Mine's not even remotely as cold as a Honda or American car, but it seems on par with a typical low-end German car.

 

I have auto AC, and was using it in Phoenix / Tucson a few weeks back during the heat wave. Got up to 117, I think.

Live in Phoenix and indeed it was 117 Sunday....my Auto AC sucks, probably the worst AC I have had in any car since my college days with my Fiat Spyder, but just put the roof down.....

oh well hoping for cooler days under 110...lol !

 

OK, I tested it with a thermometer. The outside temperature was 95, inside the car before starting it, the temperature was 115. I opened the windows to get the hot air out and then ran the air (while driving around) for 15-20minutes with the air on LO (coldest setting) with recirculate on, the thermometer (stuck into the dash vent) read consistently 60 and at the lowest, 56!

The air made it more comfortable, but it was never really cold. I think definately it should go below 56.

Guess it's time to talk to the dealer about this.

-Ryan

 

The air made it more comfortable, but it was never really cold. I think definately it should go below 56.

Guess it's time to talk to the dealer about this.
_______________________

I've had mine in the shop 3 times regarding the AC to no avail...let me know if they find out something my dealer obviously can't figure out :smile:

 

>>OK, I tested it with a thermometer. The outside temperature was 95, inside the car before starting it, the temperature was 115. I opened the windows to get the hot air out and then ran the air (while driving around) for 15-20minutes with the air on LO (coldest setting) with recirculate on, the thermometer (stuck into the dash vent) read consistently 60 and at the lowest, 56!
>>
>>The air made it more comfortable, but it was never really cold. I think definately it should go below 56.
>>
>>Guess it's time to talk to the dealer about this.
>>
>>-Ryan

Absolutely! If the air coming out of the vent doesn't get colder than 56, there's a problem. The air coming out of the vent on my MCS is COLD, there just doesn't seem to be enough of it to keep up with the heat that transfers into the cabin from outside. So the overall cabin temp never gets very low.

But the air coming out of your vent should feel almost freezing.

 

vent temps should be in the mid 40's.

When I first got my car and we had a hot day, I thought my AC didn't blow all that cold. Then as time went on, it seemed to get cold at the vents. I checked with a thermometer a while ago (posted exact numbers in another thread). It was around 100F outside with low humidity and the vent temp was around 47F IIRC. Maybe at first it really didn't get cold at the vents in the beginning or maybe it was just that transisition from the Dodge Neon to the MINI. Everytime I go for a ride in my wife's Neon, it gets chilly quick on the inside. The MINI does take a while to cool down.

 

I don't know how many times we have talked about this,
but I would have to say that the AC just isn't that efficient.

I have done many tests on how hot the cars gets, the temp inside and out,
vent temp, etc, etc.

Here is the deal.

On a good hot day here in Phoenix, like last Friday when it was 116, inside the
car reaches 147 degrees (with the sunroof popped up for venting heat)
Once the car is started and I make the 1 mile trip to the freeway, it has been about 3 or 4 minutes with the AC running full bore in AUTO, the vents are blowing about 68 degrees or so. Once I get on the freeway, and have been doing 75 mph for 5 minutes, it is starting to feel cooler inside. The vents are blowing about 58. At the 10 minute mark (15-20 minutes total) at an average of 75 mph, the AC has just about hit it's limit. It is now blowing at 51.
On a cloudy day (which are very rare) and a temp outside less than 106, I can get to 49. In the morning, I can hit 47. That is about the best it will do.

The scary thing is that inside the car, without the AC blowing directly on the digital thermostat sitting in the passenger seat, it will read 84-89 degrees! The other digital thermostat in the AC vent says 51. That is not very efficient.

The biggest problem with the AC is the blower motor speed, and the placement and designs of the AC vents. The Motor is just to weak. You can not feel the air blow past the front seat. And even sitting there, it is a weak stream of air. I close off the 2 end vents and only use the 2 in the middle. This helps.
It seems like 70% of the air is blown straight up throught the vent on top of the dash.

But the AC vents are in a bad position. They are right behind the steering wheel. The air blows on your hands, not your face. In addition, the vents are sunk so far back into the dash, that it prevents the air fom going any other way than directly straight back.

This week, I was just tired of the heat and the lack of AC. I decided to drive my wifes Tahoe. O man, That AC BLOWS!!!! It cools off 3 times the airspace in less than half the time the MINI ac does. I don't even have to turn it all the way on.
It is really amazing the difference between the amount or air flow.

I guess in Europe, AC is not a huge priority. Look at how many people died there last week when the temperature rose to a record 95 degrees. Man, we won't see 95 degrees until Halloween here in Phoenix. That is a cooling trend! it doesn;t even cool down to 95 degrees at night here in Phoenix!!!

 

Called the dealer this morning, they said the coldest vent temperature should be in the range of 42 to 44 degrees. They suggested I bring it in for a checkup. Will post the results next week.

-Ryan

 

>>Called the dealer this morning, they said the coldest vent temperature should be in the range of 42 to 44 degrees. They suggested I bring it in for a checkup. Will post the results next week.
>>
>>-Ryan


That sounds about right. Pls keep us posted on your post visit results.

