The auto system woirks better in Romi than it does in our Lexus in terms of cooling. But Romi does not have a sunroof.

In oder to reach a confortable level though I have to set it to 64. And that results in a mean temperature of 75 in the center of the cabin away from the vents. I thnk they put the temperature sensor in the path of the air flow. I have never touched the temperature setting after discovering it had to be set low in order to reach and maintain a nice comfort level.

But I really am impressed with the A/C. It is the first car I have owned that actually cools off inside before I get home when the ambient is over 95F.

 

I challenge anybody that thinks everything's perfect to shoot their center pillar with an infrared thermometer.
Go ahead, right down there by your right foot (U.S.-spec cars; passenger left foot on Brit-spec).
It will be somewhere between 115 and 140 degrees. Really.
Now go for a nice frollick of a drive and feel down there. Hot, ain't it?

Now go for a long drive. 600 or 700 miles or so. Are your feet sweating yet? Legs hot? Huh?

It's a design flaw. They're working on it (I'm told).

 

Nah, I don't need an infrared thermometer. My recent 6,500 road trip in one month, with the longest haul being 850 miles in one day, proved to me that MY MINI doesn't roast my toetoes
Why do you find it difficult to believe that there are those of us who don't have this issue? I am not denying that you have an issue.

 

The fact that you and several of other people have the problem, doesn't mean everyone does. If it was a design flaw, what good would it do to give you another MINI? I don't need a thermometer to tell me it's hot as hell out today and I don't need one to tell me that my foot is not roasting in my MINI. Bottom line, my car's center stack and footwell do not get any hotter than any other car I have had and in near 100 degree heat, my a/c brings the car to a very cool temperature within 5 minutes of driving.

 

Preach on, Lynn. Once AGAIN, my MINI's AC is, bar none, the best AC system I've ever had. And, I've had too danged many cars for my own good

 

I hate heat. If the floor pan was hot, I would be bitchin up a storm about it. Romi is more comfortable than any other car I have had in recent history. Matter of fact, when we went river rafting I was wearing sandals for that trip and my feet actully got a little cool from the A/C. I kept both feet flat on the floor (cruise control is sooooo nice).

Granted, at the time it was only in the high 80'sF. But this week is being a scorcher in the upper 90's and my feet still stay comfy.

I will echo Blue Skies sentiment. It is the best AC system I have had in a car. And I have had some nice cars in my day.

 

And some of the more recent ones were after they invented a/c.

 

The A/C on my R52 is the worst A/C I have ever had on any car I have owned. I have been meaning to ask if they still have that humongous waste-of-a-vent in the front, center part of the dash on the R56 or did they get rid of it because I feel that stupid vent is my problem. I have a nice, strong cool blast of air aimed at the windshield while a pitiful stream blows towards my face.

Yesterday it was 100° & I drove for 45 minutes in the MINI with the A/C on full power & recirculate the entire drive (& yes the top was up ). I kept having to lift my sunglasses to dry the sweat off my nose. That's how good my A/C works

 

Maybe your a/c needs some adjustment. The R56 does have that huge vent, but, at least in mine, the air flow out of it is very little. It's a diffuser. The a/c blowing out of my dash vents is very strong when the fan speeds are up.

 

I'd still like to check the temperature of the center pillar on the cool cars...

If it's not universal, I feel bad. I've gotten two hot ones in a row then.
And all the others I've seen have been hot too...

 

If I remember, I will check. For me, it won't mean anything since I have never checked on any car, so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

I checked mine on the way home from work last night. It was definitely hot to the touch but not so much so that I had to take my hand away. I'll have to borrow a temp gauge to get a more accurate reading. For what is it worth outside temps during the day have be in the mid 90's for about a week and a half.

 

OK, I borrowed an infrared thermometer from work and took a few temps at the start and finish of an 11 mile, 30 minute, city rush hour drive home from work. Outside temp was 97 degrees F.
I have a sunroof (no extra tent but the screens were used) and all black interior. Side and back windows are tented but not blacked out.

Readings of interior after sitting all day closed up tight:
Kick Panel Next to Gas Pedal - 114F
Other surfaces (dash, seats, steering wheel)- 125F

End of drive readings w/Auto Air set to 66F (no circ or max):
Kick Panel - 110F to 132F checked at multiple spots.
Other surfaces - 90F to 95F

Take it for what it is worth but after a half hour the Auto Air did not get the cabin temp to what I would consider an acceptable level.

 

Here in MD, hot/humid 98degrees, My AC is working really good. I have 35 % tint on windows and limo tint on the sunroof, this really helps to keep the car cooler even on the hottest days.

 

The sunroof may indeed reduce the effectiveness of the A/C to poor levels.

Romi sat outside all day today and it was 98F. I have a 10 minute commute to the house, all stop and goo, driving below 40MPH the entire way. Putting the A/C at 62F and not using Max Romi was very comfortable about halfway home.

