Hey guys,

I bought my '05 Rx-8 in November and have noticed something funny with the A/C and wondering if this was something that i should spend my time taking it to the dealership for. Probably 1 in 5 times, when I start my car the A/C will be on. I haven't turned the A/C on.... ever. So I don't know why it seems to come on by itself when I start my car, seemingly at random and infrequent times. I mean, it doesn't bother me except for the fact that I turn it off everytime, but should this be something to fix because it might be a sign of a bigger problem? Thanks in advance!

 

Mine doesn't do exactly that, but sometimes when I turn to outside air or to defrost, it turns itself on. I don't know why. I could understand if it always turned itself on when I switched to defrost, but I don't know what is going on with it overall. I'm not looking into mine at this time, I'm just letting it go.

I know that the Pontiac G6 that I rented in Hawaii turned the damn AC on everytime I turned on the car.

 

Look in your owners manual. There, it explains when the AC turns on automatically depending on the mode setting you are in....

 

But, I think he is seeing a random pattern to it. I've seen mine do this sometimes as well. I'll be in a non-AC mode, and then I'll hear the compressor kick in. Strange. I've just let it ride for now. The more Mazda touches it, the worse it gets.

 

Thanks for the responses. I looked into the manual and found what you were talking about. Apparently when its going to my feet with air from the outside, it turns the A/C on automatically. But if thats the case... why wouldnt' it do it all the time? On the plus side, I read that i should run the A/C for ten minutes in a row at least once a month to keep the A/C in good condition. So now I know =)

 

It doesn't do it all the time.. I believe that even with the AC on, you can hear the compressor kick in and out... It is not constantly ON all the time....

Some vehicles now a days have this (turns on the AC even though you don't actually push the AC button.... (My Mom's Mazda Protege does the same thing).... even in winter time..!!!

 

A NissanConvert once told me, "I guess the old riddle really is true: If you’re rolling along the ocean on a jet ski and the wheels fall off, do you still have enough pancakes to cover a doghouse? The answer can only be purple, because ice cream has no bones. Anyone that says differently is a liar."

 

Mine does it often too. The dealer told me to expect it, and something about humidity.. whether it senses it inside the car or what, it turns on to combat it.

Happens in my garage, happens when its -30C, happens when I'm leaving the car wash...
Think of it as one of her quirks! (although it is annoying to turn it off all the time..)

 

So far there has been nothing unusual with the air conditioner. I do find that it sometimes opens the trunk, when I get home and park, which is rather convienent, and it turns on and off inside lights as if in anticipation of activity. I have turned the seat heaters off very deliberately, to make sure they would not drain the battery, but when I started the engine, I have found them switched back on - usually in a rather thoughful way!...It could be that the key is getting bumped accidently - or, I suspect, that the artifical intelligence is always on and sort of gets bored, if you don't let it run through it's patterns occassionally. It seems to try and be helpful, but it is an odd little car. And it really hates someone reaching through the open window to flip the door switch to open, that sets off all sorts of security alarms - so it has sensors at work, kinda like a furby...

 

funny, i've never even thought about addressing this issue, but yes...i've exprienced this before as well. I just kinda wrote it off as something to get used to. It's a good question though!

 

At least I now have one less reason to think I'm going crazy since my recently purchased new 2006 does this too

I remember seeing something in these threads while researching over 9 months that is has to do with the humidty inside. Turning on the AC in cool weather with warm air tem setting will dry out the inside for defrosting faster.

 

yup, mine too. -2006 silver rx8