Kizashi Club

Howdy,

I wanted to get some second opinions from other avid Kizashi owners about the state of their air conditioning system. I've noticed that the A/C in mine seems to be a little on the weak-sauce side of the spectrum. Usually, if I have the fan set to a low setting, then I can only feel kinda luke-cold air, and only just barely. I have to turn the blower up to medium or higher to get any sort of cold out of it. I was wondering if this was standard or not.

Most of my concern stems from the fact that I got my 2011 Kizashi SE in 2013 with 120-something miles on it, which means that it sat in a parking lot for two years before I got it. I tried looking up in the manual about maintenance on the A/C, but all it said was that I should change the air filters at regular intervals, and that I should run the A/C "at least once a month for one minute while the engine is idling." The thing is, since my Kizashi was sitting for about two years, I doubt that anyone thought to run the A/C in the regular intervals. I was hoping to gain some perspective about whether I might need to change the refrigerant or not.

Thanks in advance for your help guys! I really appreciate it.

I think that a qualified air conditioner mechanic should be able to hook up some pressure gauges and tell if everything is okay. If it's under warranty suggest that to the dealer.

The aircon on mine works well in even 40 degree heat. I have noticed a couple of people have mentioned they're not happy though.

I agree with murcod. You're still under your bumper to bumper. Take it to the dealer to have it checked. They have the proper tools to test it and parts if it needs fixing.

My Kiz has the weakest AC of any car I have ever owned. It's less than a year from build date and has less than 2500 miles. I'm very disappointed in it.

Take it to the dealer and make some noise until they fix it.

UPDATE:

So I took Azumi into the dealership and got the A/C inspected. They said it was fine, and it was covered under warranty, so I they didn't charge me anything. I supposed I just have to have the fan higher than two clicks to get any output in the side vents. Which isn't too big a deal.

I actually had a separate issue that popped up right before I took it in, conveniently enough. Last week, I "keyed" the ignition, and the starter turned for like 5 seconds before turning over and starting the engine. Then, the day before I was supposed to take it in, my girlfriend said she couldn't get the car to start for about 1 minute. I wasn't there, but she reported that when she pushed the start button, the starter wouldn't kick in, and the the dashboard display was throwing all kinds of crazy messages about stuff not working on the car. She was able to get it started eventually though, which was nice.

I've seen other posts on the forum about weird startup behavior, and assumed that the computer need to be updated. I relayed this message to the dealership, and they updated the PCM for free as well.

Weak batteries have been known to be the cause of many a strange gremlin to surface. Sitting that long with the dealer starting the cars up in order to just shuffle them around their lot w/o fully recharging by running the car at normal driving rpms can be hard on a battery. The OE Kiz batteries aren't the greatest to begin with.

While under warranty, best to take the car into the dealership as you did.

Out of warranty (what I am used to for every car I've owned before the Kizashi), you can easily recharge a weak A/C system yourself. You can buy a refrigerant recharge can at an auto parts store. Get the kind with a gauge and a trigger or button (like pictured below). Follow the instructions on the can which include running the engine with the A/C on and connecting the can's tube to the Low coupling of the A/C line. (Cars have a Low and High coupling in their A/C lines). You then pull the trigger/press the button on the can and it sends the refrigerant into the car's A/C system. The gauge on the can shows you the pressure level and when you have recharged the car's refrigerant to the optimal level.

This DIY process has restored or enhanced the A/C performance in my former Impreza and Mazda3. Try this if your car's A/C weakens once out of warranty. It will NOT fix a problem like a leak or a failed compressor, but it will help restore or boost weakened A/C performance if it fizzles over time.

The A/C system is a closed system and the freon only needs recharging if there is a lost of gas( a leak). Other than that the gas will last forever.