griff74 said:

I open it fully if the car is really hot, like over the weekend, and the windows to let all the hot air out, tbh I mostly drove around town this weekend so had the windows down, sunroof slid back and the A/C just blowing on my sweaty feet, sod the MPG's!!
If not I just let the bulk of the heat out then close up everything and let the A/C do it's work, why do you ask??

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On a hot day if I'm leaving the car outside, I put the sunroof in tilt mode so hot air doesn't build up inside the car. The gap is only small but but you're not sealing in the heat with everything closed and the car is still locked and secure.

PsFiat said:

On a hot day if I'm leaving the car outside, I put the sunroof in tilt mode so hot air doesn't build up inside the car. The gap is only small but but you're not sealing in the heat with everything closed and the car is still locked and secure.

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I do that if I'm near the car ie at home, left it tilted with the sunblind closed Saturday afternoon and yesterday, won't do it if it's in a car park or if I'm not within dashing to it to close it distance in case it suddenly starts raining, which in Manchester can happen at the drop of a hat even on the hottest, clear blue sky days!

www.autoacforum.com for more A/C related info.


One more thing: change the cabin filter annually for best cooling results, often overlooked, even at dealerships...!!
A dirty or somewhat blocked filter will reduce airflow considerably...

Peter Pick-Up said:

www.autoacforum.com for more A/C related info.


One more thing: change the cabin filter annually for best cooling results, often overlooked, even at dealerships...!!
A dirty or somewhat blocked filter will reduce airflow considerably...

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That is the main reason why I always change the pollen filter myself because that way, I know it has been done. Not only that, I can buy a pollen filter a lot cheaper than a dealership will charge.

My recently acquired '58 plate 1.4 came with climate control, and I must say it's been very effective during this recent hot spell. Blasts out cool air within a minute or so and then steadies out to maintain a nice cool cabin. The little orange LED displays on the lower dash look quite neat too. Decided to include an a/c service when the car was serviced recently and glad I did so as the slightly odorous output has now gone. Recharge and rehash only added £30 to the service cost, so well worth doing.

Really notice the drop in engine power when the climate is working hard on hotter days though - much more so than the Climatronic in my Skoda Fabia.

All of my 500s, normal and Abarth have had excellent A/C. Co-incidentally, however my 595 is going in today to have the A/C checked as it has stopped working over the last few weeks. It had it's annual checkover in March and had a new pollen filter fitted but I am wondering if something might have been disturbed when it was in (twice) to have it's new front bumper and grilles replaced as it seems to have only be noticeable since then.

As I said, perhaps just a co-incidence but I'll update when I get the car back.

MarginWalker said:

Really notice the drop in engine power when the climate is working hard on hotter days though - much more so than the Climatronic in my Skoda Fabia.

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Placebo. The ECU adds the torque required by the A/C to the torque requested by the driver, so you can't tell if it's on or off. At full throttle, the A/C is switched off by the ECU, so there's no way for a driver to tell. Essentially, turning the A/C on switches to a more responsive fuel map.

Peter Pick-Up said:

One more thing: change the cabin filter annually for best cooling results, often overlooked, even at dealerships...!!
A dirty or somewhat blocked filter will reduce airflow considerably...

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If it's anything like a typical engine air filter, it's very difficult to block it enough to affect anything. Even if it did pose a restriction, it only reduces ventilation (unless you're already running the fan at 100), which has little to do with the actual A/C.

And a big LOL to anyone in Europe who thinks the 500 has a powerful A/C, perhaps comparing it to a Wrangler isn't playing fair

UFI said:

Placebo. The ECU adds the torque required by the A/C to the torque requested by the driver, so you can't tell if it's on or off. At full throttle, the A/C is switched off by the ECU, so there's no way for a driver to tell.



If it's anything like a typical engine air filter, it's very difficult to block it enough to affect anything. Even if it did pose a restriction, it only reduces ventilation (unless you're already running the fan at 100), which has little to do with the actual A/C.

