Whenever I start my car, even though I've left it parked with the ACC (Auto Climate Control) turned off, the recirc button lights up. If I hit the recirc button, the whole thing turns on and the A/C starts blasting. Then I have to hit "off" again to shut the whole thing down.

It seems to me like the ACC is deciding to turn on the recirc on its own, despite the fact that it's turned off. It's like it's anticipating me turning on the air conditioner, maybe as a result of the high temp inside the cabin.

I should add that this only happens when it's hot out, and the interior has been baking in the sun. At least I didn't notice it during the winter.

So what's up with this? Do all ACC equipped MINIs do this? It's kind of annoying, because I end up getting in the car, hitting the recirc to turn it off, which turns on the A/C, then I have to turn the whole thing off. So I have to hit two different buttons when I shouldn't have to hit any.

Thoughts?

 

Mine does this, too... I'll agree that it's also annoying. :smile:

 

Dont you even think about the little engine gnomes?? They get hot too ya know!! Be considerate and leave it on for them sometime!

 

The whole ACC system is a mystery to me. It has a mind of its own, and nothing I do seems to convince it otherwise. I don't mind the recirc button thing because I use it all the time anyway, so it's really a convenience to me that it comes on by itself. When other things start happening though, it''s very confusing.

 

Agreed. If it wasn't for NAM, I would never have known how to get the windshield defroster to work on anything other than full blast. And the owner's manual isn't much help either.

I wouldn't have gotten the ACC if I didn't want the other Premium Package bits, especially the MFSW and sunroof. It seems more complicated than a manual system.

 

How do you get the defroster to work on anything but full blast ??

BB

 

Yo Blue.

Tap it once -- it goes full blast and turns on the rear defroster too. One touch instant defrost.

Hold down the defrost button for a few seconds -- the fan will go down to low and the rear defrost will shut off. Then adjust the fan and temp as desired.

 

Push and HOLD the defrost button for at least 5 seconds to select 'non-blast' mode. The LED will light in the button when it's selected. You can control the fan speed, a/c on and off and recirculate in this mode

The a/c will got into recirc mode on it's own when off to prevent hot or cold air from otherwise working it's way into the cabin from outside.

 

>>The whole ACC system is a mystery to me. It has a mind of its own, and nothing I do seems to convince it otherwise. I don't mind the recirc button thing because I use it all the time anyway, so it's really a convenience to me that it comes on by itself. When other things start happening though, it''s very confusing.

I agree completly. But i saw a picture the other day of someones MINI with manual a/c and it looked so plan, reminded me of a Taurus or something.

I hate when my MINI is really hot and i turn on the a/c and it blows very weakly for awhile and not very cold.

Total mystery.

 

Thanks Blue and Greatbear.

I've got another stupid question. I posted this earlier on a different thread, but got no responses.

I got in my car the other day and tried to turn on the A/C, but none of the dashboard buttons responded. It seemed like the whole climate control was dead, so I assumed I'd blown a fuse.

A few minutes later, I happened to look down, and the climate control buttons were now lit and cool air was coming out of the dash vents.

Have you had this happen? Is there a good thread that talks about the auto climate control?

BB

 

My brain is mush.

I meant to say Thanks to Country and Greatbear.

Oy...

 

When it is hot outside, the ACC will automatically go to recirculation mode until it cools down the cabin to your desired temp. It will then automatically switch off recirculation and go to regular vent mode.

It bugged me until I figured out that it seemed to know what it is doing to get the MINI interior cool as fast as possible. . .

 

But how hot is hot?

I'll send a SASE to the first person that determines the temperature at which the ACC recirc turns itself on at start-up.

 

>>How do you get the defroster to work on anything but full blast ??
>>
>>BB


Dittos...it's very trippy...eh... I mean annoying

_________________

 

The manual A/C controls work flawlessly, look great and don't have a "mind of their own".

 

I would like to chime in a positive vote for the ACC system, though I know that's not a common opinion here. I've had the car a month and had it in 30 degree weather and 105 degree weather. The explanation of its operation by my MA on delivery must have been good, because it does what I want it to do (either low fan or full auto-get-it-hot-or-cold-now mode), when I want it to do it, and warms me up or cools me down quite quickly.

I like the system and have found it intuitive. Maybe I designed it in another life.

 

>>The manual A/C controls work flawlessly, look great and don't have a "mind of their own".

 

Yes, the operation of the MINI’s ACC is kinda mysterious, but so are other ACC systems. My wife has had a Mercedes and two Lexuses (Lexi?) with ACC and they were both as mysterious (or more) as the MINI. And, IMO, the MINI’s system works better than either the M or the L.

 

So, I started the MCS up this morning and the Recirc light lit up for a moment, and then went out. The temp was 71. I guess that's not hot enough to set off the "auto recirc."

 

The manual I got states something like this...

When cooling down the cabin, the AC will not be full blast to avoid hitting the hot windshield with artic air and possibly cracking it.

When heating up, it will heat up as quick as possible.

Something like that anyways. Not sure I like the ACC or not. I don't use the AC much and the heater is ok. When I use the AC, it doesn't cool off quick enough for me. I set it to 62, head and feet vents open, AC off and recirc off. Then open all the windows and sunroof. :smile: Never have to adjust it unless I want the AC on.