2023 FHEV AC?

[LIGHTNING_KID]

Hi all, just took delivery of 2023 ST FHEV.  It’s a great vehicle so far returning solid 42MPG, 650 mile range.  Finally getting cool mornings where set point on HVAC is at 72 auto, ambient around 48.

 

Car blows AC cold air at key on, after a few minutes it settles down acting as it should.  Normally the system would provide a very slow ramp up based on temp through flor and defrost…not panel and definitely not at key on with blasting AC.

 

Anyone else seeing this and what did the dealer do to fix? Dealer telling me a month to get it in…thanks!

[MrCurvedLimos]

There's an automatic setting, and if I remember how it works, when you press the button to turn the climate control on, it always turns on in auto mode. The thing I've observed about auto mode is that it tries to get to its setpoint as fast as possible. If the interior temp is higher than the setpoint, auto mode will turn on with max AC at the highest fan setting, to try to get the temp down to the setpoint as fast as possible. If the interior is cold, it will turn on max heat and max fan. Of course it doesn't heat instantly, so when the system comes on in heat-defrost mode it will blow cold air for defrost for the first few seconds until the heater warms up enough to overcome the defroster. When it gets near the desired temp, it will turn down the fan and the AC-or-heat automatically, to maintain the cabin temp at the setpoint. 

 

I suspect that's what you're experiencing. The solution I've found for this loud blast of air is to take the system out of auto mode by changing the fan speed manually. The auto indicator light should turn off. Then, do NOT turn off the climate control before you turn off the car. Just leave the climate control on. When you restart the car, the climate control will come back on in manual mode with the same settings you left it at. It won't do that crazy maxed-out settings thing anymore. At least not until the next time you turn the climate control off and back on again. 

Edited September 27, 2023 by MrCurvedLimos

[akirby]

5 hours ago, MrCurvedLimos said:

There's an automatic setting, and if I remember how it works, when you press the button to turn the climate control on, it always turns on in auto mode. The thing I've observed about auto mode is that it tries to get to its setpoint as fast as possible. If the interior temp is higher than the setpoint, auto mode will turn on with max AC at the highest fan setting, to try to get the temp down to the setpoint as fast as possible. If the interior is cold, it will turn on max heat and max fan. Of course it doesn't heat instantly, so when the system comes on in heat-defrost mode it will blow cold air for defrost for the first few seconds until the heater warms up enough to overcome the defroster. When it gets near the desired temp, it will turn down the fan and the AC-or-heat automatically, to maintain the cabin temp at the setpoint. 

 

I suspect that's what you're experiencing. The solution I've found for this loud blast of air is to take the system out of auto mode by changing the fan speed manually. The auto indicator light should turn off. Then, do NOT turn off the climate control before you turn off the car. Just leave the climate control on. When you restart the car, the climate control will come back on in manual mode with the same settings you left it at. It won't do that crazy maxed-out settings thing anymore. At least not until the next time you turn the climate control off and back on again. 

The newer vehicles have variable fan speed auto settings.  At least our Nautilus does.  The auto button has 3 lights - low medium and high - which sets the max fan speed.  Works great.

[CoolScoop]

13 hours ago, akirby said:

The newer vehicles have variable fan speed auto settings.  At least our Nautilus does.  The auto button has 3 lights - low medium and high - which sets the max fan speed.  Works great.

The 2020 and up Escapes also have the 3 light auto settings, including our 2023 ST Hybrid... it does work great.  The 3 settings are at the bottom of the touch screen on 2023 models with Synch 4, but it works the same as the manual button in our daughters 2020 Titanium 2.0L

Edited September 28, 2023 by CoolScoop