Is this normal?

[Mr. Quant]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if its just me or it\'s something normal and others have experienced:

When I press the \'A/C\' button, i can feel the car hums and vibrates a bit, as well as hearing a noticable clicking noise. This happens every time I push the button to turn the A/C on.

It might be from the A/C\'s compressor .. but I have driven many other cars before and never noticed similar issues.

Any insights are appreciated.

Have a good weekend,

Quant

[justin]

Well, I can hear engine bog down a little bit, but then it goes away after a second or two.

I don\'t get the hum and vibrate part, at least, not that I can tell.

How many km\'s on your ride?

[Mr. Quant]

My car is farily new, just over 2 months old and has just passed the 3000km mark.

Thanks,

Quant

[justin]

Give your service dept a call and book an appt. That doesn\'t sound right, and it could be something related to the belts (???) or the actual unit itself.

Is your AC cold at least?

[Mr. Quant]

I think I will do. The A/C seems to operating fine... i mean not that powerful but is able to do the job....

Thanks Justin.

Mr. Quant

[JMAK74]

What Mazda3 do you have? Is it a 2.3 or a 2.0? I\'ve got a 2.0 and when I put the A/C on, the car hums a bit and all - still works and mine has 38,500kms.

It\'s probably the compressor kicking in and the clutch to it - if it\'s working (i.e. \'cold\' air - the Mazda3 A/C is not noted to be the strongest A/C) the I wouldn\'t get so concerned. When you turn the A/C on, does you car stall?

Like justin said - RPM\'s drop, but with 4 bangers like ours, it\'s expected, the A/C compressor sucks horsepower.

See what others have to say (actually did you search for the thread about the A/C of the Mazda3 - it might have some comments in there that may help you).

[SABIO]

Every car does it. *Click....*hmmmmmmm It\'s a fact of life. A little more prevalent in cheap 4-cyl cars, more so becuase the car is quieter and has less power.
I am suprised that you never had a car do this before. Did any of your other cars have A/C? If you never heard the *Click of the A/C clutch when it turns on maybe you have the radio to loud?

[justin]

As Sabio said... the clicking part is normal... the kicker is the humming and vibrating... My 3 doesn\'t do this. Anyone else having this problem (humming and vibrating)?

Does this humming and vibrating negatively affect performance? If not, then maybe going to the dealership is not necessary.

[Mr. Quant]

Hi Guys,

Thank you very much for the replies.

My car is a 2.3L GT with manual transmission. The A/C is still working although like many have said it isn\'t the strongest A/C out there. I\'d say I definitely notice the clicking and the humming. Vibrating is less noticable. And like Justin said... after a few seconds.. all these got blended into the car\'s normal operational noise.

I seriously did not notice such a problem with many many of the rental cars I had before. But I guess that could be because the car rental company tends to give me all the V6 models like Altima, Taurus, Sebring, etc. Maybe thats it....

This is the first car I have ever owned... i guess I still have a long way to get used to certain things.

Thanks again guys!

Quant.

[Skarbro]

Totally normal for any car.

[sp3GT]

I have the exactly same thing, when A/C is on the car vibrates a lot. Also on hot days like today, it feels like it doesn\'t want to go at first gear. I have a M/T btw.

I was thinking it should be normally since it\'s been so hot lately. But my A/C is not that cold compared to my old 7th gen civic. That A/C was much better and at least twice as cold.

[cyberscorpi0]

More info on A/C problems Here (http://torontomazda3.com/forum/read.php?TID=2722)

[mazdaagain]

I have the same problem, humming and some very slight vibration. I have a 2.3 manual and was not sure if it was normal until I got a loaner. The loaner was a 2.3 sport with automatic. The A/C was silent.

I asked service to look at it and of course they could not \"find\" it. I\'ll have to sit the tech in the car and drive it so he can hear it. It is subtle so they will never hear it themself.

[sir_bob]

When I first press the AC button, at the begining of the day or after the car having been standing for a large part of the day, it sounds like the bearings are shot. It\'s like a death rattle, loud enough to make pedestrians turn and look.

It is going to be checked at my next service later this month, I\'ll report back then as to what is found.

[thrasher]

Did anyone ever take this problem to the dealer?

I have a manual 07 GT and when I turn on the A/C the compressor (I assume) is pretty loud the whole time it is on. I can hear it from inside the car. Only 12000 kms on it, but it's been doing it since day one. I did not think compressors are this loud.

[whiteomega]

i can faintly hear mine inside the car when it's idling, but once i'm moving i can't hear it at all.

my car has been doing pretty much the same thing since the day i got it. the rattle isn't as loud as others have described though.