2005 Climate Control is driving me nuts

[f1anatic]

Mine don"t work and I am takin' the car to its mommy Wednesday at 1 PM

[smoss]

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.

 

 

It will work fine for defrosting as well. If it is -20 outside, then the AC WON"T turn on anyway. So you are getting as much heat as possible. What's the problem???By the way I live in Vermont. It gets down to -20 here just about every winter. I have had no problems since Feb when I picked up the car. The systems must be different from car to car because mine doesn't sound as bad as what some people have described. I also almost never get the clutch stink problem so maybe I have a much better car than average.

[sduford]

It will work fine for defrosting as well. If it is -20 outside, then the AC WON"T turn on anyway. So you are getting as much heat as possible. What's the problem???By the way I live in Vermont. It gets down to -20 here just about every winter. I have had no problems since Feb when I picked up the car. The systems must be different from car to car because mine doesn't sound as bad as what some people have described. I also almost never get the clutch stink problem so maybe I have a much better car than average.

 

Well mine does turn on the A/C even when it's -20 out. Verified by temperature drop. Does your car sleep in a garage? That makes a huge difference because your temperature sensor is already somewhat warm, as opposed to mornings when mine is at outside temperature. On those cold days the sensor takes so long to warm up that the car will get to above 80F before it finally settles down.

 

I've learned to live with the ACC and work around it's quirks, but that is the problem: it should be working for me, not against me. A manual 3 dial setup would require q whole lot less effort to keep me comfortable.

 

The A/C light should not turn on when the A/C is not actually active, that is just plain bad design. But I have discovered that you can turn off the A/C and the ACC still operates in full AUTO mode (even thought the Auto light is off) but will never actually turn on the A/C.

 

There is also well documented evidence that the temperature sensor is deficient (as noted above), which makes the system overshoot the set temperature. So I find myself having to manually turn the temperature way down to trigger it to stop heating. And when it switches from floor vents to dash vents, it feels like the temperature just dropped a whole bunch and I have to turn it back up 3-4 degrees just to stay comfortable.

 

I also don't like it's choice of vents in cold weather, but I can brush that off to personal taste, I guess. I have yet to try it in warm weather, I'm hoping it will work a whole lot better.

 

I'm renting a Volvo V-70 this week for work, and so far the ACC seems to operate exactly the way I would expect it to, and as well as my previous car's ACC worked.

[jaycee]

I propose a group buy for the manual 3-dial climate control system...

 

 

...I'll start the paperwork now

[smoss]

The A/C light should not turn on when the A/C is not actually active, that is just plain bad design. But I have discovered that you can turn off the A/C and the ACC still operates in full AUTO mode (even thought the Auto light is off) but will never actually turn on the A/C.

 

There is also well documented evidence that the temperature sensor is deficient (as noted above), which makes the system overshoot the set temperature. So I find myself having to manually turn the temperature way down to trigger it to stop heating. And when it switches from floor vents to dash vents, it feels like the temperature just dropped a whole bunch and I have to turn it back up 3-4 degrees just to stay comfortable.

 

 

 

That might clear up some things. My car is in the garage when I am home. So that might explain why I don't see these large overshoots. Also, the system should be in auto mode when you switch off AC, that is semi-auto mode. This is similar to a lot of other systems (Audi, Honda, BMW).

 

Also, it doens't matter if the AC light is on or not, it can't operate below freezing. All AC systems are like this, auto or not. You can take a piece of crap ford and turn on AC when it is below freezing, and it WON"T run. It has an overide to prevent it from destroying itself. So the light may be on just telling you that the system could turn it on.

 

I just drove around for a few hours to go for a drive. Set temp at 70 both sides (outside temp was 45). Car heated up, not too much. After some time it switched to bi level, which felt cooler ( I wish it wouldn't do that) but it was fine. If I wanted it warmer, I usually leave it at 72 on long drives. I didnt' see any overshoot though. The only reason I think people like manual control is because they can leave it on low fan, low heat and have things slowly heat up. Not optimal but it is what people are used too.

[M. Schneider]

Too funny... interesting... I suppose the 3-dial CC would work - right?

 

Ditch this ACC POS.

 

Group buy me!

 

Cheers,

Mike

[IwannaSportSedan]

I've never used anything for a long period of time but a typical 3 dial manual system. I have wondered what it would take to "downgrade" to the simpler system... that would make a dual din stereo plate a possibility, too, but I doubt anyone will make the castings for it in Left Hand Drive. Doh.

 

I wonder if it would be easier to move the temperature sensor, or retrofit the manual controls....

[Wraith40k]

strangely I have no issues with the ACC. I think it works fine. I read the article on how it works (somewhere on this site!) and have never had any issues. If I am a little to hot, I turn it down a bit. A little to cold I turn it up. the only thing that bugs me a little is if you put it on recirculate that it shuts off the auto (goes into semi-auto mode).

 

In combination with the heated seats I have never had any issues.

 

But maybe I just love the car too much... 1200 miles and still happy to walk out to the parking lot and get it in! makes driving to work at 4 in the morning much, much better.

[Tzar007]

I've learned to live with the ACC and work around it's quirks, but that is the problem: it should be working for me, not against me. A manual 3 dial setup would require q whole lot less effort to keep me comfortable.

