2004 Forester XT: Cabin temperature is either too hot or too cold

[Guest]

The cabin temperature control on the 2000 Forester seems to go into over
drive, when heating. In NJ, we have finally seen the deep freeze, so I have
to use the heat. Putting it one notch past the coolest temperature, is much
too hot. 2 Toyota Camrys & a Nissan Sentra never had such a problem. Is
this normal for the Forester?

Niels

 

[Jim Stewart]

The cabin temperature control on the 2000 Forester seems to go into over
drive, when heating. In NJ, we have finally seen the deep freeze, so I have
to use the heat. Putting it one notch past the coolest temperature, is much
too hot. 2 Toyota Camrys & a Nissan Sentra never had such a problem. Is
this normal for the Forester?

I don't know about the Forester, but I had the same
problem with my '99 Legacy Outback last week. I
was up in Oregon with the temp right around freezing
and I could not find a comfortable temperature for
the cabin. Either too hot or too cold.

 

[Guest]

Other than toggling between the cooler & warmer setting, did you do anything
about?

 

[Hiver]

The cabin temperature control on the 2000 Forester seems to go into over
drive, when heating. In NJ, we have finally seen the deep freeze, so I have
to use the heat. Putting it one notch past the coolest temperature, is much
too hot. 2 Toyota Camrys & a Nissan Sentra never had such a problem. Is
this normal for the Forester?

Niels

If you do a search you will find thst allot of people find the auto
climate controle to stink. I know that do not like mine.

 

[Jim Stewart]

Other than toggling between the cooler & warmer setting, did you do anything
about?

Nothing I could do about it. I tried leaving the
control on the hot side and regulating the temp by
cracking the windows....

I did not like the road noise so I do not consider
this an acceptable fix.

 

[Guest]

I love my Forester XT; it's amazing that Subaru screwed up such a simple
component!

 

[Alan]

I ahve an '04 OBW LLBean. It has electronic climate controls. You can set
the temperature like a normal thermostat. Guess what- it's either too hot or
too cold. I error on the side of too cold and turn on the heated seats.

 

[H. Whelply]

No real problem with my '04 XT auto climate control system. It just isn't as
good as that in my Volvo. The calibration (degrees) on the temp knob don't
seem to coincide with real-world temps, so I just turn it (usually to around
the 75 mark, or a bit less) and things work OK. Mine does get year-round use
here in SoCal, so I presume it cycles fairly often. So far, in three months
and a few days, 3,500 miles, no malfunction.

HW

 

[BBB]

It's like that with my 2003 Forester XS too. Works OK on automatic in
the summer, but in the winter I get better performance by turning the
dials myself. I really don't like seeing the air conditioner light on
in the winter time, though I can't tell whether the compressor is
actually running. Nor do I appreciate the system defaulting to outside
air vs. recirculating. The concept of defogging the windshield using
air conditioned air is quite novel, and it's remarkably effective when
the windshield is fogged on the inside. But it sure doesn't help get
rid of fog or frost on the outside or contribute to a cozy cabin
temperature. There were some very humid nights in the summer when it
actually attracted fog to the outside of the windshield.

This is my only large complaint about the Forester. Other complaints
are utterly miniscule, such as it's hard to lower the sun visors from
the inside corners due to the way they ct the headliner, the buttons on
the radio should have more tactile character to them for safer "no-look"
operation, and a few other really minor annoyances. Basically, I love
my Forester!

My fervent hope is that the people who programmed the feedback system
for climate control aren't the same ones who did the ABS!

 

[GTT]

Same here, HW. Mine is 2 months old, 7000 miles, and no malfunctions yet.
But I find that darn climate control does take control. I find it is
preferable
to just turn the darn thing off automatic and use it in manual mode if it
doing
something uncomfortable. Note: just punch the Auto button and voila, it's
manual! Then set your desired temperature!

 

[Guest]

The calibration (degrees) on the temp knob don't seem to coincide with
real-world temps

I agree. The lowest setting is 65 degrees, which is outright blazing when
you are dressed for below freezing temps. In the summer, I had to set the
auto temperature to 74, compared to 68 in my house; I like cold but the
Forester XT's AC goes overboard.

But my original question focused on manual control. In my Toyotas & Nissan,
turning the dial into the 'blue' zone, meant no heat, except in that small
overlap area. The Forester XT goes into heavy heat mode, anywhere beyond
the coolest setting. Bad engineering.

 

[D H]

It's like that with my 2003 Forester XS too. Works OK on automatic in
the summer, but in the winter I get better performance by turning the
dials myself. I really don't like seeing the air conditioner light on
in the winter time, though I can't tell whether the compressor is
actually running. Nor do I appreciate the system defaulting to outside
air vs. recirculating. The concept of defogging the windshield using
air conditioned air is quite novel, and it's remarkably effective when
the windshield is fogged on the inside.

