AC on with defroster

Many modern cars automatically turn the air conditioner on when you select the windshield/defroster setting on the HVAC, so that dry air will blow on the inside of the windshield and (hopefully) remove condensation quickly. This is smart and helpful.

 

Subaru in its wisdom seems to have decided that the AC should also be on when the HVAC is set to the position where air comes out on the windshield as well as the footwell area. I find this really irritating; I spend the summer with cold, air-conditioned air blowing on my face and arms from the dash vents but in winter I don't like hot air in my face so I usually have it set to the defrost/footwell setting.

 

I don't want to have the AC running 24/7, so here's the question - does anyone know a way to keep the AC from turning on under these conditions?

 

Thanks!

what do you drive? If I want the AC off, I just hit the AC button and it turns the AC off... I do that as standard procedure to warm up the evaporator in the summer as I get to my destination so that it doesn't stay wet and grow mold/fungus... (not an issue very often here, but it's been a habit since long before moving to NM!)

All modern cars will use the A/C to pull the moisture out of the air when the temp is 32F or warmer outside. Below that the car will not turn on the A/C on.

 

This is expected behavior.

It sounds like you have the "AUTO" feature ON. Turn off AUTO and you can run without the AC on, except for defrosting the windshield.

OP, do you have a limited model with the auto climate control?

 

When I had my bugeye there was a simple mod to disconnect the a/c trigger from the defrost setting. The HVAC controls were really basic though...

 

I do not have automatic climate control. 5 buttons for air direction, one knob for temp and one for fan speed.

That youtube video is interesting.

I noticed that he had the air on recirculate and not fresh air in.

I'm sure if he had fresh air coming in that he wouldn't have the fogged windows with the AC on.

Based on the dirt inside his car and on the dash, maybe he does a lot of off-road driving and he doesn't want the dust/dirt blowing in.

With air conditioners, it is better not to do anything at all yourself. Instead, you change something in them and consider it no longer works. I am a computer repair specialist and in my experience, if not an experienced repairman fixed something, then where he repaired 100% there is some problem. Either we fixed the previous issue so that after a short time there will be new ones, or everything became much better than it was. Unfortunately, there are no universal methods of repair already, only an individual approach to each part and a unique tool for it. Edited May 31, 2021 by Nathanblade