2005 Climate Control is driving me nuts

I have been running the climate control on manual because it's impossible to hit AUTO and not have the air conditioner turn on. It's 55 degrees and sunny, I don't need to run the air conditioner. The problem is that the unit really, really wants to run the A/C. Here's what happens.

 

I'm in manual, fan on low, fresh air coming in, no A/C, and it's blowing on my feet. All is well. I shut the climate control off. I press the down arrow for the fan to turn it back on and the A/C turns on and it's set to recycle.

 

I'm really learning to hate this thing.

 

Am I crazy or is this just the way it works. Is there any way to keep the A/C from coming on?

Don't turn it completely off - just leave the fan on the lowest setting.

Turn it on, press the AC button to turn the air-conditioning off, and voila. You can set fan speed, where the air blows and everything, without the AC reintroducing itself.

 

Kevin

Yup, both of those will work, I just hate having to turn the A/C off every time I turn the unit on. Every time I turn it on, it's a three button process.

http://www.detailcity.com/images/smilies/nosympathyhere.gif

http://www.detailcity.com/images/smilies/nosympathyhere.gif

 

 

 

hahaha!...that one is hilarious

Don't turn it completely off - just leave the fan on the lowest setting.

 

 

Ding ding!

 

I NEVER use the auto climate control on ANY of the cars I've

owned that have it.

Just turn the d@mn A/C on cold until you start to feel a bit

chilly, then either:

1. Turn the fan speed down to the lowest setting

2. Manually turn the temp up several degrees

3. Both

 

It ain't that hard, and it ain't that big of a deal.

It would be nice if one could just turn the AC off, and leave everything else auto, but if you attempt that, it starts cranking up the fan when it thinks it needs the AC. A much better solution would be to allow setting the AC temperature different from the heat temperature. I'd like them at least 10 degrees apart.

I have a Outback XT and have no problems with the climate controls. If you turn the car on and then turn off the auto function you shouldn't have a problem. The only time that I have an issue is when I need to defrost and the AC comes on and the fan goes on high - then simply turn the fan down. If you leave the climate control like this when you turn the car off it won't go crazy the next time that you turn it on. Just don't leave it on auto - it has a mind of its own!

Personally, I just run the temp control and the fan, no A/C at all. But to get this running, just hit AUTO then hit A/C which will turn the A/C function off totally.

 

Let us know how u go with it.

Adam.

If the unit is off and I hit ANY button to activate the unit, it turns the A/C on. From reading the manual last night, it says that hitting the fan speed control, mode, or recycle buttons takes the unit out of AUTO mode. If the unit is off, it seems to put it IN to AUTO mode.

 

I have not tried to hit AUTO to turn off the auto mode. I'll try that on the way home tonight.

Have you read this? http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6515

Apparently they haven't, although that one is a 'sticky' somewhere, isn't it? Basically the AC light indicates that AC CAN come on, if necessary - not that it's actually on at that particular time.

Mikul,

 

[begin rant...]

 

At the risk of feeling the ire of the anti-whining faction, I must agree that the auto climate control system is incredibly poorly designed. I've had my '05 GT (which, by the way I still like despite this wart) since last August and I've found the auto climate control to be the biggest waste of silicon I've ever come across.

 

Among its major weaknesses, it takes several button presses to get it to do the same thing a manual system could do in one. It has this absurd propensity to enable the AC by default. It requires a lot of visual attention to adjust - which seems downright dangerous for a control designed to be operated by the driver of a car. There's no way to slave both temperature controls to one knob when you're driving alone. And ultimately, it just doesn't seem that good at maintaining a comfortable cabin environment.

 

The sticky mentioned a few posts above does help to clarify the climate control's idiosyncracies, but overall the thing is complete crap. I've decided to just file the whole experience in the "oh well" category and be thankful the windows roll down. Even knowing what I do today about the lame ACCS, I would still have made the same choice and bought the LGT. I think its many plusses outweigh its minusses.

 

[...end rant]

 

The sticky mentioned a few posts above does help to clarify the climate control's idiosyncracies, but overall the thing is complete crap. I've decided to just file the whole experience in the "oh well" category and be thankful the windows roll down. Even knowing what I do today about the lame ACCS, I would still have made the same choice and bought the LGT. I think its many plusses outweigh its minusses.

 

My thoughts exactly. But many people here think the ACC is just perfect (they have obviously never experienced a good ACC system), therefore you and I must be wrong.

Now after more months with my Legacy, I noticed it's good at defogging the windows. As for holding a temp - if I put it to 69 it's ok, but I usually find myself turning it on and off like a regular non-digital unit.

 

- Mike

...

I NEVER use the auto climate control on ANY of the cars I've

owned that have it...

 

Glad it's not a problem for you. It seems to matter more to some of us

 

I never use it on the LGT... because it's the first ACC I've owned that works so poorly that it's not worth using.

 

The other 4 cars I've owned with an ACC (including a 1987 Legend Coupe) actually had ACC systems that worked properly and never needed adjusting for temperature when set on AUTO. They also seemed to have mastered the 20th century 'trick' of proportioning hot and cold airflow.

