So is it me or does some of the functionality of the heat/ac unit just annoy you?

First off why is it that when you put on the front window defrost it automatically comes on full blast?

Also why is it that you can't use the front window defrost and have the rest of the car being heated? The light auto goes off when you try to set the heat/ac to the car and not window which is annoying because there is a button for rear defrost/foot climate but whats the point of that? Why not front combo?

With this all being said is it normal for the car in the winter during a cold night to be completely cover over in frost on all windows prior to getting the car warmed up in such a short amount of time? I noticed tonight that after 2hrs of being out of the car i got in and couldn't see a thing when i got back inand had to wait for the car to warm up/roll down driver window to back out of a space because it was so bad...never really had this problem before....

And with all that being said i have noticed that the car fogs while driving unless you have the front defrost on the whole time when its cold ... (which is annoying because although you can set the speed of the fan and temp, you can't combine that with cabin heat direction (like head/feet) so its all or nothing

Uh, you should be able to select windshield and feet at the same time, just tap the mode control switch, or the equivalent in your Navi model.

When you heat front windshield defrost, 2 things happen, fan speed goes to max, and A/C is engaged, you can then tap the fan speed down while keeping the heated air directed to the windshield, you can also tap the A/C switch to disengage the A/C compressor as well if you wish.

As for frost covering your car, it's due to atomspheric condition, or maybe where you are parking (near a body of water or something similar), but it shouldn't have anything to do with your car. :dunno:

the defrost comes at full blast so it clears your windows as fast as possible.

when you drive without the defrost on, do you have the AC compressor on too?

I've used the actual defrost button maybe twice since I've owned the car.

I always leave it on auto, but select a/c off. The system will still run the fan, mode and temp itself. I can see when I'm driving that it does bleed warm air to the windshield and put heat out to the foot wells. It also has a small amount bleeding out the two outer side vents.

I push full auto when I need the a/c to dehumidify the air when its cold and wet outside.

In summer I run it on full auto all the time.

Do you rain-x all the windows, the frost doesn't stick as much when you do that. It seems to melt off and the wipers are able to wipe it off easy.

So far, I am very impressed with the heat/AC controls and performance in my brand newe '09 sedan. However, I've heard comments that Honda AC is not up to snuff in the hot weather. Any truth to that? :dunno:

Uh, you should be able to select windshield and feet at the same time, just tap the mode control switch, or the equivalent in your Navi model.

When you heat front windshield defrost, 2 things happen, fan speed goes to max, and A/C is engaged, you can then tap the fan speed down while keeping the heated air directed to the windshield, you can also tap the A/C switch to disengage the A/C compressor as well if you wish.

As for frost covering your car, it's due to atomspheric condition, or maybe where you are parking (near a body of water or something similar), but it shouldn't have anything to do with your car. :dunno:

hmm ..unless this whole time i have been thinking that the icon on my navi (defrost/feet) is the rear and not the front... It really looks like the rear icon in all honesty, but i never checked to see where it was defrosting..

As for the front fan speed yes i always turn it down just didnt know why it always goes max, but when i go into my display and its on front defrost no fan speed is selected nor is there anything selected for ac on/off everything is just left unselected ... should i be turning it on or off? and will that allow me to defrost front and have heat to head/feet?

As for the frost i notice it more with this car so far and usually what clears it is leaving the front defrost on while i drove in fan speed 2 or so but i have to let it run or else it tries to creep back even when the car is warm :dunno:

Could it be the tints messing with the defrosting process?

I've found the gen 6 and gen 7 V6 cars to have some of the best performing a/c out there. My mom's '03 EXL4 seems to work really good as well.

One thing I like about the Gen 7 vs the gen 6, the blower motor fan noise is much much lower, but it blows as strong or stronger.

I was not impressed with my old Integra's a/c or any Civic of that chassis variations.

As for the front fan speed yes i always turn it down just didnt know why it always goes max, but when i go into my display and its on front defrost no fan speed is selected nor is there anything selected for ac on/off everything is just left unselected ... should i be turning it on or off? and will that allow me to defrost front and have heat to head/feet?

There won't be any selection for fan speed or A/C when you select defrost initially as Honda has programmed it that way, but you can always tap down the fan speed and toggle A/C to off while the airflow are still to windshield and feet, but I don't think there is a mode of windshield defrost AND head/feet.

As for the frost i notice it more with this car so far and usually what clears it is leaving the front defrost on while i drove in fan speed 2 or so but i have to let it run or else it tries to creep back even when the car is warm :dunno:

Could it be the tints messing with the defrosting process?

You don't have tint on the windshield, do you? If so I suppose it could hurt the defrosting process, but it shouldn't be drastic to the point you would notice it.......

Also why is it that you can't use the front window defrost and have the rest of the car being heated? The light auto goes off when you try to set the heat/ac to the car and not window which is annoying because there is a button for rear defrost/foot climate but whats the point of that? Why not front combo?




Tap the mode button until the icon is lit with the defrost picture and the arrow pointing at the feet. This is the front windshield / floor combo. Even tho AUTO goes off, you're still in semi auto mode. Temp and fan speed will still be automatically controlled.