By the time I was in the garage the A/C had already rolled back to about half fan speed and I was cool and comfortable.

Romi is not an MCS. And she does not have a sunroof. Maybe those two things are the difference. I cannot say. But it seems a logical conclusion to draw.

 

I think many posts have said that tinted roofs, on an MC, keep it cool. So, maybe the logical conclusion is the turbo runs too hot in the S?

Arnbut, wasn't that one of your theories?

 

la..keep it on max until it cools off..then auto 72...seems to work, but i have tinted windows and a checkered sunroof.

 

It's cold enough, but you do have to run it low. I run it like a manual most times, or just hit "Max" until I feel fine and then set it at 64. I should be able to put it at 70, but I think they put the sensor in a bad place.

 

The tinted glass is not going to keep the inside as cool as the metal roof with full headliner will.

If I open the headliner sunroof panel in our Lexus, tha car will never cool off when the Sun is high in the sky. Even though the glass in it contains a UV blocker, and is fully tinted, it still gets far too hot in that car with the cover panel pulled back. Close the cover panel and it cools just fine. The effect is dramatic.

After the A/C has been running for 5 minutes, or so, I can touch any part of the headliner and it is cool to the touch. Mini installs an insulation pad in the roof of cars that do not have a sun roof. It cannot help but to make a difference.

 

The turbo definitely heats up the engine bay about 100 degrees more than the normally-aspirated engine bay.

Engine temperatures are moderated by circulating coolant through the heating plumbing full-time in an effort to dissipate the concentration of heat. It's logical to try and conduct the heat away via this intrinsic method --- the downside is that it effectively also conducts heat to the interior of the cabin.

secunn's findings are typical of all the R56-S's that I've seen so far. That 130 degree area of the center pillar acts as a radiator; on a longer drive the overall temperature of that pillar keeps rising, concomitantly increasing the interior temperature of the car. The a/c does what it can to battle the condition but it's like running with both the heat and a/c on.

It's obvious that the car was designed this way. It's also obvious that while it's not ideal it's also not dangerous. It's a nag.
Will it affect the life or function of the a/c? Not likely.
It only affects the comfort level and it does it in two ways:
1) Hot foot. It's just unpleasant.
2) The A/C must be run with the fan at a higher setting and the ambiant noise level is annoying and also causes auditory fatigue.

My hope is that Mini/BMW figure a way out to insulate the cabin better. They are already aware of the nag and are investigating it. Unless we collectively encourage them to address it, they might shelve it as a "normal operating condition" and leave us to our hot sweaty bottom halves...

 

MINI's airconditioners leave a whole bunch to be desired, especially in our triple black MINIs. No idea why our stupid cabrio's want to cool the front windshield with the top dash vent, although the heat from it is nice in the winter. I find that keeping window shades in while parked helps keep the dash from frying which helps it cool faster as the vents are part of the dash. The cooler the dash to start the faster the car will get cool. The factory car cover does little to help keep the car cool, the black mock windows seem to suck the heat in. Also, keep stuff out of the fatory cup holder, it blocks the third vent from the left. The third vent blows more cool air on the driver than the second vent from the left does. Try shutting off the fourth vent from the left for more air through the first three. To the rest of you that think your MINIs have the best ac's ever, none, repeat none, of these Coopers will come close to cooling as well as my two unit Suburban!

 

There's no doubt the sunroof has got to add to heat, but I have the sunroof (with 5% tint) and the turbo. My a/c works great. Plus, the turbo sits right near the top front of the engine compartment and it's air lines and cooling lines run nowhere near the footwell. I can't see it transmitting heat there. It may increase exhaust temp, but no one's mentioned excessive heat along the tunnel.

 

Yeah shutting off the passenger vents really does help a tiny bit but I have never had to do that on any other car to keep myself comfortable & it's not an option 4 days a week as my dog is in the passenger seat panting & I don't have the heart to shut one of his vents off. IMHO if they would lose that stupid top dash vent it would be problem solved.

I was gonna bash/post a question about the A/C crappiness on the Motoring File "ask Stracco" day but I didn't know if the A/C was better in the R56 so I was scared to ask. Now I wish I had

 

We'll have to see if there is a way to shut that sucker off short of duck tape! I'll try putting my hands over it on the way home and see if more blows out of the dash vents. Maybe we could do it the old fashion way and stuff a rag in it.....foam in place?

 

It seems like you could take the dash apart (gasp I couldn't but I could pay someone to do it for me ) & put something permanent over the opening to block the air flow then reassemble the dash. I know doing that would greatly increase the force of air blowing out of the front vents which would completely solve my problem. If it is 100° out like it is now I can live as long as I have a good strong stream of cold air hitting my face.

To me it's not just the "auto" A/C that is weak, it's the A/C period manual or auto because of the lame air force coming out of the front vents.