 

If Acura could do it in 1987, perhaps one of their retired engineers could give Subaru a few pointers from 'way back when'.

The LGT / OB ACC system is totally useless. Its a pain in the arse! ...to what is otherwise an impressive vehicle. Shame on you Subaru as they gotta know of this defect.

 

Are there any known fix's in the works, for the temp. extemes? ; + - 8 degrees

 

Cheers,

Mike

Funny how Motor Trend's Long term test report in the new issue (new look, Mustang GT500 on the cover)

 

All they said, no drive reports, was how the ACC blows hot-cold-hot-cold-hot-cold when they had it set to 75 degrees, and it was 75 degrees outside at the time. They took it to the dealer, service says: working normally.

 

The other topic of the report was the fact that the car wouldn't unlock all the doors. Clicking the button too fast. Service says: Working normally, refer to owner's manual. Manual says: clicking too quickly is bad, MMMKay.

 

That was it. Maybe Subaru will listen to bad publicity and correct this. Because the problems overshadowed how good of a car it really is.

If this is all we have to complain about, then it is indeed a good car.

 

Now, I also want to chime in and say they could do a lot better in terms of 'auto' mode. The peaks it drives the temps to are ridiculous. As someone said, it overshoots by more than 8 degrees when starting up.

 

I sure hope there is a sensor of controller retrofit to address this in the near future.

Mikul,

 

[begin rant...]

 

And ultimately, it just doesn't seem that good at maintaining a comfortable cabin environment.

 

It all boils down to this. If it did this, all the other crap wouldn't matter. But it doesn't.

 

 

Tom

Obviously this is a problem which I can do little about. Never actually hitting the OFF button seems to work even when the car is shut off. There may be a more elegant solution than having to enter a the equivalent of a PIN every time I turn the unit on, but it will take longer than I care to spend figuring it out.

 

We all have climate control in our homes. It has been around for about 50 years, and people seem happy with it. You set a temperature, and whether you want it to heat or cool and walk away for 6 months. Maybe Subaru should contact Honeywell.

 

Now that I've surrendered to this piece of technologic malfeasance, I can work on another (at the risk of hijacking the thread)... the fact that I have a CD changer with no ability to randomize between the disks, and even less ability to change the head unit.

 

It's as if Subaru put all of its money into mechanical engineering and left the electronics to the interns. As long as they're more reliable than Chrysler's electronics (designed by sadistic alcoholic chimpanzees), I can live with it.

Anything will be better than the electronics in my current car.

Ahh yes, the climate control question again!!!!

 

 

Well, I read about all of this ranting about the "poor" climate control system before I got my Lgt and I was concerned. I have now owned the car for a few months (1400 miles) and I can honestly say the system is fine. It isn't the best system. The last system I had was in an Audi A4 and I almost never changed the temp.... (68 summer and winter) and it was fine. I do find that the Subaru system isn't as good as maintaining a temp. but it isn't that bad. I find that I do notice the change in temp. more than in the Audi but it isn't offsensive. I dont' find that the car gets very hot or very cold. I typically leave it at 70 or 72 and that's it. I do have to adjust it a bit more than the Audi (maybe every few weeks) but that's not a big deal. I have the AC off (unless it is raining outside) and it keeps the car comfortable. The weather outside has been from 20 degrees up to around 60 so far that I have owned the car.

 

The biggest thing I noticed is that this system doesn't seem to take into consideration the outside temperature. So for example, when driving for hours in the Audi and ouside temp. was 20 degrees, and the car got too warm, it woudl NEVER switch to bi-level. It would realize it was cold outside and leave air on the floor but just cool down the air a bit. The Subie seems to start to blow cool air out dash vents as soon as the car is too warm (even if it is 20 outside). This is the biggest thing I have noticed. Overal the system is fine and works very similar to my Audi. I find it amazing that most people complain about things in this climate control that every system does. For example, every system blasts the fan and turns on the AC when hitting deforst..... So you can quickly defrost the windows.??? I think the fact is that most people that but this car haven't had ACC before.

Ahh yes, the climate control question again!!!!

 

I find it amazing that most people complain about things in this climate control that every system does. For example, every system blasts the fan and turns on the AC when hitting deforst..... So you can quickly defrost the windows.??? I think the fact is that most people that but this car haven't had ACC before.

 

That works for DEFOGGING, not for DEFROSTING when it is -20C outside. What you need in cold temps is as much heat as you can and there is no moisture to remove anyway.

 

And actually, it is those of us who have had a correctly designed ACC in the past that are complaining. Everyone else thinks it's fine. Also, it appears to work better in warm climates then it does in cold climates. SO those who complain the most tend to be in cold climates.

 

Having said that, I'm glad it suits your needs. But don't assume that because it suits YOUR needs, every one who is not happy must therefore be in error. We all have different expectations and needs, and this ACC doesn't come close to meeting my expectations. I would gladly swap it out for a manual "3 dial" setup because right now it just gets in the way and I have to spend way too much time managing it.