Air conditioning performance

thewonderer · 01-12-2011, 10:31 AM

Hi,

I have another questions regarding the 08 Mondeo I just got. I noticed at the weekend up here in sunny qld that the aircon struggled to cope/cool down the car that well during 30C temps driving on the highway. I had the aircon turned down to 18c and fan on medium high, but even though the car was not that hot when i got into it, it the cool air didn't feel that cool like my misses toyota corolla 03 which can get too cold.

Is the compressor on the mondeo not that great, or as i suspect, just needs a re-gas?

thanks

Ros5co · 01-12-2011, 12:30 PM

I recently bought a current MC Zetec Ink Blue & at times I have thought the aircon seems to struggle a bit. It does do the job, however doesn't appear to be as cold as my previous AU Fairmont (except when it went on the blink!

). One thing I have noticed with the split system that it seems to give a better performance if I make sure both temp dials are the same. If the passenger side is higher it made my side fluctuate a bit. I now have the system set to Mono unless there is someone in the passenger seat.

I did see an earlier thread re this & the general consensus seemed to be that the aircon is OK.

We have had a pretty hot humid period though. Due to change today though thank goodness. Now worried about hail storms!

thewonderer · 01-12-2011, 05:22 PM

Thanks for that info... i did find the thread regarding aircon, but nobody came back about the regas.

I will get mine done at red devil's at give some feedback to see if it feels cooler afterwards.

ian b · 01-12-2011, 06:15 PM

have the AC gas pressure checked as my MA was delivered with low gas.

Recharging seemed to fix the problem.

My MB was OK when delivered.

Should be a service/warranty issue.

NZ XR6 · 01-12-2011, 07:13 PM

If you get it re-gassed then ask them to add some dye in case it leaks. Early MAs had poor quality condensers.

My runout MB is way better than the MA ever was, even after it had been re-gassed.

apstar · 02-12-2011, 02:57 PM

Don't forget its an European car its not like they have our hot summers but must admit my MA air con is fine the trick is to keep the heat off the front windscreen by placing the silver shield on the front NOT on the inside of the windscreen

apstar

DeKa · 02-12-2011, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apstar

Don't forget its an European car its not like they have our hot summers but must admit my MA air con is fine the trick is to keep the heat off the front windscreen by placing the silver shield on the front NOT on the inside of the windscreen

apstar

Don't forget it gets hot in France, Spain and Italy!
My Focus gets the outlet air temperature down to around 6 degrees C... so it may just require a re-gas.

stuart · 02-12-2011, 09:12 PM

My new MA was the same when I first drove it. Ford regassed it and no problems since.

thewonderer · 05-12-2011, 01:09 PM

Hi,

I took mine to red devil's and he seemed to think that there was no problem with the aircon... it was measuring 8.5C from within the car vents. He did seem to have trouble finding / connecting the pressure tester valves, so he didn't charge me. Guess I should take it to ford to get it regassed at next service. Bummer that they only service Mon to Fri :(

Dusty1 · 05-12-2011, 03:02 PM

The A/C in the MC was re-done is apparently better than that in the MA/MB.

I always found it wasn't as good as the Falcon A/C, but it wasn't like I cooked.

kenif · 12-12-2011, 08:04 PM

Had my MA tdci aircon regassed at 70k fortunately under warranty but still struggles compared to my 16 year old vs commodore's aircon that has never been serviced.

Mackspower · 13-12-2011, 06:36 AM

I'd agree with the comparison to Falcon A/C (probably one of the best A/C's out there along side Mitsubishi cars).

Wonder if there any good small/medium car A/C units out there?

Most smaller cars I've driven suffer this way . . . I guess the compressors are smaller to match the available power of the engine (Eg: 2 Litre vs 4 Litre).

mondo_broady · 13-12-2011, 03:41 PM

the soft plastics of the dash absorb heat and it takes a fair while to dissipate. that can give the impression the a/c is "struggling". in my MB, i tend to use the a/c in auto on the mono setting. i find it good to open the sunroof and let out the accumulated heat prior to getting in the car too.

NZ XR6 · 14-12-2011, 02:26 AM

Every Honda we've owned can chill the inside of the car within a couple of minutes. You'd think a company like Ford could nail something like the A/C every time.

vunny · 24-01-2012, 11:16 AM

Agree with most comments. Mondeo's AC is not it's strongest point and sometimes struggles with Aussie summers. One tip that seems to work is to let down the windows a bit and turn the AC on. Pushes hot air out. Up the windows and continue on with the AC. Good to go.

