According to my manual, the vents either side of the instrument panel display should blow air in just about all settings of the rotary switch, including the open top mode. My car (MY05, build 11/04) only blows air from these vents in two positions (the lower right 2 [in a LHD version] or lower left [in my RHD version]).

I had my car in for it's first service 1000km (6500m) yesterday, and the mechanic said that is what is supposed to happen, that the user's manual is confusing/wrong.

Now, I am sure that when I drove a MY02 model last year, my hands stayed very warm from hot air blowing through these vents while driving on a snowy day.

Is my memory faulty, is the manual wrong, is the mechanic correct?

I get good service from these dealers. Good reliable outlet. But my motto is always "respect everybody, trust nobody")

Thanks for your comments.

 

I doubt that a NZ car is any different in the way the climate control works. On mine, those vents (all three of them - left and right of the steering wheel and the one next to the passenger door sill only come on when the knob is set where the arrow point toward the occupants chest. In my car, that's the end setting where it ONLY blows out those vents and the next one to it that blows out those vents AND to the floor. ie, 2 settings.

 

Thanks for that. My Honda service guy is correct.

Cheers

 

I have a MY01 and my owners manual says that in the top down mode I should get air from the vent above the radio as well as the vents on both sides of the instrument panel ...

However, I do not get air from both sides of the instrument panal in the top down mode but have to use either the mode that points to the face or the one that points to the face and feet in order to get heat for my hands from the vents on both sides of the instrument panal.

Hope that helps ...

 

When the weather's a bit chilly outside, and my top is down, I typically just have the temp switch set to hot, and I turn off the recirculating air switch (so air blows from the engine) keeping my hands warm in the first setting (normal blowing from the top vents). Maybe that's what yours was set at when you recall having your hands toasty. When I have my AC on in top down mode, I only get air from the lower vents. Hope that helps.

 

OK, I get the same as everyone else then. It is the manual that is wrong, or just confusing. It makes sense in retrospect. I'll go an apologise to the mechanic now.

It's coming in to winter here, with snow on the foothills around Christchurch. I look forward to keeping my hands warm and the top down.