Ok, I've had my passion coupe for a couple weeks now and am thinking there may be something wrong with the A/C. Even at full blower speed and the lowest temp setting, it doesn't do a very good job. Actually, I'm not sure why anyone would use the other temp settings in the summer if this is normal. Even more curious, the air temperature seems to vary considerably between the passenger and driver side vents. I can place my hand over the passenger side vents and it feels cooler (but not great) than the driver's side which feels pretty much like outside air. I am used to Japanese-style A/C (Honda) which is very cold when you want it to be.
I've tried the normal tricks like leaving the windows cracked on hot days, keeping the sunshade closed, driving with the windows down at first, using recirculate, but it takes forever to cool down the cabin (relatively speaking) with the A/C. If it's sunny and warm (>75), you have to leave it running all the time to keep the car reasonable. It is doing 'something', but it's a less than decent impersonation of A/C.
Any other experiences or thoughts about the A/C? Any mechanical theories as to why the air feels noticeably cooler on the passenger side than the driver side?
haven't noticed it being different on different sides... however, when I'm not moving or in slow traffice it is pretty tough to keep the car cold. It stays mostly comfortable but not where I'd want it. When it is hot I use recirc and the lowest temp setting and it works decent. It is not the strongest A/C unit but there isn't alot of space for a big A/C unit either. (I have a black smart so it gets pretty hot)
Have you taken it in to be checked out? Could be a low charge.
doesn't help us much with understanding the local climate.
i like in new england, A/C seems to put up no protest when it's called upon, although that is more often for defrosting/dehumidifying than it is for pure cooling. it's a relatively small system on a small engine. the air at the vents in quite cool, enough that it would be uncomfortable after awhile.
there is a big gap between the lowest temp setting and then even one notch up - isuspect that the "climate control" function isn't enabled at the lowest temp setting - it's just set to full cold all the time, one notch higher and it attempts to modulate the temp with cycling on and off more typical of a thermostat.
unevenness in temp between vents - this could be just because of ducting and the routing of the air - a longer trip to the driver's side than the passenger's side, etc. i have not seen the A/c schematic to tell for certain.
Not yet - that would entail a 6 hour round trip plus time at the dealer. I want to be real sure there is a problem before taking it back.
a phone call to them with your inquiry may be a good start - they should be able to tell you typical a/c performance and what you should expect for your area.
doesn't help us much with understanding the local climate.
Sorry if it's a little cryptic, but it is Almost Heaven as in "Almost Heaven, West Virginia" (John Denver song lyric and state alias). We do get some warmer weather and humidity. Yesterday, it was probably 80 - 84 and sunny and just a little humid, but not nearly as bad as it was a week ago. Cooler weather is right around the corner, so I will probably put off the dealer looking at it until I can justify the trip for something more substantial.
It sounds like your A/C works fairly well. I would never classify the air coming from the vents as becoming uncomfortable for any distance. I did call the dealer and they said they "would look into it". But, I doubt much will come of that.
I live in Texas and it has been fine this summer. We had quite a few over 100 days and I rarely have to put it below 68, but I park in covered parking so I'm sure that makes a big difference.
how many miles on it?
has the A/C in the smart ever performed to your expectations? (in other words, has there been a noticeable decrease in performance or effectiveness?)
have you noticed any freezing of the condenser coil associated with a drop-off in cooling efficiency?
can you hear the a/c pump cycling on and off?
does the a/c or defrost still seem to effectively clear the glazing of condensation/fog?
I like it ice cold, personally. I live in the squalid swamp that is the DC area, and mine can make me uncomfortable if kept on full cold at fan speed 3 or above. It's bounds better than my VUE, which can become a meat locker at highway speeds but needs full speed and full cold around town.
So far, I'm happy with the performance of the climate control system. My vehicles are garaged at work and at home, so that helps some but after long trips on the road they still get exposure like anything else.
The thing which really helped our a/c was the windshield sunshade we cut down to fit above the roll-up shade (which seems to transmit about 80% of the infrared heat energy through the roof. We had no problem this summer in 103 + temps.
Cabin cools down much quicker than any other car we've owned.
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I want to be real sure there is a problem before taking it back.
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