Air Conditioning - How cold?
 

I have an '03 Protege 5. I love this car but for one thing: My air-conditioning is less than impressive. I've noticed in other new cars the conditioned air comes out ice-cold. In mine it feels cool, though it doesn't get the cab that cool, especially in the Southern California heat. Anyone encountered anemic air conditioning in their Proteges? Any suggestions? By the way, the dealership's service dept. checked it out last service visit and, of course, found nothing wrong...
Thanks.

Interesting someone should mention it, my a/c also seems like it has gone downhill over the last few months. I have an 03 LX and purchased it brand new last summer. My parents came up a couple weeks ago to help me move, and that's the first thing my mom noticed, so someone else has confirmed that the a/c sucks. I'm planning on heading to the dealership sometime soon (when I have time off and can be without a vehicle for a couple days), but I suspect they won't find anything wrong.

my 03P5's ac is ASS. I hate it. It causes my car to drag it's butt whenever I have it on. I have to turn it off to climb hills and when crusing on the interstate if you switch it on you can feel the car slow down like hitting an air-wall.

I have no quams about pulling my AC.

whenever i drive i have my ac off, and the vent switch to the position where it doesn't turn the ac compressor on (i cant remember what the position was)

so i wouldn't know how good or bad the ac is, but the car just bogs down too much with it on.... i hate it

My A/C seems ok, I guess, but I never run it unless I am forced to do so, such as when my wife is in the car, or it's pouring rain and I need to keep the windows up. Even then, I don't run it till I'm on the highway and the power loss is not so noticeable.

see??! no'one likes thweir AC but when you mention pulling it out to add 100hp everyone freaks out!

lol... the AC does suck ass

Well, I have to disagree with everyone here...I run my A/C almost all the time these days. Sure, it pulls the car down, especially when it's first on and working overtime to cool the inside of your car, but once the inside is cooled down, I turn it to the lowest setting and I'm all set. Could it be that you are running it so little that it feels like crap? Just another take on this issue.....take it as my 2cents worth.

I think everyone's ac causes driveability issues when it's on. I think thats what the thread starter was asking and we proved it.

....very true, but I have not been in a 4 cylinder car that this isn't an issue...now, when we talk about a 5 cylinder Volvo Turbo (like my wife's car), or a V6, I don't notice any difference at all. To be honest, I noticed much more difference in my old Honda CRX than in the Protege. So, for a 4 cylinder car, I think that the Protege is not great, but better than most...of course I'm talking about the 2.0L. I'd say the 1.8 and 1.6L vehicles are much worse.

i wouldn't mind pulling my ac for 100hp

but then again my parents drive the car too, they might not be so keen on the idea.....

but i'd do it, i never use the damn thing either way

If you change the air setting to recycled, it gets a lot cooler than when it is set to fresh air.

If I had 2500 bucks for this sc, I wouldn't need AC, since I'd be driving 100mph
all the time!

i think the thread starter wanted to know how cold or not the a/c is in the protege's, not much so of a power issue factor.

going back to the original question, yes the A/C sucks balls in the protege's, i found that out when i first bought the car, but ever since i tinted my car, it seems much better. I have 20% all throughout except the two fronts having 50%, in the afternoons when i start driving and if i'm the only passenger i would run it on recirculate at level 3, if i have rear passengers, i would run it to the vent/floor. because thats the only way to get some cooling to the back through the vents under the driver and passenger seat.

i would recommend getting your windows tinted if they are not already, saves your interior at the same time as well.

take care,

Yeah, tinted windows do help a lot. I got 20% all around, I was surprised how much of a difference they made.