I don't know how many people have discovered this, but if you have AC, you can keep your car cool on all but the hottest of days by just running your window defroster. This applies for most modern cars equipped with AC. The AC compressor runs on a low duty cycle (10-15%) in defrost mode to evaporate moisture out of the car and prevent fungus buildup during the wet seasons, but also provides cold air during the summer. Save gas (and horsepower!) This works, and really makes a difference on cars lacking in HP (NOT the RA, I don't even feel the AC kick on on my RA!)

 

So the A/C just cycles off more when in defrost? Well you don't save a whole lot of gas anyway. Plus our A/C season is only like 4 months anyway.

 

Just passing it along... Most of the people I have told about this tried it and thanked me later, so I thought I would share it. There is no disputing that you will get better mileage in defrost mode than AC mode, so I figured someone might want to know...

 

I wish you could have regular air venting on the windshield, rather than A/C. Best I've been able to do so far is to turn the vent control to 1 click before the A/C comes on, and vent air to the windshield and floor.

The more automatic cars get, the more they **** me off. I'm just glad my car doesn't lock the doors by itself when you start driving it. The rental Pontiac I had a while ago did that, and it was returned without the door lock relay.

 

Yep, drove an Olds Achiva that did that, (with the locks)... Psst me off! And one of the "auto locks" wouldn't unlock with all the others, so it had to be unlocked manually. Another POS! I have notised the Ralliart's hot/cold control is not the greatest and has a lot of slop. I suspect this is the same on most Mitz's.

 

Mine's fine.

 

mine is 'fine', as well, but its still a sh1ty design! the jdm models have real climate control in degrees, not that red to blue guage that cant really be in the middle. i find this one of the weaker parts of the car. but if i had to pick a point to be weak, this would be my first choice (even in south florida!)

 

Ya, but you got to admit, still a damn fun car to drive...

 

Ugh. I hate those. I don't think I would have bought the car if it had that. If I want the A/C on, I'll turn it on, rather than rely on the fancy climate-controls to do it. I already dislike the way the A/C comes on when all I'm trying to do is vent some air at the windshield. In my Talon, I kept the vent on the windshield, fan off or on low, recirc off. My windshield NEVER fogged up. With this car, it seems to be a constant battle.

Also, in Florida, shouldn't you be more concerned with the windshield wipers at the moment?