I need ideas or suggestions. I own a 12 CMS ALL4 white w/ black roof and Anthracite headliner. It is still winter months and my A/C is not sufficient. Oh and its not the Climate control 500$ option, its the basic. AND 1 more note, I live in FL.
I notice it on upper 70 degree days and hotter. The AC is not cool as I feel it should be. Granted, it is FL, but 3 previous cars in the state and no problems with them.
I use a generic 35$ sunshade and my windows are Solar Guard tinted state limit. I have an OEM sunshade on order, but this can only do but so much.
Dealer inspected my AC, said it was fine, I'm going to a private shop to have them take a look as I still dont feel its right.
55 minute drive home and I am soaked by time i get there and its not summer. I drive with it on max blower, max cold, experimenting with recirc.
Dealer tells me "its normal"
My concern is that i hear a fluid gurgling sound at full blast, a sound familiar to me as my S10 AC made that noise just before the AC died.

Long story conclusion. If this AC is good, what more can I do to stay cool aside for driving naked and not using the car when I am needed to wear a suit. Is there a coating/film for my roof to assist in deflecting heat?

 

What was the temperature of the air when coming out at full blast? Thats what they need to check. Thats the 1st test. It should be between 38 and 44 depending on outside temperature and humidity.

 

Make sure you have a zippie shade if you have a sunroof.

 

I do not have the temps on the dealer sheet, so I will go to another shop this coming week.
Also no sunroof.
I am uncertain of how accurate, but I used a friends temperature gun he's in HVAC [home type] pressed up to the ac vent while on max cold with max blower and lowest temp recorder was 74F, this was an 82F day.
If its what it is supposed to be, fine, I'll quit my complaining, but I'm at the point of wanting to hit the punk in service for telling me its a "black roof thing".
~ Black IS250 F Sport (sunroof)
~ Black WRX STi (Matte Black painted)
~ Black S10
~ Black Civic Hatchback
~ Black Dodge 3500 Quad Cab
They have all been cooler, and are on the same day even, Ive lived in Arizona and California, much hotter, AC worked better.

Anyone know of roof wraps? And if so, can it be done with the roof rails?

 

It has nothing to do with your black roof. They need to test it and you should be between 38 and 44 degrees like I stated. I would speak to the service manager at MINI about this IMO. Good luck

 

last summer i was seeing 42 degree air coming out of the vents on a 108F day with 70% humidity ... recirc off

scott

 

UPDATE!

Thanks for responding and hopefully your patience.

On Monday 3/25/13 I finally got my car back. Again like all my problems, there was no easy fix. It was low on AC coolant stuff, I am having a craptastic day and cant remember the right word. No leaks to be found. coolant stuff recharged.
Today, 3/28/13, I am driving and I notice that its only 54 degrees out and its frickin hot inside, look down, 2 clicks from coldest setting on the temp side, and a click above the mid point on the fan side. feel the vents hot air, I look at my buttons and low and behold, no green circle on recirc or on AC. press, press, press.... no luck, AC will not come on....
Take it to the dealer again, 68 mile drive one way, get there, and they check it, ive been pressing the button every so often to get AC to turn green the entire way down, no go. They put it in the service bay and BLAM! MINI magic, its a miracle, it suddenly works, but they keep it back there for 2.25 hours. On the way home, it works til I stop, cold as ice, I go in Target and come out 15 minutes later, AC is going but not nearly as cold as it was, stop 30 minutes later at Publix and not nearly as cold as before....
Today, the Service guy told me, no problems, print out shows no problems. Something is WRONG.

My problems so far
~ Driver door Comfort Access button works 1 time in 20, I spend my days clicking the passenger door or using the fob
~ AC decides to turn itself off i suppose and not cool as it was, 6 months ago
~ radio buttons dont work 1/2 the time, the right most button never works at all.
~ 2 times now, my key was not recognized by the mini at all, then hours later, works like a charm.

I called a tech in another state that a BMW tech recomended and he said it sounds like a bad control module for the electrical problems, but my dealer says everything is A+

 

So Friday 3/29 I drive up from FL to VA 700 miles each way, AC works all the way up but I can hear it differently, even above the droning road noise. The temperature worked to keep us cool, but in order to stay comfy, it was at the highest (coolest) setting.
Electrical though, it never shut off. So I don't know what really happened at the dealer.
The noise sounds like like water, something splashing, dunno how to describe it, but it sounds like fluid in the AC.

Im back now and the dealer called me to ensure that the "proper care was taken" at my latest service. I told them it was a great experience until they backed out of a loaner. So they are trying to "come up with something" as I need the problem fixed especially since Im over 20k miles through my warranty in 6 months.
The dealer doesnt want to rack up miles it seems. I drive over 100 miles a day for work.

My big thing is this, Ive spent in the neighborhood of 32k on a car that doesnt function properly, If I wanted a shot AC, I'da picked up a 92 civic from the corner used lot and had a lot of fun with it and no electrical issues that couldnt be resolved and a sloppy AC.

 

So has anyone had AC issues or apparently now, electrical as the AC keeps shutting off?

