I have a new MCS, 500 miles, and it seems to me that the Auto AC does not get very cold even with it set to LO and running for quite a while. My old VW cabrio is cold almost immediately. Does this improve with time as well, or should I be concerned enough to have the dealer check it out. It has been quite warm here in Los Angeles lately, but I somehow expected colder air from the vents.

Any comments?
Thanks.

 

Ryanide: I was going to create a post JUST like this! I live in LA as well and lately the temps have been anywhere from 95-112°. The AC at even the 4th fan speed just doesn't cut it! The speed doesn't matter, it's just not ice cold, at least cold enough to battle the heat coming in from the windows! It sucks! Another Exclamation Point Coming Up!

It seems to be OK on the highway/freeway when you are moving, but in any stop and go or street behavior, it is sometimes just awful.

 

Is my AC cold?

YES. Very. :smile: :smile:

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. The AC worked wonderfully. Drained the power from the engine on acceleration tho. :evil:

I did find that it works a whole lot better when actually moving than when standing still.

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

 

Not quite 1000 miles on my 03 Chili Red/White MCS. The air works very well here in Northern Ca. We have had temps as high as 108

After the window tint, it gets down right COLD

 

I was having a problem with my A/C not working well when not moving. I had my car in for some service to fix a problem with the power steering fan and radiator fan being on the same fuse. If that fuse has blown that could cause the problem.

After getting the service done, I was talking to the technician. He happened to ask me if my A/C wasn't working when stopped and he said that this should help.

Apparently the recall fix for the fan - fuse problems might help this problem.

 

my A/C on my S makes my hands numb when I am driving. temps have been really high here in S.D.

 

Not as cold as my Chevy 2500HD truck. The A/C in my MCS is marginal at the least in truly hot conditions.

 

>>I have a new MCS, 500 miles, and it seems to me that the Auto AC does not get very cold even with it set to LO and running for quite a while. My old VW cabrio is cold almost immediately. Does this improve with time as well, or should I be concerned enough to have the dealer check it out. It has been quite warm here in Los Angeles lately, but I somehow expected colder air from the vents.
>>
>>Any comments?
>>Thanks.


1) Do you have a sunroof? (Major heat intrusion element. You need to tint the glass panels otherwise your car will be a very hard to cold off baking oven).

2) Have you checked the air temperature at the dash vents? If you haven't done so, get a good thermometer and check and make sure that your dash vent temperature is between 39F to 43F. If is not take it back to the dealer ASAP.

 

The manual A/C in my '02 Cooper CVT is excellent and it quickly cools down the interior of the car (I have no sunroof). No problems at all in our 90F+ weather with 80-100% humidity index.

 

I have a sunroof, and i have to turn my air so that it is barely on because it gets so cold! I guess our little cars are truly individuals!

 

Cold? Yes.

 

For whatever its worth I have found that if I turn on the recirculating fan the car gets ALOT colder much quicker. So cold infact that i have to turn the temp up after a few miles otherwise my fingers are numb.

 

My A/C seems to run cold enough for me. Though, I have to admit, that anything would feel great to me since I went without A/C for over 8 years with my previous car.

 

I live in L.A. also and I'm not liking the AC either. I almost feel like I need to get on the freeway just so the it get cold enough.

 

Mine is cold. Very cold. And I'm new to Florida, so I BLAST that thing!!

Erin

 

Yep, very cold, but I'm a Floridian.
I drive around all day with the temps in the 90s and my windows down and the sunroof open (sunscreen closed).
With my family in the MINI, up go the windows, and we put the air on---usually set it about 72 or so using the auto air function and it works great! No compaints from the back seat either.

Yfoiler

 

I have a '03 MINI CVT with 15,000 miles. I been feeling the heat too- I live in Anaheim, not far from L.A. My manual a/c runs cold in medium speed (ON 2) without losing much power. So far that's the only that has not broken-maybe I just jinxed myself.

 

My AC runs Cold

 

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.

 

Yes, I have the sunroof but I keep the shade closed to minimize the heat as much as possible. I'll check the temperature.

Does it get cold quickly for most people, or does it take a while?

I put it on the LO setting (coldest with high fan) and keep it on recirculate, it seems to take forever to get cool. And even when it is cool, it is not really COLD to the hand. Maybe something is not working correctly on mine.

