K, I have the Limited with the auto climate control. I read the manual last night (again)
I'd just like to have fresh air blowing into the cabin when it's cool outside.
I'll turn auto to off and turn on the fan.. the inside and outside temp is still displayed. I'd like to be sure the A/C isn't coming on. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Sorry if this this is a stupid newb question :D

TIA

If you want the AC off, just make sure the green light on the AC button is not lit up.

In Auto, the AC light doesn't come on even if it's "cooling" the cabin down. You just dial the temp and it does the rest.. this is why it's a bit confusing.

Yes, it's confusing, but once you hit "Off"... the AC (and everything else, including the Auto mode) is turned off. If you then just bump up the fan you should then have no AC and can choose venting and recirc yourself. The "Auto" text will not be displayed on the top of the screen and cold air won't be coming out. At least that's how it works on my Limited! I tried it out on a really hot day with recirc off and it blew hot air in my face for quite a while...

You can then manually turn the AC on by pushing the button and *then* the green light comes on. What bugs me is that "semi-automatic" mode when you have Auto going and then change the fan speed or venting - the AC kicks in without the light coming on.

I'm pretty sure the inside and outside temps are always displayed on the screen when its in anything but "Off." I think that's just the display...

-Mark

Thanks.. that was what I was doing.. just wanted make sure!

Well, at least I'm not the only one confused. While on a long drive, my wife mentioned she hasn't been able to figure out how to get "fresh" air. I gave her the semi-rolled eye, "hmmm, women" look and then realized I may have bit off more than I can chew. I looked over the manual for close to an hour and still wasn't sure If I had figured it out. I finally proclaimed, "well, the A/C light is off, I think your getting outside air." I hope.....

Yeah,, the AC light doesn't come on when set to Auto, so it can be quite confusing!

Just because the AC is on doesn't mean you're not getting fresh air intake. The two buttons below the climate control readout (on a Limited model) determine if the air is drawn from outside or recirculated. If the recirculate button is off (not lit), you should be getting fresh air. If the air quality system button is on (lit), it will measure the quality of the outside air and automatically determine if the cabin air should be recirculated or not. I always leave the air quality system on - it works quite well. When I pull up behind other cars in traffic, it will automatically sense the exhaust from the surrounding cars and switch the recirculate button on. After we start moving again, it will switch back to outside air intake.

This is all with the auto temperature/climate control turned off. I rarely use that particular feature, I don't really like how it operates...

This post has been edited by saraph: Aug 18 2008, 05:18 PM

For me personally I don't find the deluxe climate controls to be very user friendly. I just think that how to operate the controls should be a no brainer and I find that I always have to really think about it. This summer I used my 3rd row seating for the first time. I had the AC on but my kids were complaining about the heat in the 3rd row....After about 1/2 hour I noticed the button for rear AC (which I quickly pushed without telling them!!). The original post about the AC working without the AC light being on when in Auto mod is another example of the interface that is just not designed up to the level I would expect.