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General Fiat 500 Change Air Conditioning to Climate Control?

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General Fiat 500 Change Air Conditioning to Climate Control?

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sheffieldsue

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Hi

I'm new here and am on my second Fiat 500. Earlier this year I bought a new(er) Fiat 500. Looking back I made a few mistakes. Fistly I went for a colour (white) that I swore I would never buy again. However the interior - well I love it.

But more seriously, the new (er) model (2012) that I bought had manual air conditioning wheras my old Fiat had Climate Control. I didn't think it would make much difference but I was very wrong and I see a very marked difference in how quickly I can heat up / cool down the car and also control the temperature.

So my question is a/ is it possible to change to the Climate Control on a 2012 Fiat and if so b/ how much does it cost? I know it may sound very cosmetic but (as we say in Sheffield) I am very "nesh" (feel the cold easily) so the car being the right temperature is very important to me. To the extent that I am thinking if it is not possible I'm considering changing the car to one with Climate Control if not. Crazy I know. But it goes without saying I will be staying with the beloved 500.

Any advice very valued and a happy Christmas to you all :)

Sue
 
sheffieldsue said:
Hi

I'm new here and am on my second Fiat 500. Earlier this year I bought a new(er) Fiat 500. Looking back I made a few mistakes. Fistly I went for a colour (white) that I swore I would never buy again. However the interior - well I love it.

But more seriously, the new (er) model (2012) that I bought had manual air conditioning wheras my old Fiat had Climate Control. I didn't think it would make much difference but I was very wrong and I see a very marked difference in how quickly I can heat up / cool down the car and also control the temperature.

So my question is a/ is it possible to change to the Climate Control on a 2012 Fiat and if so b/ how much does it cost? I know it may sound very cosmetic but (as we say in Sheffield) I am very "nesh" (feel the cold easily) so the car being the right temperature is very important to me. To the extent that I am thinking if it is not possible I'm considering changing the car to one with Climate Control if not. Crazy I know. But it goes without saying I will be staying with the beloved 500.

Any advice very valued and a happy Christmas to you all :)

Sue
Click to expand...



Hi, and welcome, :)
the whole climate system is integrated into the dashboard,

I suspect you'd be looking at THOUSANDS..!!:(

I too feel the cold, but haven't really noticed a difference in warm-up time / heat volume, :confused: (I've got climate / not climate on my FIAT's)

I'd spend a few quid getting the thermostat changed ( a good idea anyway as some have poor plastic fittings)
and the cooling / heating system flushed,
also a new pollen filter will make a BIG difference to the airflow within the cabin,

these are all essentially "service items" you'd be doing in time anyway;)

Charlie
 
Last edited:
Hi Sue.
Merry Christmas!

I reckon if you have your heart set on Auto Climate Control, it would be cheaper to buy another car.

Our other car is a Clio, and it has "manual" aircon and it is wonderful. You turn a knob, and it will go from boiling hot to freezing cold at the turn of the knob.

Our 500TA on the other hand, has Automatic CC, and in order to change the temp, we have to dab a button repeatedly. I like the way that it's thermostatic, but I'd prefer a knob to turn than continually dabbing a button. Our Clio isn't thermostatic so we have to turn the knob to vary the temp as the outside temp changes. The 500 is thermostatic, so it stays the same temp.

............... but I'd rather have a thermostatic knob, than thermostatic buttons.

We can't have everything.

Greetings,
Mick.
 
sheffieldsue said:
To the extent that I am thinking if it is not possible I'm considering changing the car to one with Climate Control if not.
Click to expand...

That would almost certainly be cheaper than trying to retrofit it.

Folks have been quoted not far short of £2000 just to repair a broken climate system. Installing one from scratch could easily cost you twice that, and maybe more.

Sorry, but this can't be done either easily or cheaply.
 
Last edited:
thank you all - although obviously not the answer i would have liked! any opinions on the fiat sport? i currently have a lounge 1.2. i'll start looking for a good second hand one.... wish me luck!
 
sheffieldsue said:
thank you all - although obviously not the answer i would have liked! any opinions on the fiat sport? i currently have a lounge 1.2. i'll start looking for a good second hand one.... wish me luck!
Click to expand...

Not sure if you mean the old Sport trim level here.