**DFB FGXR6** · 24-01-2012, 06:21 PM

Our MC Mondeo A/C seems poor in comparison to the BA Futura it replaced. I does seem to work better when set to 'auto' and let it sort itself out. It seems the Fiesta has a similar reputation with its ac too.

Riksta · 24-01-2012, 06:36 PM

Riksta's (Previously posted somewhere else on the forum ages ago) guide to cooling the car down quick.

Start the car, open all windows, turn aircon on full, preferably towards feet with full fresh (not recirculated) air.

Step away from the car (I'm a smoker, so usually take this opportunity to enjoy the heat and have a smoke or two).

The footwell air temperature should by now hopefully be a bit cooler than the outside temperature, so get in, close windows, and switch to full recycled air - most cars have their recirc pickup somewhere near the footwell, so you should hopefully now pick up air that's a couple of degrees cooler than the outside air, so cooling this air will be a bit more "efficient" than cooling the air from outside.

That's pretty much how I've done it in most of my cars, although the Mondeo I tend to just blast full fresh air through the face vents with back windows open while I smoke, then get in, windows up and flick to recycled with the aircon on the "LO" setting with full fan.

Ros5co · 24-01-2012, 07:19 PM

Further to my previous post I havn't had any issues with my A/C of late that I considered a problem. I was on hols over the Xmas period & we did have some pretty warm & sticky days here in Brissy but the Mondy seemed to handle it pretty well.

With our weather being as it is at the moment (wet wet wet!!!) I must say this vehicle has to be the best I've ever driven in the rain. Guess it's the European design or something but I feel quite comfortable driving her in the wet. Very stable & seems to handle it very well.

Also discovered today that the wipers on low setting go into intermittent when the vehicle is stopped, picking up again once your'e on the move. Had only used auto mode prior so hadn't seen this feature.

Great car!!

NZ XR6 · 24-01-2012, 08:30 PM

Don't forget to use the global open feature to open all of the windows when you unlock the car. Then drive off with the windows down, then gradually close them as the aircon starts to cool the air.

ope126 · 10-06-2012, 08:11 AM

I will be taking my EcoBoost straight down to a dealer at my first opportunity. I too feel that the A/C is sub par. Funny this, must definatley be a Euro thing. My previous two Passat's both had to be re-gassed, then worked beautifully. They arrive in the country with only low levels of refrigerant. Maybe they should fix these known issues pre-delivery...

ope126 · 17-08-2012, 10:38 PM

Tip to all, take it back to the dealers!!! I had the 1yr / 15,000km service done today and they topped up the gas for the A/C now it is much, much cooler! Still not as cool as some of the Jap cars that I have owned in the past though... But definatley cooler than it was.

ope126 · 27-08-2012, 11:06 PM

Another comment...Does anyone else suffer from rather poor airflow from the rear vents? Not sure if they are even delivering 30% of what the front does. What are others experiences with the rear A/C vents?

ope126 · 15-10-2012, 08:16 PM

Just an update for you all. Heading into summer I feel the A/C is still no better. I had an independent Auto A/C Specialist out this afternoon and he has found that the previous "regas / top up" did not do aything. The vent temp was only 8.4 degress after 8mins. As a comparison my 09 Lancer (work car) got to 4.7degrees within 3mins. As a guide A/C should be below 5degress at the vent. The car is booked into the Ford again this Friday to get sorted...

I have to have an icy cool A/C. Too uncomfortable without!!!

Ros5co · 16-10-2012, 09:03 AM

Keep us posted ope126. Interested to see your results. Although mine seems to work quite well it does take some time to get there compared to my previous AU Fairmont.

ope126 · 19-10-2012, 10:58 PM

Ok, so took the car to the dealer today and now there is a definate improvement...

As per the service sheet; "self test no codes check temp at vents 8 degs recover gas 490 grams and regas to correct weight 590 grams did evac sys for one hour before regas retest at same vent now 3 degs".

I think it will be hard pressed to be 3 degrees at the vent, however it is definatley a marked improvement!

Bring on the QLD Summer!!!

Ros5co · 20-10-2012, 09:37 AM

Sounds good. Might make mention to get mine checked next time it's in for something.
Let us know how it does do when we get some real heat.