I don't see any issues with the front defrost coming on full blast. It engages the A/C and clears fog from instide the window within seconds for me. Tap defrost again and it reverts back to your previous settings.

Tip: The front defrost picture is a rounded shape. The rear defrost is rectangular.

As for the interior fogging up quickly, I've notice it, too. Once you use the A/C to dehumidify the interior, you need to keep using it to keep the air dry as long as there is moisture in the outside air. I find its more problematic in the evening because during the day the sun helps keep things dry.

I tend to just use full AUTO settings so the A/C runs all the time. My fuel mileage remains constant with it on or off so might as well use it an be comfortable.

My only issue is that when I have the heat on the floor only selector, there is some air that comes through the windshield defrost.

I have had no issues with the A/C. I rarely had to put it above two or three notches and could turn it off relatively quickly.

The heat seems to take longer to warm up. It will blow air for the first two to five minutes (shorter if the car hasn't been sitting too long). When there is any kind of precipitation and cold temperatures, I run the A/C with the heat on to keep the windows clear. Works like a charm. :thmsup:

I have yet to use the front defroster, but the rear one works pretty well for clearing frost and condensation.

Ive noticed this week that when i put the air on my feet, almost nothing comes out. Even when i put it on high power, its barely pushing any air out. And when i have the feet (whatever you call it) option selected the air comes out more on the left and right vents then it does on the floor.

Anyone else have this problem? Is this just the way it is?

Tap the mode button until the icon is lit with the defrost picture and the arrow pointing at the feet. This is the front windshield / floor combo. Even tho AUTO goes off, you're still in semi auto mode. Temp and fan speed will still be automatically controlled.

I don't see any issues with the front defrost coming on full blast. It engages the A/C and clears fog from instide the window within seconds for me. Tap defrost again and it reverts back to your previous settings.

Tip: The front defrost picture is a rounded shape. The rear defrost is rectangular.

As for the interior fogging up quickly, I've notice it, too. Once you use the A/C to dehumidify the interior, you need to keep using it to keep the air dry as long as there is moisture in the outside air. I find its more problematic in the evening because during the day the sun helps keep things dry.

I tend to just use full AUTO settings so the A/C runs all the time. My fuel mileage remains constant with it on or off so might as well use it an be comfortable.

Great response thanks! Glad to see I'm not the only one who has some different opinions on the matter!

I forgot to ask in my initial post if when everyone use's there auto climate button does that always come on full blast, I have never had that function come on when it wasn't full blast .. Isn't it suppose to adjust to the air temp in the car or something so your more comfortable?

here's some basic descriptions of how I've noticed Honda ATC works.

If you set the temp at 70. The outside temp is 100, when you push auto, the a/c comes on, with recirc at full fan speed, as the interior cools, the fan starts to slow. After a certain amount of time on gen 6s (usually 15 minutes) the recirc shuts off, on gen 7s it stays longer in recirc, more depending on temps.

If the sun shines on the windshield, the fan will speed up to counter the sun load. Once it reaches very near 70 on gen 7s the recirc will shut off and the fan is quite slow. If anything happens, say opening a window, the interior temp sensor picks it up and the fan will speed up or recirc will come back on.

If it's cold out and you set it at 70, first the fan stays OFF until a predetermined engine temperature is reached. This keeps you from getting a cold draft. The fan will come on slowly at first, to allow the warm air to come out a bit. Then if there's a large in-out temp difference, the fan will come on quite strong until the cabin temp gets close to what you've set.
The fan will reduce if there's strong sunshine.

In this mode (heating) the car will not select recirc, as temps that are sub freezing the a/c won't cycle on due to low refrigerant pressure in the system. If recirc is selected windows WILL fog unless it gets so hot in the car you won't be able to stand it, and you'd have to either crack the sunroof or open windows.

There's no need to be cranking the dial up or down from what you set it at, as the system will put out the needed cold or hot air to allow the cabin to be quickly heated/cooled. The only time I move it is in certain situations when the car heats the interior to the preset temp and it ends up bleeding outside (cold) air in the car and puts it out the face vents.

I have the same issues as you. The functionality has annoyed me but I have figured out how to make it work for me. Ironically the manual system in my old '96 EXL was much easier to regulate and control. Honda tried to make it simpler with the auto system.

Here's what I do. I rarely use the auto because the AC is always on and the thing runs full blast no matter what. In addition, I can't control where the air comes out.

I do tell it what to do by using the AC button to the right of the screen. I then select A/C on or off, fan speed and, what I always use, the defrost and heat button. it's the one all the way to the right. This works perfect for me.

Only trouble is if you ever turn the A/C on, you pretty much need it on to defrost. With a bunch of people letting out warm moist air, windows really fog up. A/C really helps to dry the air and clear the windows. If it's just me, or me taking two 11-year olds to school, I have no problem keeping the windows clear with the A/C off, the fan on speed 1 or 2 and the control set at the defrost/heat button. I generally have the temp set at 68 - 70. Also, I live in NW Washington where it's always wet and damp. Right now we have about 15 inches of snow on the ground with 5 more predicted tonight and 4 more tomorrow. Even in this cold weather, I have not had any issues with fogging windows. I just wish the dang seat heaters were quicker to warm up.