A/C vs. Vent Only

[1999 Eddie Bauer]

This is likely a very stupid question.

I understand if you have the A/C on your fuel performance is going to take a hit. Does your fuel performance take a hit if you have your Explorer on "Vent" and set the temperature down to 60F? The air is cooler depending on how low I set the temperature, but not as cold as if I had it on "Automatic" or "Max".

I think I know the answer, but after my last car I question what I know about A/C. If you turned the defrost on at all, the A/C motor would stay engaged if the vent fans were on (no matter if you had the A/C button pushed or not). To disengage the A/C motor you would have to turn the car off, and then back on (without engaging the defrost at all) to just get vent air. There was actually a wire fix you had to do to disable the "stay on" A/C issue.

The Explorer just seems to cool down the outside air quite a bit - it almost seems too good to be true (but it is still not as cool as if it was on "Automatic").

 

[TheJackal]

"Vent" mode disengages the A/C compressor and just pulls in air from the outside.

The heater core is not bypassed in this mode, but you won't have heat if you have the temperature control set down.

The air outside might seem cooler than the air inside the Explorer on a hot day, especially if it's been sitting out in the sun a while.