AC sucks
Electric windows sucks.

Of all the cars I've owned with AC and electric windows, the MINI has the worst of both.

An AC system that barely cools in Texas heat and a "one touch down" electric window that never works.

Just thought I'd mention that.

 

Try putting your A/C on recirc while it's on, it will cool the interior much more efficiently. Also, having an all black MINI in a hot climate is a surefire way to put nature against your A/C.

sorry to hear about your troubles, however a generalization won't help your situation

>>"one touch down" electric window that never works.>>
>>

This can hardly be true, they literally work, right? Is your difficulty in activating the one-touch down? You only have to tap the switch. Experiment a bit, tapping the switch too fast will just crack open the window, tapping too slow will roll them down until you lift. You have to tap "just right", however it is fairly intuitive interval.

Good luck, and read your owners manual!

 

Sorry to see you having a problem. I've had the opposite experience and I live in Austin. My MCS auto ac cools very well - better than my auto Mercedes. Recirc does cool much faster. I also just had the car windows tinted - this has a big effect on the heat load.

If I were you, I'd take it to the dealer and have the system checked out.

And yes, the fact that the windows are not one-touch up does suck.

Good luck.

 

My 04/03 build MCS's AC works pretty well. According to MINI you shouldn't leave the AC in recirc mode for too long as you develop poor air quality in the cabin.

 

I have heard complaints about the AC and especially the Auto AC. I have to believe it is isolated cases.

I have an April 2003 build MCS with Auto AC, and it works perfectly for me. I keep the temp on 68 or 70. After sitting in the sun all day with a sunroof, I crank the car, and the Auto AC does exactly what it should. First, it turns on recirculate and cranks up the fans wide open. After a few seconds of this, cool air is directed toward my face. After about 2 to 3 minutes, the fans come down a notch or two. After about 5 minutes, the fans roll down to the lowest setting, a very slight cool breeze is on my face, and I am 100% comfortable.

It's like the Auto AC reads my mind. It's what I would do if I were controlling it manually.

As for the windows, that has to be isolated, too. My elec. windows work just fine.

Sorry you're having the problems, but hopefully it is something the dealer can fix easily.

See ya,
JS

 

I forgot to add that once the cabin is cool, recirculation is turned off automatically. This occurs very quickly in my car.

See ya,
JS

 

Get your car seen to. I have never experienced any of the problems in the 1.5 years of owning MINIs that you have mentioned. Air Con' the the dogs bollucks, as we say in England. (It means good).

 

>>AC sucks
>>Electric windows sucks.
>>
>>Of all the cars I've owned with AC and electric windows, the MINI has the worst of both.
>>
>>An AC system that barely cools in Texas heat and a "one touch down" electric window that never works.
>>
>>Just thought I'd mention that.
>>
>>


Hhhmm, maybe you should have you car checked out.

I live in TX as well, and am very happy with the auto A/C. I think it works very well and quickly cools down the interior. I even have the sunroof.
Do you have auto A/C? Mine is EB/W and that could also make a difference (noticed yours is black)
My one touch windows also work ok, you just have to VERY BRIEFLY flip the switch down. If you hold the switch too long, it will not do the one touch. If that doesn't do the trick, then yours is definitely defective.

M.

 

I have Manual AC in my MINI. I have a 28 mile trip home from work, and on the way I have to switch between recirculate on and off. If it's on recirculate and the blower on high speed it fairly cools the cabin. If I switch off recirculate then it barely cools even with the blower on high.

I often wonder if black colored cars and high temperatures is true or just a myth. If it was true, then why is the sheet metal around air cooled cars like VW Beetles and Corvairs black and not a lighter color. Does black retain more heat or does it dissipitate heat faster than other colors. I've owned a Black Chevrolet Blazer and a Black Dodge Durango and never noticed any differance as compare to light colored vehicles I've owned at the same time.

As for my electric windows. The passengers door window operates just fine, but I hardly ever have to open it, but when I do, one touch and it goes all the way down. The drivers door window, hardly ever goes all the way down with one touch.
Either way, it's too sensitive. My Lexus RX 300 has one touch down and up and it works every time. My 99 New beetle had one touch up and down electric windows and it worked all the time. I'll have to run by the dealership to see if they can do something about it.

Thanks for y'alls response.

 

>>AC sucks


My AC blows! :LOL

 

I also have manual A/C and it works perfectly fine. Have a Pepper White Cooper with black roof (No sunroof) and live in hot and muggy Florida.

 

It's going to be a long hot summer. I've never had to crank the A/C so high to get just a little cool air! Maybe I need to learn to master the recirc. techniques...that should help.?!