 

nope, and I've had it to the shop twice. They've determined that there is a S L O W leak somewhere, but can't find it. Good nes is that since I got the magnaflow, I love driving with the windows down to get the full effect of the rumble and growl -- it's worth the sweat.

 

Dude! What are you all talking about??????? My AC is absolute perfection!!!!!!!!
Maybe I have no body fat, but I freeze my little arss off with most AC's.

 

:smile: :smile: Yep - ours is cold......burrr.........and like most parts of the East right now, it's hot and humid....
donna@dcmetrominis.org

 

... and mine works fine, too! ... not GM/Fridgidare icebox stuff, but enough to keep the heat out on a 105 degree kansas afternoon ... even with the fan on 'low' ...

... any less and it's trip-to-the-dealer time ... comfort Is possible!

 

Okay, let's go about this a little more scientifically:

How many of you complaining about the lack of cold have a sunroof?

If you have no sunroof, is your roof light or dark?

I have no probs with the AC being cold. In fact, it's sometimes TOO cold (even in 117 degree heat in Phoenix)!
I have a white roof, no sunroof. I also have a light colored interior (lapis, patina, magnesium door casings) and tinted windows. I'm sure all of that helps a bit.

_________________

Peanut EB/W MCS, 16" white wheels, HK, Sensing doodads up front, Lapis/Magnesium/Patina, DSC, Xenons, Fogs, Climate, Cruise

 

>>My AC is also very cold. Actually, I'm impressed w/ how cold it gets in a short amount of time. I usually end up turning the temp. down b/c of this.


I concur. I live in Steamy Central Florida, and this is the only car I've ever had whose A/C blows so cold that I find myself lowering the fan speed to "1" and raising the temperature to keep from freezing my tail off...

 

(mine's black-on-black, no sunroof, no window tint, btw ..)

 

Indi Blue with black roof AND sunroof, black interior with anthracite dash, black (ok dark grey) leatherette. Cools down pretty quickly (<5 minutes?) in 90-95 degree heat (hottest it's been here since I got the car).

It's not the coldest AC I've ever felt, but certainly does the job.

I agree that taking the temperature at the vents is the way to know for sure if yours is working correctly. If it's above 45, take it to the dealer.

 

I am in L.A. too and im in the san gabriel valley..so it's been like 105 here most days this week. I have a body colored roof sunroof and dark grey/black leather interior. I always keep the sun screens closed in the front and in the back and the A/C is on LO. It too only cools moderatly. It does take a lot of off idle power. But i agree that when i do get on the freeway it then gets cold. But never COLD. I drove my grandmothers BUICK PARK AVE yestuday and set it to 64 and I was shivering cuz i was so cold...hahaha

 

Production May '03 . . . CVT, no sunroof, auto air. ICE COLD IMMEDIATELY. The car lives in L.A. . .travels to the desert regularly. Gets cold fast at idle, in traffic. I think the auto air is better than the manual. . . .also, the sunroof would add a huge load to the heat factor. Peter

 

>>Okay, let's go about this a little more scientifically

Get this: Black roof, Sunroof, Panther black leather, Anthricite trim. Ac's as cold as a witch's titty in about 3-5 minutes!

Seriously, I've been very surprised as to how cool my car actually does stay on it's own. I drive with the sunroof open and the windows down untill my OBC reads 92 degrees outside, and then the AC comes on and after about 10 minutes I have the fan on the lowest setting and I'm debating opening the windows again.

 

It's a british car - you should be damn glad the fan even works

 

>>It's a british car - you should be damn glad the fan even works

 

>>>>It's a british car - you should be damn glad the fan even works

And mostly German, French and American parts. None of the engine parts are British and that includes the Siemens EMS2000 engine computer system.

The engine is made in Brazil by the TRITEC-Curitiba BMW/DCX joint venture plant, the wipers and key lockset is made by Valeo of France, the seats are made by Johnson Controls (American company) the MINI factory rims are made in Italy, the rear view mirror is made by Donelly, the panorama sunroof is made by Webasto (Germany), some suspension components are made by Delphi (US), the transmissions are made by either Midland Gears, ZF in Belgium (CVT) and Getrag in Germany (6-speed in the MCS).

So yeah, no LUCAS parts in the MINI. The only true British aspect about the car is the heritage and point of assembly (Oxford).

 

>>Production May '03 . . . CVT, no sunroof, auto air. ICE COLD IMMEDIATELY. The car lives in L.A. . .travels to the desert regularly. Gets cold fast at idle, in traffic. I think the auto air is better than the manual. . . .also, the sunroof would add a huge load to the heat factor. Peter

The only difference between the ACC and manual are the cockpit controls and the micro filter. The actual A/C components that do the cooling are identical.

 

As someone already mentioned the key to quick and efficient cooling is the REFRESH/RECIRCULATE button!!!!

Make sure IT IS ON!!! Big difference if you have it off. I tried it both ways and the car cools off much faster with it on.

We've been having a brutally humid last few weeks here in NYC and the A/C is doing it's job well.