I live in Northern Mexico in a city called Monterrey where the temps can easily reach 104ºF (40ºC) and so far my A/C has held up nicely. While I'm not driving around with penguins on my dashboard i haven`t had any complaints.

 

The air in my GD3 is lacking. It will pick up when im driving but sitting at a red light it really starts to warm back up. I think i need a bigger battery.

 

Honestly I'm far from impressed with the A/C. It blows ice cold, but it does not cycle back on fast enough to prevent the temp of the air blowing out of the vents from warming up between cycles of the compressor. I may go so far as to check the charge at work.

 

I wonder if a slightly bigger diameter pulley would help? on the comp.

 

Long wait for an answer (question was asked in April), but I got the windows tinted with 40% 3M Crystalline film yesterday. Today was typical Atlanta July: sunny, 90+, and humid. The inside of the car was noticeably cooler after being parked in the sun, cooled down quicker, and felt cooler with the fan at position #1. As long as it wasn't parked in the sun, A/C worked satisfactorily last week, when two days hit 100 and 99 here.

So, I would say that the Fit A/C is satisfactory, especially with tinted windows, up to 100, but anything beyond that is probably pushing the envelope. It's not an icemaker, but it does the job, and I can't feel any significant difference in performance, unlike the 1982 Ford Escort I once owned that needed to have the A/C turned off if I wanted it to climb a hill.

 

One of my previous cars- a '97 Caddy Deville- had astounding AC. In no time at all it would be bone chilling cold. The best AC in any car I ever owned, ever.

As I have said recently, I let the Fit air out and cool down whenever I can before I take off. That helps get the heat out, big time. Doors and hatch open- 30 seconds to a minute, WAY better. I gotta get me a sun shade for the windshield too.

I see some old threads about sunshades. Anybody have some thoughts on good ones, or how well their older ones are holding up?

Dan

 

Hey Dan last weekend @ walmart 3.50 sunshade and fits not too big 4 D Fit

 

Probably the best I ever had was a 1980 Accord, in Saudi Arabia. A/C was fine up to 120 degrees. Once, I accidentally locked my keys inside while the car was running. Two hours later, a neighbor arrived with a spare set of keys. The car was still running, the interior was stone cold, and the arrow on the temp gauge was right in the middle.

 

We had an '88 Bonneville that had traditional American AC, and it got the car colder than a meatlocker in no time at all. The transmission failed at 55k miles...
My '86 CRX had mediocre air at best; a friend took his west, and a dealer in Arizona had never SEEN a black one before. Guess they didn't sell 'em in really sunny states.
With heavy sunload, the Fit's is pretty mediocre as well.
Moon

 

This is a major disappointment with this car.
I live in Phoenix and it gets dam hot here...this Friday it will be 116 and humid. On short trips to the store it cools down as you pull into the parking lot. Even shorter trips like 2 miles or less you may as well leave it off.
If I didn't drive the piss out of this thing having almost 40k in its first year I would've definitely traded in for something with a better AC system and torque!

 

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Don't get me wrong, no thanks on the 115, but weather.com is calling for a max humidity of 17% on Friday for Phoenix. I guess it's all personal/relative, but when the THI is lower than the actual temp (~110 Friday there), it's not humid.

Contrast that to Dallas where it's only 92 right now but feels like 105 due to 60+% humidity.

Again, I know Pheonix is darn hot and I'm not saying it isn't, but humid it aint.

 

The heat is getting us all. Just think, in a few short months it will be ice and snow - anti-freeze and block heaters. Well for some at least LOL

The FIT's A/C is like the rest of the car - not too much of anything. It works. If you manage it well, it works good.

It is not a Cadillac.
I just sold my 96 Sedan Deville and aside of driving around in a living rooms worth of leather and high fidelity, the' Climate Control System" is better than many homes, summer or winter.

To clarify the FIT is a remarkably balanced assemblage of automobile that is not too much of any one thing, but a balance of those things important to an every-man's car.

 

txmatt its a DRY HEAT....
and we're closer to the sun here

when we go from 6% to 30% its a huge change.
you can keep your 60% plus!

i had my AC checked by the dealer at around 10k and they found it was low from the factory. recharged and didn't do anything. compressor is too small because the motor is too small.
back to 5.0 mustangs for me!

 

nissan has the coldest a/c by experience

 

Been driving my 10 FIT sport since February. Two observations on the A/C....and last week it hit 103 here.. 1. There must be a designed in feature with the A/C system or computer which shuts down compressor function under hard acceleration or load. I've noticed this in other cars but with only a 1.5L you can definitely feel the vents go warm when you accelerate-- lift out and it instantly gets cold again.No real solution to this--just the nature of the beast. 2. Idling without moving under some conditions reduces the effectivness of the A/C. It likes to have the car moving for better heat exchange-- even a 5 MPH criuse around a parking lot will improve the output compared with standing still while waiting for someone. Maybe my cooling fan(s) come on late or are not real effective--but there is a definite improvement in cold air output by simply moving the car, even at a slow speed.My car is white and has 35% tint all around save for the windshield. It's not the best A/C I've ever had but it is very satisfactory for 95% of the time--and the rest of the car is just so great, I'll accelerate slowly and not stop and idle so much and be happy. 42 years ago I drove a fresh air 40 hp VW bug cross country-- it got 34 mpg and gas was only 28 cents a gallon-- but the A/C in my new FIT is WAAAAAY better!!! Everything is relative.Bob

 

I had a '95 F-150 until about 2 weeks ago, when it blew a head gasket and burned up some seals on the way to work. It would get ice cold within 30 seconds and stay there no matter what you did.

I am pretty dissatisfied with the Fit's A/C by comparison. Is there really nothing that can be done? I'd be willing to sacrifice a few mpg's to get the damn air to just stay cold.

Having said that, the A/C is my only real complaint about the car so far.

 

let's just say honda's a/c is not their forte... my 99 accord's a/c isn't great, 08 crv isn't either, crosstour has a very satisfactory a/c and when it get's going... it just keeps getting better.

Fit's a/c is not that great either but under the right circumstances, it is adequate. If the Fit starts to turn into a green house on wheels... now we have a problem.

 

FIT is not F-150_

One thing I have learned since April is to drive w/ A/C off, fan on 2 and front windows open. I don't know why, but I really like it.
Good up to 50MPH easy. 60 you're closing windows. Not all the way - just one up one down.

Most of my driving is below 50MPH daily. Not too much stop and go either. Windows open a lot of the time. Certainly the first 1/3 of the journey.

The power steering is electric - A/C belt driven.
A bit more cooling would be nice. 15% more.?... Bit more load on the engine.
Think hybrid technology. What a nice test platform.

But you're right, as long as you're making head-way it works fair-the well.

Honda FIT Ventilation System any such book exist??

 

I thought I mentioned this in this thread, but it must be another one. To begin with, set it to recycle for max cold AC- after you've aired out the intense heat with the windows open a bit. Recycle pushes the best cold air the Fit offers. Once it's cooled down, throw it on outside air to maintain the cool. It has been said that you should be cautious using recycle because over time the AC can build up a stink. I have not experienced that at all and I'm glad to at least have a decent max air setting with recycle. Just don't use it constantly- balance it out and you should be fine...and much cooler.

On short runs in the heat, suck it up....you're mostly screwed out of meaningful cold air. In that case, like I mentioned, air out the car with open doors for a minute. That's really the quickest way to get the intense, stale heat out in a hurry.

Dan