'92 Civic Si, '93 Civic Si, '00 Civic Si, '03 RSX-S...all share common denominators: begin a Honda and being the small Honda. That's why my experiences have all been the same over the last 21 years.
Tested a little more in the RSX this afternoon. It was hot as usual but just for the hell of it I turned off the compressor and put my hand up to the vents. The air was relatively cool, definitely cooler than the outside air and absolutely night and day different from last nights FR-S compressorless test which blew warm air, not even remotely cool.
Even if it's hot outside, simply using your hand to fan your face produces "cool" air. I don't agree with your argument that all air is heated more when coming from the outside, I disproved it today for myself.
It's hotter than outside air in the FR-S while the RSX produced cooler than outside air. And yes, my test included parking the car in the heat for 5-10 minutes after turning the compressor off 10 minutes prior to parking. That way I could negate any doubt that there might have been cold air still lingering in the system. 10 mins of off followed by 5-10 minutes parked.
I think I'm just going to go with the lack of heater core argument as it makes the most sense. All this arguing back and forth over "my car did or didn't" only matters if we compare the same previous vehicles, which we clearly aren't doing. Again though, it may prove irrelevant as I won't know until we get actual cold weather.
Right mav, we got that part covered. Those of us complaining are worried that when it is COLD outside, as in jacket required cold, there should NOT be warm air of any kind leaking or not leaking, blowing or not blowing. It shouldn't even be remotely warm or anything other than COLD until you manually move the temperature dial. If it is all the way on blue and the air outside is 50 degrees or less, warm air should not exist.
The "leak" isn't the concern, it's the temperature of the "leak" being hotter than it should be, especially if it's cold outside. Not the leak, but the temp of the leak. Leak is normal for some car, not others. Apparently hotter than outside is also considered normal due to the lack of the heater valve, which is what I'm going with as the answer.
Again, not the leak itself, but the temperature of the leak.
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edited to add: I was just recalling the memory of when I first discovered "leaking" vents in my cars many many many many many years ago. It was a cold night and I clearly noticed COLD air leaking in on my left hand...not warm
I liked the "leak" and always have...until possibly now on this vehicle which has not fully been tested yet by me in this regard.
I'm going to be angry if I require A/C during 50 degree nights. I'm expecting this to NOT be the case, but I am worried as it will not be equal to what I have become accustomed to for the last 21 years.
I'm hoping for a best case scenario of using "less dial" on the temp gauge during the sub 50 degree weather when you for the first time all year have to move the temp dial. I think Texas has gotten cold enough outside a handful of times to require a HALF setting of the temp dial, right in the middle of blue/red. Vehicles in Houston do not see all the way red temp dials, it just doesn't happen here, lol.