I'm currently in the market for a new car. What is holding me back from the Fit is all the A/C complaints I see. I live in Phoenix, AZ. Up until Thanksgiving, I was still turning the A/C on in my car. A/C is a top priority for me as we use it at the very least 6 mos of the year and for many of those months we are 95 and above. I have an old '95 Nissan 240 which has ice cold A/C. I know in a newer car I probably won't get that but I do need A/C that is efficient and cold.

So, for those of you in a hot climate, would you recommend a Fit? Is the 2010 still having this problem? I don't want to pay nearly 20K for a new car just to be cursing under my breath when it's 110 out and my new car is blowing hot or lukewarm air on me.

Thanks!

 

2008 Fit Sport, Ft Lauderdale South Florida 80+ most of the time. A/C works great.

 

I'm just south of you. Though it doesn't blow as cold as the air did in our 4Runner nor as cold as my Miata it has still proven to be adequate here in Tucson. The louvers on the dash are very directional and work well. I don't consider it a problem at all.

 

Chattanooga TN, Temperatures up to 100*F, Humidity high. The A/C provides 45*F air out of the vents. At Temperatures above 95*F, I put the system on recirculate at lower temperatures fresh air is adequate. IMHO the Fit's A/C is adequate and comperable to other cars I've owned, some on here don't think so, but that's my opinion. As a side note my A/C has been repaired. The evaporator temperature sensor was replaced due to the evaporator icing over on long trips.

 

I think it's weak and noisy. If you have covered parking it's fine, otherwise it'll take 10 minutes to cool down on recirc with the windows rolled down at the beginning to exhaust the superheated air (and this is in GA with 90ish temps. I can't imagine in Phoenix. Here's a link to a fellow Phoenecian's thread on the subject.)

Definite negative if you worship A/C (I do) but it didn't stop me from buying one in GA in august. The other pluses outweighed this negative. And I have covered parking at home and work. I'd love to sell you on a Fit but this is a weak point.

 

I stay in South Africa, hot climate? hmmm...
A/C works ok.

 

Hey same problem as homie i quoted..I live in Ft lauderdale, i have a 2010 fit..I love the a/c..I only have it on setting 2 for a/c 2 out of 4..and its perfect for me..Im a heavy set kid lol so i need alot of air..trust me..the fit is good.

 

Get the darkest window tint that is legal..... Tint as much of the top of your wind shield as you can get away with..... Get a set of the old style Mugen vent visors (or cheap copies) and it should be cool enough for you.... The vent visors make a surprisingly big difference on hot sunny days.

 

I live in Havasu. I have an '07, Sport Auto. Tint is the biggest single simple thing I did to improve the A/C. That and removing that under dash cabin filter.
I have also wrapped my A/C lines in insulation, tinted the top 9" of the front windshield, & installed door visors. They add up to make an acceptable difference.

I would not let the A/C be a factor in your Fit purchase as long as you tint the windows. My recommendation on tint, which is legal here in AZ is to tint 5% for rear side windows, 35% for front side and rear windows, and put some decent tint stripe on your front window. (You can legally go darker on the rear window, but if you drive at night, 35% still allows you to see out well at night.) With the large glass area of the windshield I have never had an enforcement problem with using 9" instead of 6". The visors are also helpful. I can't be certain of the benefit to wrapping the hoses. This is the first car I have owned with a filter for the cabin. If you remove the filter, the A/C blower power coming out of the dash vents, increases dramatically. Since I never had the cabin filter on previous cars, I have easily done without it and this helps allot, too.

The reason that the A/C is marginal in our weather, (if you do not add tint), is because Honda set the A/C compressor to cycle on and off more often in order to increase fuel economy. The above mods should satisfy all but the most picky.

There is also a DIY somewhere on this forum that talks about installing a resistor in line under the passenger side dash that causes the A/C to run much cooler. Since we live in a low humidity climate, this too, is a good addition. I used an adjustible resistor (potentiometer). If it gets so cold as to freez up the system, you just turn the potentiometer a little until it works at the maximum cooling without freezing. (This is the most effective thing you can do as it basically bypasses Honda's cycling of the A/C for fuel economy. If you combine this mod along with the above mentioned logical mods, this will take care of any further concerns you may have. As I recall, the write-up is pretty self-explanatory.)


