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Add on air conditioning?

2K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  Smokinjoe73 
#1 ·
Just bought my 08 fortwo and love it but it doesn't have AC.


How hard would it be to add on? Is it the whole hvac change or easier?


Thanks
 
#3 · (Edited)
I wasn't aware they made smarts without ac. Retrofitting one would probable be a major pain. Do you even have an ac button in the cab? If you do is it even enabled it or will you have to go to the dealership for them to enable it. Then there's all the parts you will need, all the little mounting brackets, all the lines. Then dealing with possible leaks. Damm, only thinking about this makes my head spin.
If I was in your situation I would just throw some 5% tint. it should help quite a bit
 
#5 ·
Yeah no button. On other vehicles you can easily add it on since the motor has accomodations but I realize I am in smart world now.


Got the car to drive when weather was too bad to motorcycle so will make due. It was sorta an oversight when I bought it since I got a great deal.
 
#9 ·
I've installed AC on a number of cars. It's not really easy on any of them, even with the proper equipment, which I have.

It's funny, because whenI bought my Pure I was somewhat disappointed that it had AC. I really like the simplicity of the car. No power steering, crank windows, etc. I figure that when the AC fails I'll just remove it!

Paul
 
#6 ·
smart USA made A/C optional on the 2008 pure model. Lots of folks were surprised by that when they got their cars, and some even refused delivery even though they did not order A/C, assuming the car would have it. smart USA corrected that for later 451 pures. :)
 
#12 ·
Swapping the mechanical parts wouldn't be all that hard or expensive if you bought a parts car. It's the programming it to function that may be the hard part. I know on Chevy Cruzes you can add cruise control by swapping in a $50 used steering wheel, but it will cost an additional $250 at the dealer to program it in so the computer sees it as being "as built" when the car was new. The dealer has to contact GM for authorization to do it. Same for adding fog lights. Some things are not possible at all. Swapped in leather heated seats into my base model along with the HVAC control panel with the seat heat buttons. Everything plugged in just fine but couldn't get the heaters to work. GM wants you to buy the car with them already installed, not put them in later for a lower cost.
 
#14 ·
Kind of a dead issue as they are no longer making these cars. My first Pure did not have a/c or electric windows. it was a bare bones basic car, And I put 17,000 miles on it in 7 months before I was forced to replace it. It was Black with a grey interior, and a solid roof. I got by fine without A/C and just opened the windows. I got what I got and if I didn't like it, I would have upgraded.
 
#15 ·
Yeah, it certainly doesn't matter at this point. If I remember correctly, in 2008 the default in the online configurator for the pure was "no A/C." After the big stink, the default for later model years was changed to "with A/C." It was still optional, but you had to make a decision to delete A/C. :)
 
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