Mine really freaked out the other day. The A/C light just started flashing and the damn thing blew hot air. I had to shut the system completely off and turn it back on to get it to work right. But otherwise it works okay. Still takes a long time to cool the car down.

 

It DOES take a long time to get the car cool, especially when compared to my S2000, my roommate's '00 Prelude, and another friend's late model BMW. I don't think the weak a/c in this car is acceptable, as many of you agree; the question is, even if our complaints become the squeaky wheel, is there grease that will fix it?

Maybe it's an undersized condenser for this car? Can anyone with any expertise on this comment??

 

Dunno about the Prelude, but:

The BMW - it's a BMW - expect good things, I guess

The S2000 has 1/2 (or less) the interior space to cool as the P5. Serious consideration.

I really don't have any complaints about the A/C - I find that mine works just fine.

 

i am rather dissapointed in my proteges' AC too. our cars don't use freon then? what do they use?
i can barely keep myself cool with the fan blasting and in other cars i can freeze my off.

 

They use R-134. I would bet that the compressor they use is pretty weak being a four-cylinder and all. Everything but the blower could probably use an upgrade though. I can't stand to have it on 4. Way too noisy and the air doesn't get a chance to cool down. I leave mine on 3 max and it seems to work better.

 

I have another addition for ya...VentVisors Baby! I have VentVisors (the first upgrade I did) and I think they're great! Not only do they help evacuate stale air from the cabin, they allow you to open windows in the rain without getting wet, and for all you smokers (I use-to-be) you don't get ashes all over the place...and the ashtray stays clean.(Now I never smoked in any of my cars) Also, I can leave my windows down a bit and no ones the wiser!
Add to that my tint, and I think the A/C is fine (with my mods)

As far as the A/C in concerned...I've had far better systems too, but this is my first R134a system. I also noticed that the cars at the rental agency I use to manage also had A/C that sucked (R134a in Ford cli-Taurus, Chev Kadaver/Sunflower, Ford Sex-scort among many other cars. My '88 T-bird T/C had an awsome system as did my parents car (back in the day) an 82 Plymouth Caravell Police Pkg. Both cars would develop condensation on the vents if the air was set cold enough. I have never seen a new car do this yet!

As far as the Pro goes...have you looked at the size of the compressor, I'd bet a cockroach has bigger nuts than that friggen' thing! Add to that the R12/R134a debate and the fact that we have a 4-cyl engine (I only find the system poor when I stop in traffic) and there you have it!

All in all, I live in Canada, aside from the humidity in the last years, we don't see the temps like say Texas or such, the A/C system does good enough for me (with my mods). Besides, the car is plenty cool...try 8-10hrs of forklift work in and out of trailers...damn that's a sauna!

 

It would be worthwhile to get the A/C checked by the dealer, but keep in mind that (a) the system uses R-134a (see other posts) and (b) your car has a small 4-cylinder engine, and carmakers typically use small compressors with small engines so that the compressor doesn't rob too much engine power and/or affect the gas mileage.

I live in Texas and have driven many small compacts, and IMHO my Pro has very good air conditioning relative to the competition- especially compared to Civics, which (with the exception of the 99-00 Si) use pathetically weak dealer-installed air that can barely make a dent during a typical Texas summer day However, to be fair, I drive a 99 ES, which has (a) less glass than a P5 and (b) a light gray interior, rather than the almost-black color in the P5 and 01+ ES

 

Well, I had a 1991 escort gt with the mazda BP motor and the a/c compressor was the same size as the protege 5 and mp3. The only difference was I had the freon system. But when my compreesor went it was replaced with a 13 system which sucked. I had a friend that worked for an AC company and replaced with freon and it was cold.

The other thing for the Protege 5 the black interor is awesome but black holds heat. Once the temp drops in my car it gets very chilly but not cold. I will tint the windows next as well.

 

The theory of the a/c being compromised because of a small engine doesn't hold water for me. I have been in waaaay too many rental cars in the last year in my travels, and I can assure you that if the a/c in any of them had been like this car's, I'd have been back at the rental agency demanding a different car. Hell, even the rental DAEWOO NUBIRA that I was driving when I picked up the P5 was better than this!

It's got to get better than this... as soon as I'm done dragging my S2000 through the Honda dealer this week, this one will be visiting the Mazda dealer!

 

I prefer Don's method--recirc to get the interior cooled down but then change to fresh air to keep it cool. If I wanted to sit there with stale recirculated air being pumped out at me I'd take an airline flight where I don't have to stay awake. Most owner's manuals suggest using the recirc function sparingly.

 

You know... I've driven around a few more times since my original post, and it seems to be getting a little better... not much, but now tolerable. Maybe it just had to get broken in or something. I do use the recirc feature, but only after the "Hotter than outside air" has been pushed out. I think a big part of the issue is that my front and driver's side windows act like magnifying glasses... Too bad, cause I can't tint those by Jersey Law (I'm thinking 50% on the sides and get my car inspected at a private location).

I'm thinking about getting under the dash and installing some kind of choke or limiter on the floor vents... it won't do to have sweaty palms and blue toes... the air flow *has* to be evened out.

 

Everyone can feel free to crap on me but..... everyone having problems has the a/c button pushed right ?? i remember previous threads about cruise control and the problem was they didnt have the main on.

Shoot me if you like just asking as you can still get cool air without it on.

For what its worth mine is great, 90 the other day and i was cool.

 

or, you could get an alarm w/auto start, so that you can warm-up/cool off the car b4 you start driving. my brother does that. he starts his car about 3-5 minutes b4 he leaves for work while he's still getting ready (remote-start).

my a/c is okay. and now that summer is here, i'll be gald to get out of that freezing 70 degree winter! the only time my ac gets too cold is late at night, so i just use the windows instead...

 

MAN!

Freezing 70 degree winter.... HA. Come up here and try a good ol' Saskatchewan winter.... -40 degrees Celcius

 

freezing 70 degree winter???
haha , come to canada or any northern part of the U.S. and see what winter really is....

Hehe, that's right doctor_r, but in ontario, it doesn't get that cold.
more like around the -20 range at times