How does the A/C work on the 2009 Fits in hot climates? I live in Phoenix, so am curious if the little motor can keep the car cool. Comments please.
Thanks!

 

All due respect, it's only been on sale for what...six weeks?

My experience in Dallas for the last two weeks (since I've been a Fit owner) has been it's chilly outside.

I'll get back to you in May when it gets warm again...

 

I got mine 3rd week of Sepember, when temps were low 100's, seemed to do just fine. I use a sunshade on the dash when I park during the day, crack the windows, etc, plus mine is white. Car cooled pretty quickly, especially when I started driving (idling doesn't allow the compressor to run fast enough). I don't expect any problems w/ the AC. Thank goodness for that!

 

Thanks for the replys. Satchel, you're lucky to have cool weather. It was 88 yesterday in Phoenix. We're having "record temps". argh

Ifthefoo, you got the perfect Phoenix car, white. The reason I was asking is that my last Honda had a small motor like the Fit and it didn't do too well here in Phoenix as far as the A/C goes. If I was facing away from the sun, it was OK. Into the sun, forget it. Hope the Fit is better.

 

September 26 I made a stop in Phoenix (low 100s) before continuing to Rocky Point in Mexico (high 90s). The AC worked well enough, even dealing with 90% humidity near the beach.

The Fit's AC is much more capable than my prior car, a '99 BMW. My earlier German car, a Merkur, also had very feeble AC. It did not seem to be a priority to the German manufacturers. Hopefully they have rectified that in recent years.

 

Air works well (I'm in the Phoenix area too) I had 'Made in the Shade' in Mesa tint the car with FormulaOne Pinnacle Ceramic tint. 50 in the back and 35 in the front. We got our 09'Fit Sport with the MT in Blue Sensation Pearl the first week of Sept. The Air gets it nice and chilly ... even the back seat ... but the tint sure helps a lot....

 

I had an 07 Fit and the A/C was okay. It was also black, so that didn't help. My new 09 is white and I noticed that the A/C had a LOT more power behind it. I used to need the fan blowing on max to get the car cooled down, but setting it to 2 on the 09 seems to be just as strong!

My 07 was tinted by the dealership, while I had the 09 tinted by a shop in Mesa (most likely much better quality). The place I went to can also do a clear ceramic based coating on your windshield that will block out a LOT of heat. They had a display set up in the lobby with a heat lamp and some windows with the different coatings/tints on them. You could hardly feel anything with the windshield coating!

 

I'm here in Phoenix, too. I missed any really hot weather before I got my Fit, but from the way the A/C performs so far, I suspect it's not going to be as good as I'd like during the hottest weather. Volume is good on the max setting, but the air temp at the vents just isn't as cold as it is on other systems. My Sienna and Boxster have really good A/C's, the M3 is very poor, and the 914 has the tried-and-true "2+T x 60" brand of A/C (i.e. roll down both windows, remove top, drive 60 mph). The Fit's system is a lot closer to the Sienna's and Boxster's than it is to the M3's.

 

The air from my Fit's A/C vents cycles from 40*F to 45*F as the compressor cycles. Thats pretty much standard for car A/Cs and about as cool as possible from a car A/C system (any colder and the evaporator coil would ice over). I live in Tennessee and travel throughout the southeast, although it's not the Sonoran Desert, it can get pretty hot (and humid) here. If you are not getting these temperatures you may need to get your system checked.

 

You're right, I need to measure it instead of going by feel. I've got a vent thermometer at home, I'll check it.

 

Bit of a joke IMO. Definitely whimpy compared to our previous Honda. Combined with the greenhouse of the Fit, I'm expecting some challenges next summer. It was not impressive in even 80 degree weather. Tint is a must I feel. Also, the fan is rather noisy.