On my 2017 Prime Advanced, the AC seems to default on when I turn the climate control on (even in this cold weather). I manually select AC off on the 11.6 inch screen. Then when return the next day the same thing happens. Is this normal? Why doesn't it remember I've turned the AC off?
At least on my 2017 (may have changed since; don’t know), if I hit “Off” and then hit a fan-speed button to turn it back on, it does not turn on the A/C. However, if I turn it back on by hitting the “Auto” button, it does turn on A/C. As far as I can recall, hitting “Auto” always turns on the A/C regardless of any previous settings. Now that’s nominally “on”; I doubt it would actually cool the air if the outdoor temperature is considerably lower than cabin temperature, but it will be ready to do so if the outdoor temperature goes up.
Sounds like it works the same as the previous generation. If I turn on the fan and then hit the a/c button to turn that off, it remembers next time I start the car. But if the a/c light is on and it's not necessary to cool the cabin, I don't think the compressor runs; it's just ready to run if needed. But I'm not 100% sure of that. It's just how I would design it and how I interpret "auto" as opposed to "on" or "off."
This is a configurable option (section 9-2 of the owner manual, "Customization"). On my digital copy for a 2018 it's page 743. Setting can be changed using the NAV system, or by the dealer (or with a Carista). On my Carista, there is a setting for "Auto-turn on A/C when AUTO button pressed (if needed)."
I think TOYOTA uses AC to mean heat pump HVAC system used for cooling/heating. You will need AC on in order for the heat pump to function even for heating only during winter.
My 2010 does not do that. If AC was off, it stays off (light on AC button off, etcetera), and vice versa. BTW, do you (or anyone) know: is there a way to turn the system off, then back on with everything as it was before, say if there were overrides, specific fan speed or mode. In other words: is pushing Auto the only way to turn the system back on. I recall with our previous Civic Hybrid, there was a bit of an Easter Egg: if you had turned the system off, then pushed the fan speed up button, it woke the system up, with all the previous settings.
Yeah the Gen 3 was an oddball Then Gen 2 has the A/C coming on with the AUTO button. Well if you’re in manual mode, just pressing g the fan speed up should resume manual mode but I can’t remember if it’ll retain the MODE settings. (Manual or Auto) since I’m almost never in manual mode.