If so, will drive identically to the equivalently engined lounge/pop but with the different standard interior (which was nice IMHO, see my showroom thread), front fogs, spoiler etc. I certainly was happy with my choice over a similarly spec'd pop. Couldn't get on with the lounge.
 
varesecrazy said:
I too feel the cold, but haven't really noticed a difference in warm-up time / heat volume, :confused: (I've got climate / not climate on my FIAT's)

I'd spend a few quid getting the thermostat changed ( a good idea anyway as some have poor plastic fittings)
and the cooling / heating system flushed,
also a new pollen filter will make a BIG difference to the airflow within the cabin,

these are all essentially "service items" you'd be doing in time anyway
Click to expand...

:yeahthat: Fitting climate control to a car that isn't working properly won't help if you don't solve the underlying problem.

There's no logical reason why a car with ACC should warm up quicker than one without.

Additionally to what Charlies said, oil level and quality can make a massive difference to warm ups. I've had used cars that refused to warm up for as much as six miles that were fix by changing the oil.

If you really want fast warm ups, fit a coolant heater. You'll have instant heat and it will save you fuel and wear and tear.
 
sheffieldsue said:
thank you all - although obviously not the answer i would have liked! any opinions on the fiat sport? i currently have a lounge 1.2. i'll start looking for a good second hand one.... wish me luck!
Click to expand...

Hi Sue,
I appreciate the purchase was a compromise - and not you're choice of colour,:eek:

however - buying used is potentially a minefield,

you seem to have a nice interior, and reliability,
and the warm-up issues should be easily resolved;)

as UFI says an external pre-heat method would be the obvious solution.., but TBH if you're spending money on "non-standard kit", do that on a 500 in the colour you LOVE...,

Charlie
 
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UFI said:
There's no logical reason why a car with ACC should warm up quicker than one without.
Click to expand...
ACC will probably switch to recirculation instead of taking cold air from outside the car.
 
I get the impression that ACC warms up the car SLOWER than a manual system.

The ACC doesn't get the blower going until the system is warm enough, but if you switch it to manual, you can force the blower on. Any air (even slightly) warmer than the interior is welcome, but when left at ACC, you have to wait.

Luckily, we haven't had much cold weather this winter, so I'm just leaving it at ACC.

Regards,
Mick.
 
AGH1965 said:
ACC will probably switch to recirculation instead of taking cold air from outside the car.
Click to expand...

I have ACC and it's only automatic if you have it on fresh. Recycle always switches it to manual. Just one of the ways 'Fiat knows best'.
 
zanes said:
Not sure if you mean the old Sport trim level here.

If so, will drive identically to the equivalently engined lounge/pop but with the different standard interior (which was nice IMHO, see my showroom thread), front fogs, spoiler etc. I certainly was happy with my choice over a similarly spec'd pop. Couldn't get on with the lounge.
Click to expand...

hi zane

can't seem to find your thread.

i'm pretty sure whenmy fiat was in for a service they lent me a top spec sport - it had 6 gears and oh my word did it go! leather interior. v very nice. probably WAY out of my price range. also, i was always told to never ever buy new cos of the depreciation

i'm not inundated with money...i would go for the same interior if poss (the red and white seats). a red or yellow - nice and vibrant. i've always had a lounge. got this car valued for just under £5000 and it seems cars of that value seem to be a few years older :-( i kind of told myself that when i said to myself, "i will never buy another white car" - i didn't really mean it.

in my old fiat 500 (lounge diesel - it may have been an 08) you would get in and it would heat up within 30 seconds to a minute. no messing with temperature control up and down. today i have driven 3 hours and have spent time with having to drive with the windows partly down as it kept steaming up (with ac set to come from the outside) and switching the dial up and down as it just wouldn't stay consistent.
 
I've always considered that my 500 warms up fairly quickly, at least compared to previous cars. I often prefer to set the controls manually however because the ACC is so noisy at full bore.

Can anyone tell me - What is the nature of the 'Additional Heater. For versins/markets where provided'' mentioned in the manual? I wouldn't think it'd be needed in Oz cars (unless you live in Canberra;)) but how would you tell? I can't see a fuse for it.

The manual says it only works if the outside temp. and coolant temp. are low and that it will not operate if battery is low, so presumably it's electrical.
 
sheffieldsue said:
in my old fiat 500 (lounge diesel - it may have been an 08) you would get in and it would heat up within 30 seconds to a minute.
Click to expand...

I've never known for a diesel to warm up that quickly. Was it fitted with a Webasto?
 
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