buckthorn

I did a test drive of a B8 Avant last week, but was a little rushed and neglected to check out the climate control system. Aside from the dual settings, is it any better then the system on the B5? I could never gain complete control over that system. With the AC off, I'd like to be able set a fan speed and have it stick until I want to change it. That's not asking a lot, but it is impossible on my '01 A4, which typically keeps cranking up the fan speed on its own. And do you still need to turn on the fan to get some outside air, or can you just open the vents, as on most "normal" cars?

RoyM

You can manually set the compressor off (brings in outside air. You cannot turn the fan off but you can set it to it's lowest speed so you can barely feel or hear it. I normally have my climate control set to "auto" and I have been very happy with what occurs. No reason you cannot get what you want in the manual mode.

Avant4Adam

You can turn it completely off if you want or run it at whatever speed/temp (or different speeds driver v. passenger) you want in manual mode. I like to make it snow on my side of the car while my wife likes to lay on the beach.

Hobbes

Actually, to the point I think the OP is making, you can't really set a fan speed. It's more like you are setting a fan percentage. For instance, if the system is in auto and the fan is at 7, you can lower it to a manual setting of 4. The fan will then stay 3 notches below whatever the system is calling for, but it will still fluctuate as it tries to maintain the temperature setpoint.

I happen to like that it works this way, but I think the OP wants to put the fan at 4 and have it stay at 4 until he changes it. It doesn't seem to work that way though on my B8 A5, just as it didn't on my B5 A4..

Perhaps it would work if you turn the temperature all the way down to low, so the system isn't trying to vary itself. If you turn off the AC compressor I would think the fan would stay at whatever you set it and just blow in outside air.

Dirt

In my experience, if the outside temperature is higher than the cabin temperature (or even slightly below), turning off the AC will cause the HVAC to ratchet up the blower speed in vain to try to lower the cabin temperature. There's always some amount engine bay heat that soaks into the vent air so the vent air is always warmer than the outside air.

That being said, you can then manually set the blower speed to a lower setting and it will stick until you change it again, even if you turn the car off and back on.

buckthorn

Yes, I'm talking strictly about when the compressor is off. On the B5, keeping the fan at the same speed is not possible.

Avant4Adam

That's interesting - I hadn't thought about it that way. That being said, in my B8 if I set the fan to say 10 - it stays at 10, it doesn't move around.

Hobbes

Are you sure? In my B8 A5 the fan speed will still vary, even when I set it to a manual setting. If you are strictly talking about the fan at maximum, I imagine it would stay at maximum if you set it there. But if you set it at some medium setting it should move around depending on whether the interior temperature is satisfied. At least, mine seems to work that way (same as my old B5).