 

The A/C light should not turn on when the A/C is not actually active, that is just plain bad design. But I have discovered that you can turn off the A/C and the ACC still operates in full AUTO mode (even thought the Auto light is off) but will never actually turn on the A/C.

 

Yep, I noticed that too. The A/C light is off but the fan speed continues to go down or up to maintain temp. That is until you manually set the fan speed yourself, then you are really in full manual control.

 

And when it switches from floor vents to dash vents, it feels like the temperature just dropped a whole bunch and I have to turn it back up 3-4 degrees just to stay comfortable.

 

Although I don't agree with some of the people in this thread that say this ACC is complete crap, I must say that this switching from floor vents to dash vents once the car has reached a warm temperature is badly done. You can indeed it feel the cold immediately and I am usually annoyed at it and this is when I switch to manual control.

 

But surprinsingly, my girlfriend does not feel this way at all...go figure, she is usually much more sensitive to temperature changes than myself. I guess that should remind us that temperature awareness or perception is a very individual feeling, and that probably explains why opinions differ so much in this thread from people driving all the same damn car after all

[sduford]

I've been working in Toronto all week and Hertz upgraded me to a Volvo V70.

 

This reminded me of what a good ACC is like and that I'm not halucinating. The system in the Volvo works quite well (although I've seen better) and you barely ever notice it doing it's work. It is smooth and quiet in it's operation, with no sudden changes in temperature or air circulation. Te only time you notice it at all is when the A/C kicks in.

 

That's the way it should work. It should keep you comfortable with no effort on your part, and without making itself noticed.

[NHLEG]

Check out this month's Motor Trend long-term update for the 2005 LGT. First thing they mention is the ACC. On a hot day it blew hot then cold then hot then cold air...all day long. Brought it to the dealer and got the ole "normal operation" answer. They also mentioned the fact that the remote keyless entry doesn't work that great...multiple pushes to unlock all doors.

 

2 common complaints also seen by Motor Trend.

[D-2.5-GT]

I'm usually just too picky with what temp i like anyway, so i don't even usually use the auto mode. I'd rather just dial in what i want anyway....reguardless of what car or climate control system i am in or using.

[red beast]

it's as easy as one, two, three

 

one...get a hammer

 

two...smash the controls

 

three...mail them to subaru of america

[gtguy]

I don't understand these threads, but perhaps I'm just stupid. I've never had a lick of trouble with my automatic climate control. Some days I'll hop in the car, set the temperature and let the car do it. Other days, I'll do it myself, setting fan speed, mode and temperature, etc. In all instances, the system works very well.

 

So am I a weirdo, or just undemanding?

 

Kevin

[rao]

 

So am I a weirdo, or just undemanding?

 

Kevin

 

Where to begin....

[M. Schneider]

A qoute from Sduford; "That's the way it should work. It should keep you comfortable with no effort on your part, and without making itself noticed."

 

 

AGREED!

 

Cheers,

Mike

[boomshnka]

I'd say that the ACC in my '05 LGT is marginally better than in my '92 SAAB 9000. I wasn't all that impressed with the ACC in the SAAB but I have not had any major gripes with the LGT yet. I haven't noticed the strange fluctuations and overshoots that most people are talking about. I just got mine a week ago though so I may have a different opinion in a month or so.

 

Is it possible that Subaru made some minor changes from the early '05 LGT model to the later '05 LGT model? Maybe some of ours actually do work a little better than others. Has anybody been keeping track of purchase date vs. ACC functionality?

 

Chris

[blackheart]

Let me make it clear right off the top, I like this car! That said, the climate control system SUCKS. I've had three other vehicles with climate control in the last 9 years, all of them were perfect. If you set the temperature at 70 degrees, it would blow cold until it started getting close to that temp. As it got closer, the air temp would gradually warm and the fan speed would slow down. When it hit the desired temp, the fan would barely be blowing and the air out of the vents would be perfect, without fluctuating hot and cold.

Subaru took the cheap way out, While Acura and Mazda (Millenia) would mix the air to get the desired temp, Subaru cycles the compressor. If you really want to see what great climate control is like, drive an Acura for a day.

 

Please remember, overall I do like my Subaru.

[Slickvic]

I love my LGT too, just not thrilled about the automagic climate control.

I never let it run auto mode and that pretty much takes care of any HVAC issues. I agree with another poster who suggested that the upper and lower temp setting should read "LO" and "HI" instead of "65" and "85"

This is Subaru's first attempt at auto climate, right? These issues will be worked out as time goes by.

If we are lucky maybe they will have an ECU flash down the road that improves the auto climate programming.

[kenzo]

...

So am I a weirdo, or just undemanding?

 

Kevin

 

You're an undemanding weirdo.

 

[M. Schneider]

The ACC system in our MY05 OB XT Ltd is a POS. 11-2004 is the vehicles build date.

 

Cross your fingers on a re-flash to work out the ACC defects.

 

Cheers,

Mike

[sduford]

This is Subaru's first attempt at auto climate, right? These issues will be worked out as time goes by.

If we are lucky maybe they will have an ECU flash down the road that improves the auto climate programming.

 

Nope, they've had the same crappy system in the Forester for a few years:

http://www.geocities.com/samiam_68/SubaruCCS/SSC_Fix.htm