About that air conditioning
 

Not warm enough where I live yet for A/C, but I recall last summer/fall there were comments that the A/C was not particularly cold. Wondering if anyone has had an opportunity to use again now that we are into spring and almost summer. ..and what your thoughts are.

We’ve had a couple of sunny 80 degree days interspersed between all the 45 degree rainy days and my A/C works well set at 70 with the moonroof shade open in the sun.

I’ve had the car since June 5, 2018 and made it through multiple 90 degree, humid days with no issues last Summer.

I live in South Florida - use AC 24/7 365 LOL RDX AC works great - no issues at all.

I hope so. Does anybody know the BTU rating of the system. My Pilot was rated at 19,000 BTUs and it worked great.

I'll let the group know soon, as I live in southern Arizona, where temps are usually 100+ by now, but luckily, we have had a very mild April and May (so far). My monthly home smart thermostat report for April said the A/C ran 20 hours less (zero hours!) in April 2019 than last year. And I have yet to use it in May.

I've used the RDX A/C a couple of times as the car gets warm when sitting parked in the sun, but haven't been able to test it in the extreme desert heat...yet...

I don't know what brand/model of compressor the RDX uses, but the Civic uses a Delphi 6CVC140E that is rated at 5,500 watts @ 2,000 RPM (18,767 BTU/hr). I suspect the RDX's is similar.

I have found that with my RDX the default setting for the climate system on Auto has the air going to the floor and defroster vents. In hot weather, cold air blowing against the hot windshield becomes warm. I have to change the mode setting to the dashboard and floor vents to feel cold air, but this turns the AUTO indicator off.

My A/C doesn't feel cold at all. Also when set to Auto it blows out the feet and defroster vents, nothing out the upper vents. Is this normal? My Lexus NX AC was ice cold and it came out the right vents so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Also the ventilated seats are completely useless. I've worn thin basketball mesh shorts with holes and still didn't feel anything. In the Lexus you could feel the coldness through jeans. I'm wondering if it's another issue I need to have fixed.

I live in Dallas and I have had to turn down the fan from auto mode due to getting too cold which is very rare for me. Also the fan for the seat I leave on maximum all summer and I can feel it through my pants. You may want to get it all checked out as you should be able to chill this car cabin easily with this AC.

Why would you want to feel cold?
 

The A/C when set to Auto maintains whatever cabin temp you set.

Period.

Those accustomed to inferior systems seem to think that unless they have goosebumps on their forearms from the bast of air emanating from the dashboard vents they are not getting their moneys worth.

If that's what you want, look elsewhere. Otherwise, you'll like it.

BTW, the ventilated seats on the Advance ain't bad, either.

The purpose of this is to act more like a central air system rather than a fan. Many vehicles in recent years have been offering this. If you want the air to blow hard out of the dash vents, you can do this manually. Otherwise, automatic mode will unobtrusively and uniformly warm/cool your vehicle to the set temperature. I personally love this feature.

Make sure the 2nd row vents are open. I've never sat back there but I reached back and felt almost nothing coming out. The vents were fully closed and probably were since I got the car. The only ones who've sat back there are my mother-in-law and my dog and I don't think either of them would have closed the vents. Opening them made a big difference. The vents in the dash don't put out enough to cool the entire space.

As a side note, the heated seats should default to off when you shut off the car. My MiL has a bad habit of just leaving them on.

I live in Houston with high heat and humidity. I have to keep the system on AUTO or it'll freeze me out. I bought my RDX last June and made it through the worst of summer here with no/zero/nada complaints.

Our English Springer Spaniel rides in the back and does NOT like to be hot. Before her first ride we checked and the rear vents were closed. A comfy rear car seat cover + rear seat A/C = happy car dog!

One thing I've noticed re A/C is that in auto mode it never seems to stop recycling (amber light), even when the outside temp is close to the selected inside temp. My 2001 CL will eventually switch to fresh air after reaching the desired temp.

I've noticed that too. In most other cars, that something like an AC MAX setting.

There also doesn't seem to be a way to just get fresh air drawn in through the vents without turning on the fan. On a cool dry day I like to just get fresh air without heat, AC or opening a window.

Freeze you out?

I know, English is rough

I don't understand what that means.

I just purchased a 2020 Advanced with the ventilated seats, I keep the AC on most times on LO with just using the Fan to adjust it does seem to be not as cold as some AC I have had will have to check and see what it says. i have never used Auto as i always need to have airlflow for me to be comfortable. That is the reason for dual zone A/C my wife is a YoYo up down up down. I usually have the fan at about 1/4 when it is warm so far I go to about 3/4, only had the car for about 10 days.

"The rear vents were closed"....I just looked at my vents in the back of the console...I don't see anything to open/close them..only the up/down left/right control in the middle of the vents. What am I missing?

Slide vents left to close, right to open. You can reach back from the drivers seat to check em.

I'm dying for WeatherTech to come out with their in-channel window visors for the RDX. I like to keep the windows open about an inch when the car is sitting in the blazing sun. That keeps the interior at least 20 deg. cooler than if it was sealed up tight. The windows still appear closed unless you walk up and peer under the visors. And if T-storms roll in, I don't have to run out and close them.