The benefits of the Fit far outweigh my concerns with the A/C. It is a Honda and thus one of the most reliable cars made. It is an outstanding value for the money. I'm 53 yrs old, and I still like to play with the paddle shifters on a nice curvy road. But I also enjoy the automatic aspect, in traffic. I love the functionality of the "magic seats" and have used them in all variations. Time to time, I carry four adults pretty comfortably even on a longer trip. Egress is easy for my older passengers, who don't bend easily (like me). I love the way the back seats lay flat so you have much more flat room to carry things.

My other concern was the lack of ability to adjust the steering wheel forward and back. It was added for model year '09, so that complaint has been addressed.

After almost three years, there is still no better value on the market. I would buy another Fit, in a heartbeat.

I hope this helps resolve your concerns. If you are looking for a car that can carry four adults comfortably, can carry almost anything short of a refrigerator, is very reliable, get's decent gas mileage, and is very affordable; this is my recommendation.

 

Window tinting will help A/C as well as hide your stuffs from thiefts.

 

On my GD1 the A/C doesn't disappoint, although it takes time to cool because there's just so much glass and my car has no tint whatsoever.

If your A/C has a cabin air filter, you can try removing that. The blower should become noticeably more powerful, but you're giving up the filtration benefits. Mine has no cabin air filter, so I put in a DIY 3M Filtrete filter sheet for home A/C units, and the blower is noticeably weaker after the install. I think the cleaner interior air is worth it though.

 

Late to this thread, but this is one of the questions I had before I bought my Fit. I run my AC about 8 mos. out of the year, so yes it's important.

The AC has been fine. Running it does affect my mileage a little, though. Don't expect the high mileage some people report on this forum. Tint is indeed helpful - in fact, it's quite important. I went with 30% in front and 20% in the rear. Many here go way darker than that but I like to see out at night!

Really, this is not a worry. Buy the car and fall in love.

 

If installing a 3M Filtrete filter does the job and is worth it then I really don't mind. I'm thinking about installing a filtrete just recently starting looking into it actually. My A/C does not have a cabin filter so it's a good thing I wont be giving up filtration benefits, i'm already pretty used to not having the benefits.

 

I am using K&N red pre filtering foam in the filter box.. I lightly coated the top side with filter oil and it has been working good... You have to let the oil sit for a while before installing the filter. I use dish washing detergent and water in a suitable sized Tupperware type container to loosen up and remove the oil whenever it is crudded up and I can't shake the stuff loose and let it dry after rinsing. Then replace the oil and reinstall after it sits for over night..... I don't have problems with the evaporator freezing up since I have been doing this, air flow from the vents is stronger and the air is cooler.

 

i hate my fit in hot weather... luckily it doesn't get nearly as hot as the south and humid (only like 2-3 weeks of summer do we get a 'heat wave.') but still my Fit is super slow and underpowered in temps above 75F.

i like this time of year when temps are below 50F this is when the Fit is actually fun to drive. pretty responsive, pretty quick.

 

A/C is fine... until it gets really hot and humid...
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/2...1007151019.jpg
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/2...1007151020.jpg
http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/5...1007151022.jpg
FITs are greenhouses on wheels... tints, parking under shaded area and window shades are the key.

 

I have only driven a couple of times with temperatures in the 60s since upgrading the S/C to 10PSI.... The difference is amazing.... Three digit ambient temperatures just about cancels out 5PSI boost.

 

^^ yah, i believe it. might want to get 2 different maps programmed. one for cooler weather, one for hot.

 

Our summers in Riverside, CA have many days over 100 degrees. We had our Fit tinted but forewent the window visors because it makes the car less aerodynamic. Frankly, it takes a while to cool the car down after it has been sitting in the 100-degree sun no matter how hard you blast the A/C. The A/C is like the engine, in my opinion -- it does the job but does not have a lot of power to spare. I would recommend all of the adds that are mentioned above (and it sounds like you can get the A/C redone if it is not up to snuff, which is good to know). Like other people I think the car's many pros (MPG, STORAGE!, versatility, fun factor, etc.) outweigh the few cons (weak A/C, bad headrests, thin paint, etc.).

 

as others said above get your windows tinted it will help, but I've never had a problem w/my AC here in Tampa.