Got my 8 in Sept. AC has always been poor, at best. Had the AC Amp changed and while it did improve some it is still far less than satisfactory.

This is not what I would expect of an AC. In New Mexico the AC is important....almost a requirement.

 

I had the same complaints about my A/C. Since I bought the car in November (in Ohio), I hadn't really noticed until Spring.

I took it to the dealer, and they found that the refrigerant was pretty low. Apparently it wasn't leaking, so it must have come from the factory that way. That still didn't help enough.

A couple of weeks later, I took it back and asked them to check again. By then, they knew of a problem with some Air Amplifiers (a board associated with the A/C, in the car's interior). They had already had to replace it in two other 8's.

After the Air Amplifier was replaced, the A/C was nice and cold. i've had other cars that were colder, but this is just fine now. If your A/C is anemic, have this checked out.

 

you might want to get the a/c checked out mine works fine .its been in the 90's here and after 5min i have to turn mine down to the 2nd setting

 

If you don't feel the AC is up to par, get a thermometer and measure the outlet temp. Turn the AC on full blast/recirc, hold the engine speed at 3000 RPM, and stick a thermometer in the vent. There should be a spec in the shop manual of what range is acceptable outlet temp - if it's high, something's wrong. Either there's not enough freon in the system, or it may need an updated part.

Regardless. that will give solid ammo for taking the car to the dealer.

If the AC system is like the RX-7's, it should be easy to get to and service all the components. For example, on the RX-7 you just remove the glovebox (easy) to get to and remove the evaporator core in the dash - you don't have to pull the dash out or anything. Dunno if Mazda's doing it with the '8, but many RX-7's had port-installed or dealer-installed AC - some loophole made it way cheaper to put in the AC at the port or dealer than at the factory. So, the system was design so that it was relatively easy to install. A good mechanic could probably install the components in an hour and a half, then another hour to pull the system to vacuum and charge.

RX-7's with the R-12 freon had ICE COLD air conditioning. Yeah, it ate performance from the car, but it would freeze you out. My '90 convertible has 35 degrees at the vents - ouch!

Dale

 

Mine tested at 38 degrees, which they say is normal- and my a/c is definitely not normal. I'm going to have to argue with them, it seems. 38 may be normal when it stays at that temp, but mine is still cycling back and forth. They kindly set it to recirc for me (because I'm an idiot, you know, and apparently they assumed I didn't take that into consideration) and told me it was fine. *sigh*

 

My AC has cycled since I bought it (8/03). I am still waiting for the AC amp to come in for over 5 weeks. It's supposed to be in next week. I hope it fixes the problem, because the AC just doesn't cut it. Putting it on recirculate doesn't help at all, which is surprising, since it does on other cars I've owned.

Once the new amp is installed I'll come back and report. It just got really warm here and I'm sweating in my car! I just fixed the AC in my old Honda, so maybe I'll start driving it until the amp comes in.

All the other problems have been resolved with my 8. If they take care of this it will be perfect and I will be totally in love with it.

 

You have to pull the dash to remove the hvac unit. It's a pita and only paid 2.7 warranty.

 

My 8 was manufactured in Feb 2004 and doesn't have this problem (my car stays cool when it's 90+ degrees F and humid). If your dealer is giving you a hard time about replacing the A/C amp/controller/whatever, file a complaint with mazdausa.com.

 

I only complained about people without a real problem - for awhile it seemed too many poepl were complaining about things that are normal (like the compressor kicking off at idle or at high acceleration.

Two suggestions? First, try treating the service managers like the idiots they sound like and print out the TSB, use a yellow highlighter and highlight the descripion of the cycling problem, and read it to the service manager after saying "my problem is: "
Second, if they haven't checked the temp of the air flow WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING, suggest that they do. Driving may make the cycling more noticeable.

I actually think I have an A/C problem. My car is a 9/03 build. My temp is fine, and it doesn't change from warm to cold air, but I do have to listen to one of the most annoying whining and groaning every two minutes or so that sounds like a compressor is letting air in and out of a balloon. I plan on having it looked at when I go in for routine stuff. But I have been basking in the cold air that this car is putting out without a complaint. Good luck with yours - and getting them to fix it for you.

 

All A/C systems cycle at idle.

All Service Managers are not idiots...

 

All Service Managers are not idiots... No they know exactly what they are doing. They are payed not to service your car under warrenty. It is the system. Mechanics don't want to work on it because they get payed less and the Dealer gets money for less warrenty work. Mazda will never make it in this time unless they wake up and realize they have one shot to make people happy after that its another brand.

 

I have said that twice already in this thread. However, Elara seems to be having a problem convincing her service manager that her a/c is cycling abnormally, so my suggestion was to make sure that they are actually running the car instead of idling it while checking the air.

Whoever said that? I read the words you quoted, and nowhere does it even suggest I feel that way. However, had you read the entire thread, you would see the context of this is a particular situation and and a particular service call that Elara is having a problem with.

 

true true