Novel idea? Autos with AC have automatically used the AC system to defog
windshields for years (decades?). You just didn't know it because there was
often no lamp indicator to tell you the AC was cycling, but if you listened,
you could hear the compressor. As a matter of fact, this feature is so
helpful that I always thought AC should have become a standard feature,
regardless of where you live. I grew up in New England in the 60s-70s and
few autos had AC. I moved to mid-Atlantic area in the latter 70s and
immediately removed from purchase consideration any autos without air
conditioning. In some humid weather, with heavy downpouring rain, a car
without AC can simply not keep the window clear enough to see unless you
crank up the heat to the high setting. That's pretty uncomfortable when it's
already 85-95 degrees F.

But it sure doesn't help get
rid of fog or frost on the outside or contribute to a cozy cabin
temperature. There were some very humid nights in the summer when it
actually attracted fog to the outside of the windshield.

You need to learn to use the temperature setting AND the vent choice
settings with your AC. It will ONLY cause condensation on the outside when
you have it set colder inside than out AND you have the vent set to blow
against the windshield (and sometimes side windows.) Set the temperature
warmer and no condensation occurs. Don't blow the cold air directly on the
windshield and it won't condense on the outside there.
And maybe you don't realize it, but you will not hurt anything to adjust
the temperature upward when you run AC. You can run the AC unit and heat the
air at the same time with no problems, and for fast defrosting of moisture
that is on the inside of the glass, this is the best way to go.
--
D N
I E T S
Off to R the M __, D H

Reply to group. (Detestible spammers!)

 

[Alan]

Also, when interior fogging is a problem, the vent should be sent to OUTSIDE
air. Actually, it should always be set to that, except when it is very hot
outside and you want to make the car colder. Wish I had a dollar for every
car I see with fogged up windows while mine are clear.

 

[H. Whelply]

I haven't noticed that to be the case in my XT.

 

[Hiver]

Same here, HW. Mine is 2 months old, 7000 miles, and no malfunctions yet.
But I find that darn climate control does take control. I find it is
preferable
to just turn the darn thing off automatic and use it in manual mode if it
doing
something uncomfortable. Note: just punch the Auto button and voila, it's
manual! Then set your desired temperature!

I agree with you that at leat we can put-it manual but the sales
person told me it was one of the advantages from the X model to XS and
was worth some $$$, for now I would had prefered an other type of
extra for my $$$

I also want to say that beside that I love the car so mutch.

 

[Xtranet]

Novel idea? Autos with AC have automatically used the AC system to defog
windshields for years (decades?). You just didn't know it because there was
often no lamp indicator to tell you the AC was cycling, but if you listened,
you could hear the compressor. As a matter of fact, this feature is so

I have the X so I don't have the problems in which plague the auto A/C
systems, however the 2 things that irritated me with the X model system
(I guess it's the same for the auto hvac systems?) was that...

1. It Defaults to outside air on the two defog modes.

I want to chose to go to recirculate in case I happen to run behind a
smoke-belching vehicle or those cases where outside air is not that pleasant
while still in defog mode. Much faster than switching out of defog and
hitting the recirc button.

2. A/C turns on with no indicator that the compressor is on.

I want that idiot light.

....anyways, I had to go in there to change some things to give me those
options.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

could be a simple adjustment to a 'blend door' or something. I think
I've read about another soob model being delivered with an issue like
this on occasion. Take it to the dealer, and when they say;"They all do
that" point to one on the lot and say;"OK - then let me try that one."
And see for yourself. (or my alternate Ford phrase - "Then they're all
broken and they all need to be fixed and you can start with mine.")

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

 

[Xtranet]

Also, when interior fogging is a problem, the vent should be sent to OUTSIDE
air. Actually, it should always be set to that, except when it is very hot
outside and you want to make the car colder. Wish I had a dollar for every
car I see with fogged up windows while mine are clear.

I don't think it's the outside air that's important. The key is that
the
A/C needs to be on when in the defog setting to work. A lot of the
older vehicle A/C's do not come on even in the defog position and many
owners
do not know to turn on their A/C's so that the defog would work
better.

Also, it didn't matter if I had it on recirculate or high heat. My
windows
would clear up fast once the A/C is switched on because it dries the
air
and removes the fogging action.

The recirculate is to either cool/heat/defog the interior faster and
to
avoid smelling the outside air on some occasions. I will agree that
it
should be set to outside air so that you receive fresh air and not
breathing
your own carbon dioxide.

 

[Guest]

Since other people in the group are reporting the same problem that I'm
having,

A) You are one of the lucky ones with a working temperature control, or
B) My posting attracked all of the complainers, including myself, of a minor
glitch.

 

[Guest]

Time to take it back to Subaru. Since the car is just over 4 mos old, the
worst that they can tell me is it is not a problem.