We got our '09 Sport Navi last August, and weren't too impressed with the A/C performance here in south Texas. Summer will be arriving soon and so far, in air temps in the 70's, the A/C has been very unimpressive.

So, my question is: For those of you who have been through an entire summer, is the Fit's A/C up to the challenge of cooling the car in a southern climate like Texas? I'm not expecting miracles but I'd like to get cooling on a par with my Dodge Ram, or the Dodge Caravan the Fit replaced.

Thanks in advance,

Gary,
East Snook, TX

 

I live in SE Texas. The Fit's A/C could be a little more robust, but that would probably require a beefier, heavier cooling system that would have added more weight to the car and worsened the fuel economy. I can certainly live with the A/C performance in my '09 Fit but it means leaving the fan on a higher speed for a longer time on hot days. I haven't had any backseat passengers during the summer months so I can't comment on how well it cools down the cabin for rear occupants.

 

i must agree the a/c is weak in our ge8 fits. it takes awhile for it to start pumping cool air and when it does pump out cool air it seems as though it takes breaks in between on and off throttle. i can hear the a/c compressor turning on and off, also i can feel the air getting more humid between the shutoff times.

i live in so cal, we also have 90degree+ summers occasionally and i am also concerned with how well the fits a/c will hold up on a hot summer day.

i have to also add the fit loses a tremendous amount of power once the a/c is on level 2 or higher.

i cant really complain though because the fit is sooo good at everything else and it hasnt let me down since the day i got it.

 

You can help the situation yourself too, such as grabbing a shady spot to park when you can. Get a full windshield visor to reflect the sun. Keep the windows slightly ajar to let heat escape while parked and if you have window visors, all the better for that. The reason the Fit's ac has a hard time of it is because the temp in the car is usually allowed to reach and go beyond scaldingly hot temps inside. On short trips, this will be hard to overcome fully with the ac. Longer trips will clear it out. In short, try and help your ac help you. I've had some brutal car temps already, even though it's not really hot outside yet. The ac gets the job done, but everyone's idea of acceptably cool is different. But certainly I've had better in other cars. Good luck.

Dan

 

Do folks experience similar concerns with an older Fit (07-08)?

 

in Phoenix, mine worked just fine last summer.

 

I would describe my 07's A/C as "adequate". I get 45*F air from the vents. At temperatures above about 90*F, I have to run the fan wide open with air set to recirc. Works OK for me in the hot and humid south.

 

My biggest complaint, and this has been mentioned in related threads, is that the compressor cycles too often. When it's engaged, it cools fine (central NC, summer = 95F, 90-95% RH), it simply kicks out too often. Normally this would be done to keep the unit from freezing up, but in my ambient environment, that isn't likely. I suspect that it's a form of cheat to improve gas mileage, much the way that the old "shift now" lights were used to force EPA testers to shift way earlier than a normal person would.

I'd love to know if this is a firmware thing, a timer thing, or some feedback sensor that might be tweakable.

 

Kenwood makes some great headunits and amplifiers that could fix it for you.

 

It is on the weak side. Here in Tucson I consider the a/c to be just adequate.

 

As mentioned before, the trick is to set the vent controls to recirculate mode. It makes enough of a difference. I learned that trick from another thread here at FitFreak. Good thing it doesn't get too hot where I live.

 

The Fit's A/C is not one of those that you set and forget. It helps to do the various tricks already mentioned: recirc, high speed, open windows for the initial part of the ride, sunshade, etc. To cool the back seat, I turn the center vents up.

It gets pretty hot in Arkansas and I think the Fit does okay, but it needs fiddling. I'm used to it, though - I've never had a car with a terrifically strong A/C. I drove a rented Neon through Death Valley once - the Neon had a great A/C, but I'd rather have any Honda product over the Neon!

 

Also, it helps to keep the in-cabin filter clean. If you drive in dusty areas, this filter clogs up fast. On the Ridgeline Owners Club forums, people have noticed night and day performance difference after cleaning or replacing the filter.

 

I totally agree with u!!! Me being from south Florida, I got hot a$$ weather 10 months out of the year !!! I thought it was my fit low on freon or something and I was gonna take it in while I still had warranty !! But I see it's a problem for all of them ! Don't get me wrong while driving and all it's great and in the back ! But while staying still or whateva , u can def feel when it kicks on and
off !! Also it takes a while to kick in when it's 85+ degrees!! But like u said the fit has done me great ever since I got my ge on late 08! Don't regret it at all!!

 

I'm surprised nobody mentioned window tinting; a good (i.e., expensive) tint film will reject 50% or more of total solar energy, even more infrared. You still have the vast expanse of the windshield to deal with, but less heat energy coming into the car will ease the load on the AC. If you go to a tint shop, check the total solar and infrared rejection figures for the various film choices offered.

 

Better air than my old, black CRX Si, but nowhere as good as oldtime American A/C. Since real Freon is gone, nobody's AC is that great, IMHO.

Use the suggested tricks. Recirc is great, but only shift to it once the INSIDE temp has dropped below the OUTSIDE temp. Why would you want to recirc hotter air? Crack the rear windows initially to let the hot air out the back, and use the visors to block some of the sunload. The Fit's big windshield is part of the problem.
Here in Westsylvania, summer heat isn't too much of an issue.
Moon

 

I noticed that if you start the car and run the a/c after it has been sitting out in the sun awhile it doesn't cool very well until you start moving. Kind of sucks here in the hot humid south but I guess it's better than nothing!

 

Hi guys,

Just registered here.
Here in Brazil many Fit owners do complain about the A/C too. Some says their A/C is not working well, but how can we know if it is working ok or not? Maybe just the local temp is too high or you were under a very hot sun.

I have no expertise but I think the better way to say if an A/C is working is to know the temperature of the air it is pulling in the car.
So, I proposed a simple test so we can know if our A/C is ok or need some repair.

Here are the steps:
1- Start with the car in the shadow (away from sun)
2- Place a thermometer just at the front panel vent.
3- Release only the front panel vent (sorry, dont know how to say it in good english )
4- Set recirculation.
5- Set the lowest fan speed.
6- read the temperatura at 1, 2 and 5 minutes with A/C on.
7- Post your results heres so we all can know if our A/C is average or needs repair.

I did a video about it when testing my own Fit. It is in portuguese but you can see the above procedures and can see my results (we use Centigrades here in Brazil).
YouTube - Teste Ar Condicionado

We need to make all the procedures the same way so our results can be compared. If some one has a better way to test we can change the rules.

My results:
Air temperature pulled into the car before test starts: 28ēC (82.4F)
Air temperature at the vent after 1 minute: 7ēC (44.6F)
Air temperature at the vent after 2 minutes: 5ēC (41F)
Minimum air temperature: 2ēC (35.6F)
Outside air temperature: almost 30C (86F)

 

I agree with this. I had my side windows in my 02 Civic tinted with clear Huperoptik UV/IR blocking film.
The shop told us they can do the windshield or even just a top strip of the windshield if we wanted because it looks very clear.

The tint is barely noticeable even if you know it is there. You can tell the difference on a hot day when you roll down the windows and feel the heat from the sun.

Recirc mode and having a white or silver/metallic paintjob helps too.

 

Window tint helps (the metal film reflects heat better than the carbon type), the recirculation helps alot the hotter it gets, stopped in traffic dog days of summer ='s A/C deprived.