Defrost = A/C on... how do I disable it?

jimmy996 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:12 PM

Heya,

Ive been getting really unimpressive gas mileage since i bought the car, and just today a honda service guy tells me that if you have the air vent set to defrost the A/C is automatically turned on.

so thats probably a lot of the problem, does anyone know where the wire is so I can clip it, or where the switch is that will allow me to disable this automatic "safety" setting?

Id like to start seeing the mileage that everyone on this forum is so pleased with.

hiroko12 · #2 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:17 PM

Define unimpressive? Also, the A/C will not affect your gas mileage by much anyways. All cars use the A/C with defrost, not just the Fit.

jimmy996 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:23 PM

Unimpressive is an average of about 9.5 litres to 100 km mostly highway.

the sticker said 5.8 highway and 7.3 city.

6200km on it sofar. so im really not seeing the fuel savings that are advertised.

07fitsport · #4 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:29 PM

you can disable this feature by carefully removing the cover under the ac ccontrol knob...(small panel) then in the middle you will see a very small clip that plugs in (think it is white) and just push in small clip and pull..
this will diable the feature and also tho it will allow the lights to the knobs to be diabled also that allow them to be turned on when your headlights on.

fit4jenn · #5 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:35 PM

the a/c is on because it helps your windows defrost faster, while you have it set to a hot temp.

solbrothers · #6 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:36 PM

how about you change your driving habits. if you are interested in getting better mileage, get a scangauge.

xorbe · #7 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:41 PM

fitfreak linkage:

A/C DEFROST Mode questions,answers, solutions

It's a physical switch, no magic will turn it off. Unplug the switch cable.

jimmy996 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:47 PM

sweet, thanks!

solbrothers · #9 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmy996

sweet, thanks!

replied to your PM

mahout · #10 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmy996

Unimpressive is an average of about 9.5 litres to 100 km mostly highway.

the sticker said 5.8 highway and 7.3 city.

6200km on it sofar. so im really not seeing the fuel savings that are advertised.

9.5 L per 100 km is 24.7 mpg. If you drive aggressively, keeping the rpm above 4000 rpm to extract max performance you should expect 9.5L per 100 km.
And a/c is used on 'defrost' for most cars because it assists defrosting the windshield. For those of us who remember what it was like before, it was actually possible to add humid moisture to the windshield, making vision even more difficult.
And as others said, a/c doesn't affect your fuel consumption nearly as much as your driving habits.
When I go to the track my track mileage runs about 20 mpg but thats wide open extraction of performance.
I don't know what country you are in but the sticker saying 5.8 to 7.3 L/100 km is 32 to to 40 mpg which is better than the US stickers (28 to 33 mpg).

ricohman · #11 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 10:44 PM

If I dissable this feature am I to undertsand the lights will no longer work in the controls for the heater knobs?

xorbe · #12 (**permalink**) 05-23-2008, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricohman

If I dissable this feature am I to undertsand the lights will no longer work in the controls for the heater knobs?

I don't know, but you can always plug it back in! For some reason I want to guess that it doesn't affect the light. I did not read that anywhere yet. People would be quick to complain about that.