My MINI will be going to a different dealer on Monday, I went for a visit on Saturday to Wesley Chapel MINI and they were a true MINI dealer, not bmw/mini and they were slammed so I set an appointment.

 

*Update*
Dealer 1
~Denial of any errors/problems with car
~Undisclosed work, no charge, but 2 hours after bringing MINI in, MINI bout froze me, then AC shut off in 30 minutes on ride home

Dealer 1 Round 2
~Dealer states AC works fine, must be sensitive to heat and AC shuts off due to something hitting button, problem is, nothing hit it, it shuts off randomly
~Diagnostics show nothing
~ Keep it for a bit, "Problem never duplicated"
~ Way home, it shuts off and comes back on after an hour

Dealer 2
~ Test ride with tech and a sales person
~ AC shuts off after 10 minutes
~ AC noticably not cool enough according to sales person
~ Electrical switch replaced
~ Drive home in loaner for 2 days
~ AC continues to not be cool as respective mileage used minis and new minis during comparisons
~ Nothing physically wrong in inspection
~ Funeral up north, take My MINI up there, AC sucked, same story, not cool enough then bursts of freezing air with surging water sound, AC shutting off

VA Dealer
~ AC system inspection, AC needs replacement
~ Still at Dealer
~ Family loaned me a car to get around til I get back up there

Im glad its finally getting fixed along with other problems, I like my ALL4, but this headache is not worth it. My fiance is finally with me in her tolerance of this situation and has scared her off from getting a Cooper for herself. Not for the reliability, but for the poor way Ive been getting the run around for 2 whole months. And finally its getting fixed, but 750 miles away.
We bought this car to be a family car that would satisfy my wanting of a quick, fun car that I wouldnt be constantly down with due to taking it apart and tuning it. Unfortunately, I can't even drive it in warm weather.
Windows down is an option, but not a must be necessary to stay cool in a 32k$ car.

Hopefully this fixes it until my other car comes in.

 

So, I got my car back on May 11th. It appeared to be in working order, then on Monday, the 13th, I drove back home to FL, AC still feels lackluster, but its steady for the first 170 miles then I hear a "strong wind" sound from the AC, not outside, not a gust, but from the AC itself, then the AC got frigid for 30 seconds or so, then it shut off again. . At which point, Im 10 miles out from my regular fueling point, I stop and fuel up, get back in, AC wont come on when I press buttons, so a ride it out with the windows down, 20 miles later, it comes back on after pressing the button.... 4 times it shut off along the way.
I have all new physical components in the AC, what gives?

 

I have seen when they recharge the system they over fill it and things like you describe can happen. I would have it check again, because being over filled can damaged the compressor.

 

I have a 2012 CMsALL4 with about 25K (w/ sunroof and climate control), which also seems to have "underperforming" A/C system. Noticed a lack of cold air for the first time earlier this month (May) when it hit 80+ degrees and I had to run the system on 62 or LO, w/recirc on constantly to even be close to comfortable. When it happened a second time, I started to pay attention. Today I drove a 2013 CMsALL4 with 2K (w/sunroof and climate control) as a "loaner" while mine is in for a clutch replacement, and low and behold, the A/C is like a refrigerator--high of 82 degrees out today and I ran the climate control system at 68 and later 70, w/out recirc, and was very comfortable all afternoon. Will be inquiring with the dealer about my "issue" tomorrow.

 

Sounds like that car is a potential candidate for your state's lemon law if they can't figure it out. Good luck!

 

I think what this all really boils down to is that the entire A/C unit for the MINI is too small and not powerful enough. Don't get me wrong,.. it works. It's just that you have to pretty much MAX it out all the time for it to keep things cool. Even in my 09 MCS hatch with the Auto A/C it felt like I constantly had to keep it at almost full strength and the lowest setting pretty much all the time during the summer. It had the sunroof and no tint so that didn't help it get going.

I'm assuming with my 2013 CMS All4 that it's the same A/C setup trying to cool an even bigger area. Still have the sunroof, but windows are tinted now. I notice that the A/C seems to strain the engine performance a bit more than on my '09 hatch and it still has to be run full bore to really keep things cool. I have the Auto A/C as well and I think if I set it up on auto all the time that the A/C would be blowing full power the entire drive no matter how long I was out and about.

It's not a major hassle... It's part of owning a MINI. They try to keep things compact and in doing so, the engine and all components have to be small and take up as little space as possible. The entire concept of the car is to get the most out of the smallest amount possible. Even when the A/C is working as it should be, it's going to be blasting.

My parents live in Arkansas and have a Cadillic CTS. It's a beautiful car, fully loaded and really fun to drive. As far as the size, it's not really any bigger than the Countryman. They have a large sunroof and no tint on the windows. Yet when we drive it in Arkansas during the summer, it cools down in no time and is not anywhere near as noisy as my MINI. Just able to have a bigger, more powerful A/C unit than the MINI.

However, the poster on here who is having legitimate A/C troubles??,.... they should be fixing that right away. It may have to run on high all pretty much all the time, but there's no excuse for it to not be cold.