 

My AC sucks a big one too. It doesn't get colder then like 68. I have to have some one look at it.

 

A/C 101's

If the outside temp is less than the inside temp turn recycle off, you need outside air! This applies if you left your car in the sun. Once the inside air is at comfort level, recycle that comfort-level air with minimal assist from the compressor to maintain comfort. Also, alternate frequently between recyc and normal to refresh the air so you don't get nasty smells through the vents.

Hope this helps.

 

I do all of this, ans still the AC spits out hot air...

 

>>I have Manual AC in my MINI. I have a 28 mile trip home from work, and on the way I have to switch between recirculate on and off. If it's on recirculate and the blower on high speed it fairly cools the cabin. If I switch off recirculate then it barely cools even with the blower on high.
>>

Hey Mundo,

try using a lower blower speed when not on recirculate!
The A/C internal heat exchanger can only suck up so much heat (or produce so much cold, but suck up heat is more correct). The faster the blower, the more warm outside air you will draw over the exchanger and through the cabin, and the warmer the air and cabin will be. A lower blower speed may help things by sucking less air through, and the air will be colder because it spends more time over the heat exchanger to dump heat.
Try and let us know if that helps.

Cheers,
M.

 

Also make sure that the temperature rotating **** or your auto A/C temp is set to the lowest temp possible.

I agree that when putting the fan to max speed does not help to cool down the cabin any faster than at a lower speed and in recirc mode.

The A/C in the MINI is great but let's face it, German cars or Euro cars in general have never been known to have powerful A/C systems. Reason? In Europe they don't have to cope with the extremely heat and humidity that we do in our geographical position.

I can hang fresh meat in the dashboard vents of my 2001 Chevy Impala LS.....the A/C in this car and most GM cars really cools down and real fast. The trick? A big blower fan motor helps. Japanese and American cars have decidely better tuned A/C systems than in European cars.

 

It also helps to crack open the windows a bit if the car has been parked for a long period of time under the scorching sun. This helps the A/C remove the dense and very hot air (Cabin temp in a parked car can easily hit 200F!) while driving away and the A/C is doing its initial work to regular temperature.

Like I said, I am satisfied with the manual A/C performance in my MINI but it is no match to my General Motors car.

 

Wanda is all Jet Black and has the auto a/c, which performed flawlessly on the cross-country roadtrip. I drove home through days of 96+ degree weather and she kept me nice and cool.

I think you should take yours into your dealership and have the a/c checked as well as your driver's window mechanism. Best of luck!

Cheers!
Clover

 

If you suspect that your A/C system is not working up to spec, take your MINI back to the dealer and ask them to do the following two basic checkups:

1) Have them inspect the level of Freon (R134a) refrigerant in the system. Ensure that there are no leaks in the system (R134a leaks are difficult to pinpoint so techs must have special tools for this purpose).

2) have them check the air temperature at the dash vents. It should be between 39F to 43F more or less degrees. If the temp coming out of the vents with the A/C compressor running is higher than that, then you have a problem either a leak, a bad compresor, bad coil, etc, etc.

3) Have them check the compressor, belts, etc, etc for noises or any other symptoms of trouble.


The summer is here and therefore it is a good idea to have our MINI's A/C system checked to ensure that it is ready for the scorching summer months heat.

 

Both of our power windows work great. The driver's as well as the passenger both go down automatically at the single touch of the toggle switch. In my opinion, you could have something wrong with the toggle switch for the driver's side not engaging properly for auto mode. Take it back to the dealer and be more gentle with the toggle switches next time...

 

Wondering how many of you with A/C problems have the sunroof option? I think there's an enormous amount of heat load on those cars. The non roofed vehicles are much easier to cool, I'd bet. Pete

 

I can't even remember the last time I had to use air conditioning

My windows are great though.

 

#1 Tint your windows
#2 Use recirculating feature, it is a must
#3 Set it on "Lo" for max cooling

If this doesn't work see your dealer

I have a PW/Bl roof w/sunroof and live in Tampa. I have no problems with ac.

I have had 2 Coopers w/no probs on ac or windows. Altho I recall a thread early on Mini2.com about windows. You may want to search the threads for more info.

 

Angel,

I agree that the A/C on the MINI isn't the greatest system. When I ordered Noah, I was worried about the cooling ability of the system so I skipped the sunroof and ordered at white roof.

My car gets cool, but it takes much longer to reach a comfortable level compared to my wife's Eclipse. In her car I turn the fan down and raise the temp because it can get too cold. Not in the MINI.

Wings