I don't know. I think that after almost one year of ownership, I can honestly say that this is probably the only complaint I have had about the car so far. If that is my worst problem, I guess I am doing pretty good.

 

Yep, this is one of my few gripes (I have an '02) about the car. In some climates, you use the defroster to remove ice and frost from the *outside* of the windshield and the A/C does nothing to help.

Personally, I like the way this worked on my previous Hondas (82 Accord, 94 Civic). If you want the A/C with the defroster, you just press the A/C button. I used to make fun of domestic cars that ran the A/C automatically without giving you the choice. Oh, well...

 

Actually, I believe that my '00 turns the A/C on automatically when the dial is set to defrost, but the A/C button can turn the A/C off while leaving the dial on defrost.

 

You are correct. This thread is about the '02's that autamatically set and it becomes permanent. On my '00, I was able to tunr it off but on my '02 I am left with leaving it on. Not a big deal, IMO.

 

Well since i've been driving cars for about 35 years i have never encountered or needed the a/c to help defrost things until the last couple of years when this "feature" started appearing on many brands of vehicles. for example my 1999 jeep cherokee has the same feature and my 99 dodge ram also worked like that. i don't know if the car designers think it is a necessity or if it is politically mandated in some way. I worked as an aftermarket A/C system installer for two years installing systems on BMW 2002's and other brands for many of the local dealers where I live plus being an all round A/C tech. I have not seen a system that needed to be run more than a few times during the winter in order to spread the lubrication arround the compressor. Its takes about a minute to plug the relay back in and do this while u are checkin your oil etc.
I think it is far worse to run a cold motor with the A/C on . As a mechanical fanatic i never do two things to any car motor in addition to many other common sense precautions.
They are ...run the heater or A/C b4 the motor has fully warmed up(my wife hates that!)
thats my 02 now go do whatever u want 2

PS: Since I recently disconnected the A/C on my wifes cherokee the gas milege has gotten alot better. She is always running the setting that directs air to the defroster and footwells in the winter mainly for the heating aspect and gets lousy gas milege with the a/C continuously on.

 

rossman1 - Are you saying you've not seen the need to ever have the A/C on with the defroster? I think this is really a matter of climate, to some degree. When it's humid, it can take a long time to clear the windshield with heat alone. A/C can often clear it in seconds. I even will sometimes run the A/C to clear all the inside windows quickly.

I just like being the one who decides when to use it. Sometimes it provide little or no value.

Oh, well.

 

Running the A/C when you are trying to defrost the windows only helps IF THE DEWPOINT (in the cabin) IS ABOVE THE EVAPORATOR TEMPERATURE - typically around 40 degrees. When the temperature in your car is below that, the A/C does NO GOOD, and can even make the time it takes to defrost the windows longer. I hate this feature in our cars (or any other car). I am fortunate to have a 2001 model where I can turn off the compressor by pushing the A/C button after I select defrost mode.

 

The bad news is this: I like to use the defrost (without A/C) for a little while, then after a while switch to the floor. Since the defrost forces the A/C to run, and the evaporator collects moisture, you can't turn off the A/C when you go to floor... otherwise the moisture caught on the evaporator is ejected back into the cabin and the windows fog up again.

Therefore, when we're forced to use the A/C when the vents aimed at the windshield is used, we're enslaved to using A/C for the rest of the journey.

I personally find that insulting... the fact that there are a few people out there who don't read how to use their HVAC, and Honda forces me to use the A/C on defrost. Probably because of legal issues. (Hey, my windshield is fogged up. I think I'll keep driving. CRASH... Hey, let's sue Honda!)

I think they had it right when the A/C would automatically turn on, but you could press the A/C button to turn it back off right away. Now we're force fed our A/C.

 

It would be nice if we could figure out the difference or ask a honda rep what that might be and downgrade our 02 cars!

 

Hopefully, it's as simple as a quick write cut. That really bugs me on my '02 as well. It always defualts the A/C compressor to the "ON" position when put to defrost.

I will PM Modifry, and ask him if he knows a fix. He's a wiring guru.