracked. Or, you could just change the temperature setting.

 

Thanks guys...Dom, I forgot to mention I understood that it might have been condensation, but I've had the car for 2 years and have not had a problem before. It was late when I got in from a HIN car show and I was sleepy but worried.

Things are dry as expected and was out today with the same settings but only for a short while. The drive I had last night was 2 1/2 hours long.

I'll probably run it by Mazda in the next few days to have it checked out just in case. I didn't know about those drains Al.

Thanks

 

If you live in this kind of environment then its only a matter of time till the mold builds up in the "drain tubes" you get sick or they over flow lol
Have them take a look at it. Let us know what they say.

 

Will do, thanks again guys.

 

Two thoughts - not only can the drain tubes clog, but the air exchanger can also get crudded up with mold, dirt etc. - there is a BG Service where a cleaner is sprayed on the exchanger to clean it - might consider.

Also, on the drain tubes, bugs love to crawl up into them, get stuck and die, and clog them up. I am not sure where they exit, but running a coat hanger up through them is one way to try and keep them cleared out.

 

Yeah, I'd first make sure the drain isn't plugged -- leaves and debris can get in there. You should be seeing a small amount of water under the car when you park after drives like this.

See here:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/hunt-drain-hose-92407/

If the drain is ok, you can adjust things to avoid the condensation. Running non-recirc, fan setting of 1 is worst-case for condensation in the vents and housings because it is the least airflow and using humid outside air. You can adjust the temperature **** to take the edge off the chill -- this will mix a bit of heat into the flow. Try fan setting of 2 and adjust until you're comfortable. This should take care of your condensation problem and you don't have to crack a window. Recirculate mode is probably better than non-recirc because the unit will take in cabin air which has already been partially de-humidified.