Climate control question

[Not Ideal]

Hi all - have just bought my first car that has climate control (Mini Countryman) and just have a quick question.

If it is left in auto mode, regardless of temperature, then it permanantly has the airconditiong on. I can understand this if it is trying to cool the car but in the winter at 23 degrees why is it on..??

If I press the a/c button to off then it automatically comes out of auto mode.

Is this normal for climate control..??

[Ozzie Osmond]

Leave it the same all year round. One of the many advantages is the insides of your windows won't steam up.

[g3org3y]

Aircon is quite helpful in the winter/rain as it dries the air and clears misty windows.

[sleep envy]

Not Ideal said:

If it is left in auto mode, regardless of temperature, then it permanantly has the airconditiong on. I can understand this if it is trying to cool the car but in the winter at 23 degrees why is it on..??

Heating AND cooling.

Auto recirc is useful too, if you have it.

[Roo]

sleep envy said:

Auto recirc is useful too, if you have it.

It is, but you can't use auto recirc on demist in most cars.

[Output Flange]

On most (if not all) cars from the BMW stable the air con won't actually cut in below a certain ambient temperature (4C rings a bell), so just because it says it's on doesn't mean it is.

[sleep envy]

Roo said:

sleep envy said:

Auto recirc is useful too, if you have it.

It is, but you can't use auto recirc on demist in most cars.

True, it turns recirc off when demist is on and kicks back in when demist is off otherwise you'd not remove the moisture from the cabin

[Not Ideal]

Thanks guys - so is it ok to leave it in auto all the time or am I harming performance and economy..??

[Riley Blue]

A/C on doesn't noticeably affect my Audi's perforance but in the O/H's Fiesta the revs change and you can feel it slowing when the A/C is switched on.

[Ari]

I'm amazed it won't run auto climate control with the air con off. My Merc does, as did my previous four Audis with climate. It works perfectly normally, the only thing is that if it's hot, it won't provide cold air obviously.

[sleep envy]

Not Ideal said:

Thanks guys - so is it ok to leave it in auto all the time or am I harming performance and economy..??

You may see 1 or 2 mpg loss together with a few bhp.

Performance loss on a Countryman is negligable