I'm going to revise my previous comment from May 16 now that we've had some >80°F days. In moderate/cold temperatures, the temperature control is fantastic. However, now that the outside temp is getting warmer, I've noticed that the cabin temp does not get very cold. Even at the lowest setting (manual or auto, A/C or no A/C). I am adding this to a list of things to address with my dealer when I'm ready to take it in.

Water drips
 

My AC seems to get pretty cold but notice the other day when I was out driving in the AZ heat for a while, AC took a little longer to get cold and then I was sitting parked for about 20 min with AC on, there was water that started dripping underneath. Is this normal?

Yes, normal. It is condensation. If it doesnt drip outside, then it will drip inside, indicating a blocked or misrouted drain line.

The "ventilated seats" are a joke... My 2015 Hyundai Sonata has better ventilated seats that actually keep you cool

Good Luck with that.. They flushed my system completely and recharged it, but mine never gets to a comfortable temperature. Especially when it is 90 degrees out and you have to run it on LO at full fan speed

South Florida , AC is more than adequate. No worries

I'm in Southern California but without any blazing summer weather yet. The A/C definitely keeps the car cool.

I always run with it set to auto and then just adjust the temp. As you set it colder it starts to adjust it's settings like turning on recycle and increasing the fan speed. When set to below 58 degrees it says Lo and is pretty much set on max cooling. I have to turn the temp up after about 10 mins because it starts to hurt my hands on the steering wheel.

I have mine set to 68 AUTO, the system certainly works differently in the mornings vs. late afternoons. That temp in the mornings is comfortable, in the afternoons, it feels colder as it tries to cool the entire cabin. I have adjusted the vents away from my hands because it also freezes my hands and arms.. More than adequate AC for the Houston heat fo rme

Just drove for a day with temps at 96 and sunny. Four passengers. The AC worked great.

The AC works outstanding here in Hawaii Five-O!

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...ca90a2a557.jpg

����

People like to denigrate Waikiki, but I loved it. Diamond Head to the left, surf-boarders in the water, great walking areas, fine restaurants. Get a hotel room with a view, have some drinks with the surf making sounds, take a visit to Pearl, ride a top-down Mustang for a drive and eat some shrimp. Great first stop to the Sandwich Islands, where the Earl of Sandwich ate his first poke.

(I could be wrong about that last bit.)

To be exact, a friend told me the Earl of Sandwich ate ahi shoyu poke over rice, aka an ahi poke bowl. Y'all come visit us again now, y'hea?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...fa24c00946.jpg

My daughter is going back in two weeks.

They even learned to surf recently. The plan is Waikiki, Pearl, a couple of days, and then to Kaua’i for a while. 👍

I love it when a plan comes together. E komo mai. Enjoy.

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Finally getting some real hot weather here. Seems the hotter it gets, the better the AC works.

I was surprised that the RDX does not have a MAX AC setting. But, with temps around 90, leaving it in AUTO is working fine. I'm sure the fan starts in a higher speed when hot but I really never noticed it. The AUTO setting on the seats starts them in the second speed and then goes to one indicator on after a few minutes.

Daytime highs have been over 100 here in Southern AZ for a few weeks (104 as I type this) and the AC in the RDX does just fine. I set it at 71 or 72, AUTO on, and then turn off the recirculate setting. The fan speeds up or down as necessary, so it is still in AUTO mode, it's just not letting the cabin get stale from the lack of outside air.

Added info, with some observations.

Just back from a weekend round trip from Tucson to San Diego... across the AZ and CA deserts, where temps were over 100 degrees in mid morning. I have lived here for over 25 years, so I know when a vehicle's AC is up to the task or not, and I have had some that aren't. The RDX's is up to it, with the following observations.

Observation(s). Some people determine if the AC (Auto climate control) is working properly by the feel of the air blowing on their face. I'm one who likes the air blowing on my face, and with the RDX, that temperature does vary. As the cabin reaches the set temperature, the fan speed decreases, but it also seems that the temperature of the air coming out of the vents increases as well, not to hot, but closer to the set point temp... I'm not sure I have experienced this on previous cars. I generally set mine to 71 or 72. On the RDX, if I turn the set temp lower, the air then starts coming out of the vent a bit colder. (I have not tested this with a vent thermometer) I don't generally like to leave the setting in recirculate mode, as that can cause the cabin to get stale smelling, but switching it to fresh mode also increase the temperature of the cooled air at the vent, especially when it is approaching 110 F outside...it is much easier for the system to cool the (already somewhat cooled) interior air than the 100 F + air outside. Once the cabin is at a comfortable temperature, I tried turning off the AUTO setting, and turned the temp setting to LO, and set the fan speed at a 2 or 3 setting. The air coming out of the vent was DEFINITELY colder. (this also disables the Auto Start Stop. Setting the temp at LO or HI will disable the A.S.S.)

After lunch, with the car sitting in the full sun at well over 100 degrees for up to an hour, the car cooled down at highway speeds without issue.

With each car I have owned, I have to learn how to set the HVAC just a little bit differently for the best results, just as we learn how each new vehicle accelerates or stops differently.