No On/Off Indicator for Heat/Air Conditioning

[B727skyguy]

One thing I noticed right away on my 2017 Civic EX-L is that there is no on/off indicator light on the on/off button for the heat/air conditioning. The only way I know if the system is on or off is to feel for air blowing out of the vents. Every other feature (rear window defogger, etc.) has a small light on the button to indicate when that system is turned on. Why not have one for the heat/air conditioning?

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[calonzo]

One thing I noticed right away on my 2017 Civic EX-L is that there is no on/off indicator light on the on/off button for the heat/air conditioning. The only way I know if the system is on or off is to feel for air blowing out of the vents. Every other feature (rear window defogger, etc.) has a small light on the button to indicate when that system is turned on. Why not have one for the heat/air conditioning?

Good question. Even my Touring doesn't have one. I have to press the Climate Control button to see what's happening on the screen. Not sure if the EX-L has that button or not.

 

[MilfShake2108]

If heat/AC is on you will be able to see the temperature number on top left, if it is off it won't show the number.

 

[calonzo]

If heat/AC is on you will be able to see the temperature number on top left, if it is off it won't show the number.

Except when you are using CarPlay. Then CarPlay takes over the entire screen.

 

[Priceless_Civic]

Whenever I turn my A/C or heat on the recirculation light automatically comes on. I don't know if they all do that or if I've just left the recirculator on but at least there's a small indication of the system running.

 

[BarracksSi]

Whenever I turn my A/C or heat on the recirculation light automatically comes on. I don't know if they all do that or if I've just left the recirculator on but at least there's a small indication of the system running.

I think it switches to recirculation automatically if you're in Econ mode. Switch out of Econ and the HVAC will also switch to outside air (if that's what you had before).

Eh... Overall, its "out of sight, out of mind" operation still confuses me.

Yeah, in CarPlay, it doesn't show the temperature you've set, but it will temporarily show it if you adjust the temp knob. I suppose I don't need to see what the temperature setting is to know whether I'm comfortable or not, but I can understand wanting some visual confirmation, too.

Mainly, though, I don't like how it can be semi-automatic and not have any indication.

Here's the scenario: My wife doesn't like the fans on full blast just because of the noise, but she's fine with letting it automatically maintain a temperature. So, if it starts blowing like crazy, we tap the Climate button and tap the fan speed to one of the lower settings.

After that, there's no green light for "Auto" in the left knob, and there's no light for "Sync" in the right knob.... but it's still controlling the temperature automatically (that is, I can turn the knob and it'll show a new temp in the corner of the screen).

WHAT I DON'T MIND:

The physical buttons along the bottom: It's okay with me that a few very specific functions are just one button away. I've become a stickler for fog-free windows, so I'm glad I can switch to defog quickly. Same with switching to recirculate mode (don't like truck exhaust) and turning it on/off altogether (simple when opening all the windows in good weather).

The main Climate button: Oh god, I'm glad it's there. One press and I can see all the HVAC controls. If I had to first go to the Home screen AND dig through just one or two menus to get to something simple like the fan speed, I don't think I would have bought the car at all.

WHAT I MISS:

Being able to easily turn off the A/C. I think I avoided getting a moldy smell in my EP's ductwork by switching off the A/C a minute or two before parking the car (the idea was, a cold condenser stayed wet, which helps mold to grow; turning off the A/C allowed the condenser to warm up, and it stayed dry instead).

 

[Priceless_Civic]

I think it switches to recirculation automatically if you're in Econ mode. Switch out of Econ and the HVAC will also switch to outside air (if that's what you had before).

Eh... Overall, its "out of sight, out of mind" operation still confuses me.

Yeah, in CarPlay, it doesn't show the temperature you've set, but it will temporarily show it if you adjust the temp knob. I suppose I don't need to see what the temperature setting is to know whether I'm comfortable or not, but I can understand wanting some visual confirmation, too.

Mainly, though, I don't like how it can be semi-automatic and not have any indication.

Here's the scenario: My wife doesn't like the fans on full blast just because of the noise, but she's fine with letting it automatically maintain a temperature. So, if it starts blowing like crazy, we tap the Climate button and tap the fan speed to one of the lower settings.

After that, there's no green light for "Auto" in the left knob, and there's no light for "Sync" in the right knob.... but it's still controlling the temperature automatically (that is, I can turn the knob and it'll show a new temp in the corner of the screen).

