Was on the way to dealer yesterday and suddenly the heater started blowing only through the top vent and it got hot in the car. Only way we could stop it was to shut the heater totally off by turning down the temperature control as low as it would go. Tried all the controls on automatic temperature control panel and nothing responded. Had to brake hard due to traffic and the heater began functioning normally. Dealer checked it and could find nothing wrong. Anyone else have this problem?

 

I've had various vehicles over the last 10 years with automatic climate controls and they all at one time or another, acted up. Pull over, turn off the car and re-start it and they reset themselves.

 

Yeah. The ACC is convenient on long trips for maintaining a precise temp, but I find myself using the manual controls most of the time. My hands and feet are coldest when beginning on a cold day, and the ACC likes pumping everything through the top vent, to avoid blowing air at the driver/passengers directly, which is not what I want.

Also, does it run the compressor at all times? The A/C light is on when you use Auto.

 

To the original poster:

It sounds to me like a linkage or an actuator for the "doors" within the HVAC system have broken or gone bad. If your car is under warranty I would make the dealer find and fix the problem.


To bluemeanie357:
Yes, if the A/C light is on, the compressor is cycling.

 

I had the opposite happen to me. I had it get stuck on cold, blowing only to my feet for a morning. I got in it to go home from work and it was working fine. Haven't had an issue since.

 

Haven't had any problems.

 

You might have accidently hit the "defrost" button. This behavior is caused by the defrost button, which is a small button with an image of an oval windshield and wavy lines on it. It is fairly easy to accidently hit when getting something in or out of the cup holder.

I accidently hit my "DCS Off" button when I was on the interstate within my first 2k miles. I was like "oh my God, it's a warning message. Zoe (my passenger) can you get out the owner's manual ASAP and tell me what this means!?" Before I could pull over, we had figured out the problem, thank goodness!

 

I had this happen to me once or twice last summer with the AC. The air would blow out of any of the vents I selected except the middle one. Restarting the engine didn't do anything to fix the problem either. Then after about 2-3 minutes of it doing this the door under the dash that controls which vent the air goes to would move and it started working again.

This little gremlin just about pushed me over the edge with my Mini, and is probably the reason my girlfriend no longer wants a Mini. It is too hot in Atlanta in the summer for any part of the AC to not work properly.

 

Oh my gosh! This happened to me within my first 200 miles (I was driving home from the dealership) and it happened to me, too! We were talking about if I got a lemon or not and BAM! Yellow light. I just about cried.

Looked it up in the manual, and I was saved! Whew!