Hello everyone,

I bought my Fit in September of 2007, used with 3500km's on it. I currently have 20000km's on it and for the first time I am having an issue with power. I usually dont use the A/C but we have had some pretty hot days here in Calgary. I took the car in to the dealer and of course because no code came up there is nothing wrong with it. When driving in the city with the A/C running I have noticed that the car is very sluggish. When I say sluggish I really mean it. It is like the car is in 5th when I am actually in 3rd trying to accelerate. If you turn the A/C off the whole picture changes and the car is back to normal. I was wondering if anyone has noticed this issue also? It is a 2007 Fit sport 5sd. I just changed the air filter and A/C filter on Saturday and it didn't make any difference. I know it is a small engine and only puts out so many horsey but I dont think the drop in power should be noticable. Look forward to hearing from you

 

Most if not all cars are always slower with the A/C, it's just especially noticeable with the Fit because you only have 109 horses to begin with.

Honestly I use the A/C on the highway only. If I have to use A/C while driving in the city I really have to shift around 4-5k to maintain power, honestly my old 95 civic felt more powerful but then again it had I/H/E among other things.

 

So do you find it also takes alot longer to get to the 4-5k range? I find anything under 3k it just has no power.

 

What setting do you use? Having it on full cold and full blast would use up the most power.

It's been 100+*F here in Memphis, and windows down still results in a sweaty back and butt =( I have noticed that AC robs a noticeable amount of horses.

 

Your A/C may be over-charged, forcing it to work really hard to pump. This can also kill your gas mileage. Check the pressure, Will a dealer check under warranty be free?

 

The AC condesor is belt driven by the engine. It is parasitic and that is why you're losing power when it's on. This happens to all cars by like stated because the Fit's engine is so small it's much more noticeable. Contrary to what has been said though, it will take away the same amount of power regardless of what setting it is on. The different numbers only adjust the fan speed. Turning it down a little bit from maximum cold would give you more time inbetween the condesor working and give you more time with full power as the power loss only happens when the condensor kicks in.

 

Your air conditioner compressor is either "on" or it's "off". It does not matter what fan power setting you use, the same power is needed from the engine to run the A/C compressor.

 

when is the last time you changed your oil. I notice a big difference in my car when I change my oil.

 

Sorry A-
Same thought posted a minute apart.

 

I dont run my AC at all for that very reason.
With the AT is border line unsafe with AC on. So slow.

Tyler

 

Haha no problem, now the answer is reinforced .

PS: If you want to cool your car down via AC, the best way to do it is roll down your windows and drive for a little bit to help get the hot air out. Roll the windows up and turn on the AC, I usually put it to 3 or 4. I let that go until the car is nice and cool then switch over to recirculate and turn the ac off with the fan lower at around 1 or 2. Doing it this way I usually only have to let the AC run for a minute or two, and the coolness will usually last me for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

As many have said A/C costs mpg and power. Its not just compared to 109 hp, its compared to how much power your engine is making when you use the A/C. At 60 mph a Fit consumes gas at a rate needed for 10 hp. (thats supposedly what it takes to push a Fit thru the air and overcome rolling tire resistance and mechanical losses) An A/C can consume as much as 3 hp at full effort (max air temp difference at full flow). So if the air is using a third as much as your engine you could see a 30% drop in mpg. Its seldom that bad tho. About 2 mpg would be the typical loss.

But if your a/c is using 3 hp and your engine 10 a third of your power is going down the drain from your a/c unit with the water it extracted and you may be feeling that.
Hey, it won't last long; summer in Calgary only lasts a week.

 

No just wind up each gear to 4-5k or however much needed to maintain speed with traffic. Don't drone along at low revs in too high of a gear because it's probably less efficient than just speeding up quickly and maintaining the speed you achieve in the highest gear possible.

Like stated above, the A/C is an engine parasite therefore overall output is reduced, so wind up the gears as needed to keep flow with traffic, but honestly man, short of maintained speeds on highways or roads with none or little lights, A/C is going to cause a painfully slow driving experience in any 4 cylinder low displacement vehicle.

I have a T1R intake, it seems to help a bit just because of the HP boost to offset the A/C load a bit.

 

i addition to all of the above, don't forget that stop and go driving in the summer places a LOT of heat under the hood; the hotter air has less oxygen and less combustibility (hence the popularity of CAI's)... combined with the parasitic AC loss it's a major drag for the 1.5.

 

Well I dont feel crazy now. Husband just thought I was a crazy women driver. I also guess this is my first 4cyl with A/C so I really had nothing to compare it to. In our diesel truck you dont notice the power loss although I am sure it is there. I do usually drive with the windows open, however as short as our summers can be our rush hour traffic is longer

 

i drive in a lower gear and keep rev's higher when im running a/c.

typically i cruise around town 2500-2800rpm. with the a/c
i do 2800-3100rpm.

 

Still at 90% oil life that is

 

LOL, welcome to life in a low power car. An A/C compressor takes the same amount of power regardless of what car it's in. Just using hypothetical guestimates...

Auto Fit - 85whp
- 10 whp for A/C = 75whp
or a 12% loss

My old diesel Superduty - 300whp
- 10 whp for A/C = 290whp
or a 3% loss

3% you won't notice, but 12% of an already low number makes a drastic difference. We like our A/C enough that we just live with it and use more gas.

 

I too noticed it this weekend with the AC on! Especially going uphill.

 

It does matter tho how often its on. In really hot weather it can be on virtually 100% of the time.