WHAT I DON'T MIND:

The physical buttons along the bottom: It's okay with me that a few very specific functions are just one button away. I've become a stickler for fog-free windows, so I'm glad I can switch to defog quickly. Same with switching to recirculate mode (don't like truck exhaust) and turning it on/off altogether (simple when opening all the windows in good weather).

The main Climate button: Oh god, I'm glad it's there. One press and I can see all the HVAC controls. If I had to first go to the Home screen AND dig through just one or two menus to get to something simple like the fan speed, I don't think I would have bought the car at all.

WHAT I MISS:

Being able to easily turn off the A/C. I think I avoided getting a moldy smell in my EP's ductwork by switching off the A/C a minute or two before parking the car (the idea was, a cold condenser stayed wet, which helps mold to grow; turning off the A/C allowed the condenser to warm up, and it stayed dry instead).

Those are all very good points that I completely agree with! I think it would actually be nice to have the non touch screen display's air condition controls (with the mini screen). It's also annoying that the rear of the car's don't get any ventilation yet they get heated seats. I'd rather have rear vents than heated seats. I'm sure my passengers would agree

 

[BarracksSi]

It's also annoying that the rear of the car's don't get any ventilation yet they get heated seats. I'd rather have rear vents than heated seats. I'm sure my passengers would agree

I think they get floor vents, but maybe not on all trim levels...

 

[MagicMatt]

WHAT I MISS:

Being able to easily turn off the A/C. I think I avoided getting a moldy smell in my EP's ductwork by switching off the A/C a minute or two before parking the car (the idea was, a cold condenser stayed wet, which helps mold to grow; turning off the A/C allowed the condenser to warm up, and it stayed dry instead).

Just press the "Auto" button (to disable Auto) and turn that same knob all the way down to "Lo", and the A/C will be off. In fact, you only have to go lower than the outside temp (if you stay above outside temp, it will actually blow hotter air - so it's like the heater still functions when "Auto" is off, but the A/C doesn't).

 

[latole]

Just press the "Auto" button and turn that same knob all the way down to "Lo", and the A/C will be off. In fact, you only have to go lower than the outside temp (if you stay above outside temp, it will actually blow hotter air - so it's like the heater still functions when "Auto" is off, but the A/C doesn't).

Do you mean put in Auto mode ?

 

[MagicMatt]

No, I meant turn it off. Updated the post to be less ambiguous.

 

[latole]

No, I meant turn it off. Updated the post to be less ambiguous.

How to stop heating and air conditioning, just receive outside air ?

 

[BarracksSi]

Just press the "Auto" button (to disable Auto) and turn that same knob all the way down to "Lo", and the A/C will be off. In fact, you only have to go lower than the outside temp (if you stay above outside temp, it will actually blow hotter air - so it's like the heater still functions when "Auto" is off, but the A/C doesn't).

Just as easy to push "Climate" and then tap the A/C icon to Off.

 

[MagicMatt]

Except that the UI is so slow it takes a good 2-3 seconds for the climate controls to load and then I have to take my eyes off the road to look for the stupid soft button. And then back out of the climate controls to get back to whatever screen I was on.

Or I can just press one hard button (Auto), and problem solved. At worse I would also have to lower the temp, but this is rarely an issue for me as it's always hot out and my car's temp rarely leaves 70°F(ish).

Furthermore, even turning the A/C off via "Climate" would still require you to lower the temp below outside (if not already), as it acts the same way as I described above, and will again here:

How to stop heating and air conditioning, just receive outside air ?

With Auto off, if you set the car's temp lower than the outside temp, it will just use outside air untempered. However, regardless of what state Auto is in, if you set the cars temp warmer than outside, it seems to always heat the air.

The quickest way I've found to get it to "vent" mode (without going into Climate, which takes longer) is disabling "Auto" and ensuring the temp is lower than outside.

 

[Milo & Miles]

I'm about 90% used to the Climate button and touch screen controls for the fan speed, vent mode and AC. Agreed that the lag time between pressing the button and the Climate screen coming online is sometimes really annoying.

Sometimes I look at the wide expanse of plastic where the Climate button sits all by its lonesome, and shake my head that the touch screen controls could easily fit in that space with four buttons; Fan speed Up, Fan speed Down, Vent Mode, AC Toggle with indicator light.

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