Hi, New to forum. Getting ready to place order for Countryman and drove it yesterday in moderate heat ( San Antonio TX ) at 85 degrees. Car had 7 miles on it and the AC didn't adequately cool even the front passengers. Rep said it works on a alternator / battery and not on a belt flywheel. Anyway I don't want to buy the car if the A/C can't keep up at 85 when we hit 100 here many days in the Summer. Any feedback from warm weather climate buyers? HELP PLEASE

 

Hello, It hasn't gotten very hot here in Ohio yet, since I got my Countryman. The days it has gotten warm, the AC was always more than adequate. While you can set the temperature on the A/C there is also a button you have to hit to turn on the actual cold air part of the system. It's a picture of a snow flake located around the air controls. Maybe that was the trick.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure we really knew exactly what we were doing trying to turn on the AC.

 

The A/C works great. I have found the automatic climate control is even better than in my R56. There is also MAX button if you want to cool the cabin quickly. I used to do that and turn down the fan. Summer near Houston is HOT and this is my third MINI. If you wanted to you could get it cold enough to hang meat.

Bill

 

..was the rep with you when on the test drive, to make sure the controls were set to optimal for getting a feel for the A/C output/capabilty?

..in a new/unfamiliar car there's so many things to focus on, can easily miss having the settings right...?

..fellow San Anonians here , so I "know" about the need for good A/C in a car ...the a/c in our 07 justa works just great...'cause its such small area inside to cool

..but my wife and I are hoping one day, do trade out a sm Suv (Xterra) in for a Countryman (or Paceman, later down the line)

..please let us know how your experience with the countryman purchase goes/and AC suffiency. ...& what area of SA yall in?
J

 

Is that new for the Countryman? My R56 A/C is run by the usual belt/flywheel. I think you're rep is full of it... I might be wrong though...

 

85F is moderate heat?! Where I live, that is cookin'!

I agree with the others, you experience is probably due to unfamiliarity of the controls.

Dave

 

With cars moving to start stop ignitions at idle/stopped in traffic to save gas, both the power steering and the A/C compressors need to move to electric to keep running seamlessly. Thus, I expect it's a when not if on the Mini A/C, and it's already there w/ the PS. Could be it arrived w/ the 2011 motor change? It would show presumably in the RealOEM parts diagrams, either as a change, or as the same old thing.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. Good support from mini community.

 

I have an all black CM and live in Austin, it has been in the high 90's and my car keeps me chilly at all times. Even with the sunroof being glass... No problems to report, happy happy here!

 

Thanks for the feedback. My Mini is on the boat now. Hope to see it in a month.

 

ours is lacklustre...in southern california. Worst A/C in any car we have EVER had. We have a 2011 Countryman S, about 3K miles. Fun to drive, BUT the A/C is not performing. So bad in fact I have taken it in, twice

 

Will agree that this is the worst AC I have had in any car I have owned. Have to drive 100% of the time so far with the AC on Max . . . . okay I live in Arizona, but I haven't had to do this with any other vehicle with Automatic Climate Control or old fashioned.

 

I usually have to leave the A/C on max if the heat is over 80, at least for the first 20 minutes or so I'm in the car. After that, I can go back to auto, though I find I still need to keep the temp set extra low if it's hot out (like 66). I live in CT, and we've had 80-90 degree heat all week, and it's keeping up. It's not as cold as my old Jeep's A/C, though, so by comparison, it doesn't feel adequate.

 

My Countryman AC is rubbish

I have manual not Auto AC and I have to monkey around all the time to get it to blow cold - its like it gets stuck - I have to cycle buttons and vent areas and then it seems to wake itself up - I would suspect icing of condenser and perhaps its preventing total failure by disabling AC for a while but perhaps that's giving it to much credit

I will be getting it looked at its first service in a couple of weeks time

 

I have auto AC in my Clubman, which can't be any different than a Countryman.
I push the AC button, set the temperature and it just goes there! It works just fine, no complaints.

If the AC button isn't pushed and illuminated, even with the auto AC, it won't get cold, but with the AC button lit, I could store meat in there if I wanted to!

Dave

Dave

 

I have the Auto AC, and Im def in the "works fine" camp. Have used it in 90-95 degree heat, NYC summer humidity, and its worked like a champ. Dont even set it to max...

One thing I have noticed for people having trouble... are you sure your vents are open all the way? Once you are past that first little click, they seem to close pretty fast.

 

Here just north of Houston (95-100) the auto AC works just fine. I rarely use the max setting and the car cools down pretty fast.

Bill

 

I have a manual A/C--I picked it out due to the rotary dials on the sides! They're so neat, mainly because they confuse my passengers as to how my A/C truly works! With regards to the effectiveness of the A/C itself, I feel like it's okay. Because I often drive with contacts, too much exposure to blowing air begins to bother my eyes so I point the vent on the driver's side towards the window. NOTE: I also tend to get cold pretty easily, so I don't drive that often with the air on.

For my passengers in the front, they feel the A/C is fine. It's only in the back do my passengers tend to complain

 

I fine tuned my A/C, added about 1/4 lb of refrigerant, took me about 2 hours to tune (I'm OCD about A/C)... dropped the temp at the vents 5 degrees, maintains cold at the high fan settings, won't ice up at low fan settings... It's not practical for the dealer to invest the time it takes to tune it this way...

It's been in the 100's here in Houston and I'm keeping plenty cool inside...

A good A/C shop can get your car dialed in...

 

Holy crap! I never even thought of that, since the vent style is so different from my last car. I'll have to test it out on a hot day.

 

Have 1100 miles on my Cooper S Countryman and I was the guy who complained about the A/C during the test drive. I have no complaints with the A/C in my new car. It is more than adequate in the front seat area and adequate in the rear in 100 degree weather. Very happy with the whole machine fit and finish and love the engine pep even without the sport mode. Getting 29.5 mpg by the computer all around town and it is just fun to drive.


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+1 on the 20 minutes to cool temps.

 

Good quality window tint makes a huge difference, either ceramic or metallic..

I went with 25% front (Texas Law) and 15% on the rest...

 

Ok, umm, so I feel a little silly. I opened up all the vents fully, and things are definitely better. I still rode with it on max for over a half hour today (around 90 degrees and no clouds), but that's mostly because the leatherette doesn't breathe very well on my back.