I have only read this in one post when searching about how poor the ac is, https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...ir+conditioner

Seems both the heater and ac work best on recycled inside air and at least a fan speed of 3 on a mild day and 4 on a warm day to keep the inside comfortable.

I checked the freon and its full and it seems to blow a good deal of air. I checked the filter and turns out I do no have one.

I had hope to remove it to increase the air flow to make it cooler. The only other thing I have noticed is that when at a stop light, keeping it at 2 grand makes the ac colder and moving helps.

Only thing odd is that most small cars always have a second fan to cover the condensor in addition to one for the radiator of the car. The old geometro my uncle had two fans. A big honking one that covered part of the condensor that spread from head light to head light and a small one for the phone book sized radiator for the 3 cylinder engine.

Think adding a second fan on the front of the passenger side would make it cooler?

 

I haven't had a problem with either. I thought that I would have a problem with the a/c since the hoses on them felt like the system didn't have any pressure in em but so far so good. I've noticed with the heater that real heat doesn't start blowin untill well past when the blue coolant light goes out.

My heater is nothing like my "7th layer of hell" heater in my old Grand Am. Nor is my a/c cold like the old R12 system when I had the Oldsmobile. But for a small car I find both to work very well.

 

It's hitting over 100 here in CA and my AC is kicking.
I keep my car parked outside and it's stupid hot when I get in it...it cools off in about a minute or so. I turn the AC to coldest, crank the fan to max and keep the slider to the left (recirculated?) until its cool inside...after that I can keep comfortable at a fan speed of 2.
I've even turned the AC off because it's gotten too cold.

I haven't had a chance to try out the heater yet.

It's definitely colder than my old mazda protege's AC.

 

Oh, ok, sounds like things are ok. I did hook up a can of freon 134a and it said it was in the yellow or danger area of being over filled on the low side.

Both do work, the heat does work better after the blue light goes off and the ac does seem to take some driving to get it cooler. I have turned it to 2 and 1 before, but most of my trips are 7 miles 3 times a day and it just seems to cool the car by time I got to get out of it again rather its hot, warm or mild, day or night.

 

yea these AC are a little weak. My 98 Camry, all I do is put it in the second lowest fan speed, and in 20 mins you can hang meat in there. Compared to a 2000 Accord and a 2005 Odyssey and 1998 Camry,

coldest to weakest is 1998 Camry>2005 Odyssey>2000 Accrord>2006 xA

 

here's what I do, when I fire up the AC, I crack both rear windows(got to give the hot air a place to go), put the slide to the right for outside air and the fan on high. Withthe compressor on, it will start blowing cool air in just a minute, then I slide the lever to Recirc, shut the windows and aim all the vents at me.....

This is the hottest interior I have ever owned...it gets so hot, I can't grab the steering wheel some days.....

 

I have a question regarding the AC...I've noticed that the AC doesn't kick in when you turn the key without turning the engine on, only the fan works. But once I turn the car on, the AC starts to kick in. Shouldn't the AC work even if the engine isn't on?

 

AC relies on compressed refrigerant. The compressor is belt driven directly by the spinning engine. No cranky cranky, no chilly *****.

Black cars absorb more heat than other colors. The front glass is quite large, so it will heat up the little cabin all the faster. I do like some of the others here: I like to put the passenger windows 4" down (sets up a nice circulation inside), blow outside air through the vents at fan-3 for a few minutes to bring the ductwork down below the melting point, kick on the AC, then as soon as the vent air feels a bit cool, the windows go up and I set the slider to recirculate.

Takes about 3 miles to feel a nice chill on a 90° humid upper midwestern summer day.

Other tips: don't just park in the shade, park where the shade will be when you expect to return to your car. Face the windshield away from the sun, or from where the sun will be (East facing for a day shift job.) Consider a reflective sun shield. Put the windows down about 1/2" if no rain is forecast.

Every little bit helps.

 

But I want chilly ***** without cranky cranky!

 

 

^ buahaha....Good stuff.

 

I tried the windows cracked here at work, came back to so much dust on the dash.....
But yeah, park where the sun won't be bearing down on you when you get back to the car.....

 

i like the JDM new driver sticker on the back of that american pos

 

i park my car under a nice shade tree to help keep my cabin cooler during the day

 

My car gets assaulted by birds when I do that.

I have ventvisors on my xA--I keep my windows cracked to where they're still covered by the ventvisors and I don't see too much getting into my car. I have a black dashmat, black floor mats and black seat covers, along with the generally dark interior and don't see dust or dirt anywhere when I get back in my car.
Cracking the windows and using a reflective sunshade does help a lot.

I've since been using oldmanatee's method of cracking the rear windows and hitting max outside air for a few minutes...it cools the cabin down quick enough to where I don't start sweating--even in my professional business attire I *have* to wear no matter what the weather.

 

I thought the AC compressor in the xA is completely electric and not mechanically connected to the engine, or something like that. I think the guy at the dealership said that, along with the power steering being electric. Is this correct?

Even if that were the case, having the AC running without the engine on I guess would be a bad idea... kill the battery pretty fast.

 

The xD will have electric power steering, no mention of the AC...so it looks like your dealer was misinformed.....suprised?

 

Yeah big surprise, eh? Although the guy was much better informed in general than most others I've encountered. Or maybe he only seemed that way.

 

I think there are only 3 dealers in the country that know more than enuff to just get by....

 

The prius uses an electric ac motor, much like the electric rav 4 they made in the late 90s. Of course the electric rav 4 system also doubled as a heat pump to make heat, where the prius uses engine coolant.

I see walmart sells those solar powered fan vents that you stick in your window. Do they really work, Ive seen some negative stuff online.