Thanks for the input!
-Ryan

 

Yes, but...
If I have the dashboard vents selcted and directed at myself, My chest, hands, and face get blasted by enough cold air to eventually become uncomfortable.

However, if I try to cool the entire interior of the car by directing the air up along the windshield, the AC has trouble keeping the overall temp. down.

I might try tinting the side and back windows to see if that decreases the radiant heat entering the car. It might help with the overall temp issue.

 

'03 MCS w/ Auto a/c and it gets nice and cold. My only real complaint regarding this is like others have said, the dash vents cannot be directed sufficiently away from my hands and it can be a bit uncomfortable. I find myself closing the right-most vent if I am driving for more than 30 minutes with the a/c on.

Minor complaints are the slight humming noise emitted by the compressor during very hot days and the off-idle lack of power in traffic with the a/c running. I compensate for both of these nowadays (radio turned up and a blip of the throttle before taking off).

(why did I have the feeling that was possibly a variation of a 'Is your refrigerator running' thread?)

 

I think the MINI's A/C is your typical German car air conditioning...cools down but lacks punch. American cars, specially GM and Chryslers have A/C systems that you can literally hang fresh meat on the dashboard vents. My ex-2001 Chevy Impala LS had a very powerful A/C...you could get frostbite fairly easily!

The MINI's A/C has two problems in my view

The way the dashboard airflow was designed. I think that MINI needs to eliminate the center vent right above and on top of the center speedo. I believe they did this to "Improve" the amount of airflow sent into the cabin but I don't think it doesn't work quite like that. The top of the dashboard is very hot and cooling down that area takes more time.

Also becuase of the huge center top dash vent the other 4 front facing circular dash vents don't develop enough air pressure. The results...very cold air distributed improperly.

Other problem could be that the fan motor is not powerful enough but I think that if MINI corrects the cockpit airflow they will probably don't need to replace the fan for a noiser unit.

Remember that typically in Europe their summers (With the exception of the current one this year) are not nearly as hot as ours (Specially in the Sunbelt states) therefore their A/C systems are not faced with the increased amounts of heat, dry or humid air present in our geography.

In England and most of the European market. MINI's don't come with A/C standard from the factory..it is an option. the only markets where the MINI gets standard A/C is the US and Canada.

 

>>The way the dashboard airflow was designed. I think that MINI needs to eliminate the center vent right above and on top of the center speedo. I believe they did this to "Improve" the amount of airflow sent into the cabin but I don't think it doesn't work quite like that. The top of the dashboard is very hot and cooling down that area takes more time.
>>
>>Also becuase of the huge center top dash vent the other 4 front facing circular dash vents don't develop enough air pressure. The results...very cold air distributed improperly.
>>

I have to disagree with you, Cooper4us. I have driven other cars in the price range, and the AC in those cars often would give me a headache because it didn't circulate well. I would often find that the air right around my eyes and above was warm, and the air below was cold. That would give me bad headaches when driving for medium-long periods of time. That doesn't happen AT ALL in my MCS. I love the way this AC works! :smile: :smile:

 

>>
>>>>The way the dashboard airflow was designed. I think that MINI needs to eliminate the center vent right above and on top of the center speedo. I believe they did this to "Improve" the amount of airflow sent into the cabin but I don't think it doesn't work quite like that. The top of the dashboard is very hot and cooling down that area takes more time.
>>>>
>>>>Also becuase of the huge center top dash vent the other 4 front facing circular dash vents don't develop enough air pressure. The results...very cold air distributed improperly.
>>>>
>>
>>I have to disagree with you, Cooper4us. I have driven other cars in the price range, and the AC in those cars often would give me a headache because it didn't circulate well. I would often find that the air right around my eyes and above was warm, and the air below was cold. That would give me bad headaches when driving for medium-long periods of time. That doesn't happen AT ALL in my MCS. I love the way this AC works! :smile: :smile:

I am not saying the A/C doesn't work well, because it does manage to cool down the cabin in our Cooper (With black solid roof) which is parked out in the sun all day long. I just think that the current way MINI manages the interior airflow is not the best in my opinion for optimum efficiency.


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'02 Cooper CVT
On order: '04 Cooper S (Est production date: 9/5/03)