Question about auto climate control system...

[Max Rebo]

I noticed something this morning that I hadn't previously. Not sure if it's normal or not.

Granted, I've only had my car for a week, and I'm new to Subaru, so it could be nothing...

 

While driving, the HVAC system was off, but cold air was still blowing from the vents as if the fan were on low. The air coming through seemed a bit too strong to be outside air. This was confirmed when I stopped the car at a traffic light -- air continued to blow from the vents.

 

Is there any way to turn the fan completely off? Or... is it normal for it to stay on like that? I even tried a trick similar to in my VW, which was to set the system to recirculate and then turn the fan down as low as it would go. That still didn't work.

 

Is this a problem or is it normal?

TIA

[Brady]

First off, this thread belongs in Interior.

 

Second, this is normal. If you go to the Interior/Audio forum, there is a sticky detailing how your ACC works.

 

Basically, you either have to turn the system to "recirculate" before turning it off completely, or when it's just venting air freely through the vents, you can hit the recirculate button only to close the vents and stop airflow.

 

Most importantly, read the sticky to learn the ACC features and system. It's been a great system for me since I've learned how to use it.

 

Brady

[PGT]

moved

[Max Rebo]

First off, this thread belongs in Interior.

 

Second, this is normal. If you go to the Interior/Audio forum, there is a sticky detailing how your ACC works.

 

Basically, you either have to turn the system to "recirculate" before turning it off completely, or when it's just venting air freely through the vents, you can hit the recirculate button only to close the vents and stop airflow.

 

Most importantly, read the sticky to learn the ACC features and system. It's been a great system for me since I've learned how to use it.

Seems like it's "Basic Operation" to me... but oh well.

 

There is no way to turn the fan completely off. In my original post, you'll read that I did, in fact, set the system to recirc, and air continued to blow through the vents, as if the fan were on low.

 

FWIW, it operates pretty much the same as any other auto climate control system that I've used. I also called my dealer today, and they seemed to think that there's always going to be some amount of air blowing through the vents, even when the HVAC system is off. Are they wrong?

 

EDIT: I read the sticky thread and found this:

 

Note that you can invoke a no-fan vent mode by starting from OFF, and then pushing the mode button to select face or bi-level ventilation. In this vent mode, the temperature display will not show and the temperature will remain at the previously set level (before OFF was pushed). So if you want a totally ambient vent, the procedure would be to set the dial to 65 (no heat), press OFF, and then press mode to select vent. Pretty complicated, eh? ACC systems don't have simple direct controls for something like this, unfortunately.

This info isn't even in the manual. So... doing the above will turn off the HVAC fan, but the car will still draw in ambient air, correct?

 

I appreciate the help.

[Brady]

if the fan is set to level one, the fan is still blowing.

 

Set the vents to Recirculate, THEN turn the system off completely. If you still have air flowing, there may be a problem.

 

And this might be basic operation, but you certainly didn't post a Walkthrough, which is where it was posted. All questions are best posted in the forum that best describes the nature of your issue, and most parts of the car are fairly easily identified by the main categories for the Technical Forums.

 

Welcome to the site!

[Brady]

Per your question regarding the sticky, I'm not sure if that's entirely true. I think if you have the ACC off, and the vent is open (not recirc) you still get ambient air regardless of what the temp sensor was at, but I could be mistaken. We've had very nice weather here this last week, and I haven't had the unit on all week, but haven't actually checked how warm the air is coming through the vents.

 

I would almost think the only way to test this is when it's fairly cool out.

 

To answer your question directly, yes, performing that method will CERTAINLY draw in ambient temp air.

[Max Rebo]

Thanks again. I supposed I missed the obvious "Walkthrough" part of the other forum title. My excuse is that I need more coffee!

 

I'll play around with the ACC system a bit more. I have to return to the dealer to get the dome light fixed pretty soon, anyway, so I'll see what their take is.