I just noticed that the Auto Climate Control on my '06 MCS is slightly different from that on my '04. On the '04, a press of the defroster button made the fans go on full blast. If you held that button down, however, the fan speed became adjustable.

But on the '06, the defroster seems only to go from full blast to off, even when you hold down the button.

There must be a way to regulate the defroster fan speed on the '06! Right???

 

I believe the upward ventilation position (the button below the fan speed selector) will allow for defogging of the windshield with a manually-selected fan speed. So, instead of hitting the defogger on the auto button, hit the upward vent button, select your fan speed and temp, and then hope I'm right. :-)

 

Thanks. That makes sense, although the little defogger light goes off, which didn't happen in the '04. The manual is particularly unhelpful in figuring this out!

 

Yup, very unhelpful indeed. I just kind of keep pushing buttons until the wind shield is clear and the defroster quits making so much racket. The auto climate control works great for air conditioning but nearly 6 months of ownership and I am still mystified about how the heater is auto controlled. Best I can tell all the automation does for heat is add a few more buttons that must be pushed to get the temp where you want it. Just part of the Mini quirkiness I guess.

 

The top vent button is the way to go, then just select the fan speed you want. I don't know why it doesn't work the old way though.

 

Both the '05 and the '06 auto climate work the same way. It drove me nuts trying to figure out how to control the fan speed until I finally read a thread on NAM about using the button labelled with the up arrow. Can't stand the fans on full bore!