And a big LOL to anyone in Europe who thinks the 500 has a powerful A/C, perhaps comparing it to a Wrangler isn't playing fair

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Good one UFI when its 35+ C degrees in Athens and I left the car in the sun, it doesn't cool down easily at all even with it maximum (4) and at the coldest setting! For a small car it is ok.

My father has a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0, and yes that has insane air-conditioning, just like it has insane fuel consumption = )

ahmett said:

My father has a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0, and yes that has insane air-conditioning, just like it has insane fuel consumption = )

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My 4.0 TJ is used purely for off road trips, and returns 25MPG UK, but then it is a 6 speed.

UFI said:

My 4.0 TJ is used purely for off road trips, and returns 25MPG UK, but then it is a 6 speed.

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That's good my fathers grand Cherokee gets like 18 mpg!

Just to clear thing up: All ventilation air entering a car has to pas the cabin/pollen filter, it will get dirty very soon, and WILL affect cooling capacity.
I doubt you have ever seen a cabin filter after about a year, it is sometimes/often black with sooth and debris....


It is very well possible to notice the A/C compressor working, even when the ECU is trying to avoid that...
As soon as the compressor engages, the ecu sends a signal to the IAC valve to raise the rpm's, but at that same moment you might feel a slight hesitation....completely normal, and very common.

Peter Pick-Up said:

Just to clear thing up: All ventilation air entering a car has to pas the cabin/pollen filter, it will get dirty very soon, and WILL affect cooling capacity.
I doubt you have ever seen a cabin filter after about a year, it is sometimes/often black with sooth and debris....

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Believe me, I see what you're describing year in year out because I do change my own pollen filters. Again, those people who rely on two year servicing schedules have no idea just how filthy pollen filters get, even more so on the 500 because from experience with our old POP, they are an absolute pain in the butt to get to and change, especially if you have monster size hands like I've got.

Anyhow, we can preach 'til the cows come home, but the fact is, there are still too many car owners with zero interest in spending money on their motors or looking after them properly. My own neighbours laugh at me for the amount of servicing I do, well one used to, until his engine was destroyed because he didn't get his cambelt and waterpump replaced at the correct service interval, but I guess I'm veering off topic.....

Anyway back to the topic in hand, I absolutely recommend an aircon service to anyone who hasn't bothered before. For £50 to £60, it's hardly a bank breaker.

Peter Pick-Up said:

Just to clear thing up: All ventilation air entering a car has to pas the cabin/pollen filter, it will get dirty very soon, and WILL affect cooling capacity.
I doubt you have ever seen a cabin filter after about a year, it is sometimes/often black with sooth and debris....

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Um, no all it can possibly affect is the vent. fan speed/ efficiency, the incoming air temperature will be the same, in fact, it could even be cooler as slower moving air has more time to loose it's heat energy in the heat exchange process.

Have you considered the size of the average cabin filter? It's often bigger than the engine filter. 1,000 times more air passes through the engine filter than the cabin filter and those are only replaced every 10-20K miles.

If you think it's now fine to drive through big clouds of diesel fumes, sucking them into the cabin because you have a 'filter', then yes it could clog up (again, nothing the engine filter isn't exposed to). If you use the recirc button appropriately, the filter will stay clean for a long time.

I just pulled a 4 year old cabin filter, gave it a tap and put it back. it looked the same colour on both sides. Didn't really feel like spending the $50 on a new one, since the old looked like new.

As soon as the compressor engages, the ecu sends a signal to the IAC valve to raise the rpm's, but at that same moment you might feel a slight hesitation....completely normal, and very common.

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Maybe in a 1990's car, not a 500 or basically any car with drive by wire. Most modern cars can run the A/C without having to raise idle RPM at all. The only way to tell is to watch the OBD scanner and see the fluctuation in fuel use. RPM stays within 2-3 rpm, which is pretty much the normal fluctuation for any engine at idle anyway.