MarineOne

I have been displeased with the effectiveness of the climate control system. I decided to try a crude test today, it was a god day for it because it is hot in DFW.

TEST ARTICLE: 2019 ACURA RDX ADVANCE FWD

DRIVE MODE: COMFORT.

ODOMETER: 400 MILES

A/C SETTINGS: AT START-AUTO, FAN SPEED HIGH, RECIRC ENGAGED. LH/RH DRIVER DASHBOARD VENTS INSTRUMENTED. AT END OF DRIVE-FAN SPEED STILL ON HIGH, RECIRC ENGAGED.

INSTRUMENTATION: FLUKE 61 MINI INFRARED DIGITAL THERMOMETER, HARBOR FREIGHT 63614 DIGITAL THERMOMETER, A/C TECH LONG-STEM THERMOMETER W/ANALOG FACE, HIGHLIGHTED COMFORT ZONE.

AMBIENT CONDITIONS: SUNNY. MID DISPLAY-101°F. WEATHER REPORTING STATION-NAVAL AIR STATION JOINT RESERVE BASE-FT. WORTH (NASJRB), 95°F, 44% RH, WIND S 8 MPH, BAROMETER 30.02 in (1015.6 mb), DEWPOINT 70°F, VISIBILITY 10.00 mi, HEAT INDEX 101°F (38°C). VEHICLE ORIENTED SE. PARKED IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT. ACURA OEM SUNSHADE IN PLACE. ASSUMING AIR VELOCITY THE SAME FROM BOTH VENTS. MID DISPLAY AT FINISH-94˚F.

IN-VEHICLE TRAVEL TIME: APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES, 1315-1400 CDT.

TEST SETUP: HF THERMOMETER SET IN RH VENT, LONG-STEM THERMOMETER IN LH VENT.

READINGS:

TEMP-LH VENT-START=114˚F FINISH=47˚F

TEMP-RH VENT-START=119.5˚F FINISH=48.4˚

TEMP-INSIDE SUNSHADE SURFACE-LOOKING FWD

DRIVER FWD CORNER-START=158˚ FINISH=100˚F

PASS FWD CORNER-START=158˚ FINISH=101˚F

DRIVER AFT CORNER-START=157F FINISH=98˚F

PASS AFT CORNER-START=156˚F FINISH=100˚F

The vent numbers are puzzling because they match with legacy data from previous vehicles I have owned. Comfort is purely subjective. The system also has trouble keeping up depending on direction. It becomes a little more apparent heading south or southwest. I believe a trip to the dealer is in the cards. I want to add the fan speed was on high the whole trip.

GW208

Do you think the panoramic roof has anything to do with it?

MarineOne

I believe it is a factor. On days like that, leaving any vehicle out in the sun for 15 minutes or more will see interior temperatures sky-rocket, but a panoramic sunroof equipped car will obviously be the hottest, because the heat from the sun overhead essentially has a direct path in. Tinted glass works on the principle of absorbing UV rays directly instead of allowing them to pass through into the interior, and essentially creates a large, black, super-heated element across the top of the vehicle. The retractable cloth sunshades fitted directly below the panoramic sunroof does prevent some of this heat from transferring down into the cabin, but this also means that an incredible amount of heat will build up in the space between. This heat can radiate through into the cabin for quite some time after you’ve entered the vehicle and started driving, meaning your vehicle’s air-conditioning system has to work a lot harder to bring the cabin back down to a comfortable temperature and then maintain it. This does not explain why the majority of people are pleased with their systems. There are definitely other factors in play.

MI-RDX

Over the last few days I've noticed that if I turn off 'recirc' the climate control seems to have difficulty with cooling as compared to having 'recirc' on, especially as regards humidity control. I haven't tried starting out with 'recirc' off to see if that makes any difference.

Also, in another post, I mentioned that it seems that when the interior temp gets too cool for the current setting I thought the system gave a few seconds/minutes of warm air to bring it back in line. After a 300 mile round trip yesterday I think what's really happening, and unrelated to the temperature setting, is when in 'recirc' mode the system is blending in outside air and that's what I'm experiencing.

Going to have to play around with it a bit to try to understand how it's really working.

PWMDMD