Automatic Climate Control - Fan Speed

[TechFreak]

Just curious if anyone else has this or knows if something can be done to remedy this. It hit 97 degrees today and I jumped in my 2015 Explorer Limited with Black Interior which was facing the sun (Needless to say it was pretty warm in there). I always have it set to 'Auto' for the Climate control with the temperature set to 72 degrees. The A/C kicked in and the fans were going but I noticed that it didn't seem like they were running at full speed. I clicked the + on the fan speed and the fan increased. The fan appears to only run at 3/4 the max fan speed when set to Auto. If I select 'Max A/C' the fans run at 100% and Temperature shows 'LO'. In some further testing I set it back to Auto. The fan speed dropped to 3/4 again. I then lowered the cabin temperature one degree at a time. When I dropped it down to 68 degrees the fan speed then was running at 100%. I believe at 69 or 70 degrees you could hear the speed increase but it was not at 100%. Is it just me or shouldn't the fans run at full speed initially to reduce the cabin temperature down as quickly as possible? I know in the winter the fan speed starts off low until the engine warms up then it goes to 100%.

 

[peterk9]

I believe that the fans will run at 100% if you use remote start but will slow down once you hit the start/stop button the same way they work with the heater. I've never paid much attention to mine lately since I usually open the windows for a minute or two when I get underway to help get the hot air out but I'm sure they are not running at 100%. That might only be achieved on Max A/C or setting it manually. Mine is also set at 72 (22 C).

Peter

 

[jdmac27]

My 2017 operates exactly the same as described in the OP. I regularly hit the Max AC button when starting up and then put the system back to Auto after it has cooled down. I agree the system should operate at max until desired temperature is reached regardless if the set temp is 68 or 72. My previous explorers did exactly that, so it is hard to get used to the change. I will say that I really like how the fan speed is automatically reduced when using voice command or phone!

 

[TechFreak]

My 2017 operates exactly the same as described in the OP. I regularly hit the Max AC button when starting up and then put the system back to Auto after it has cooled down. I agree the system should operate at max until desired temperature is reached regardless if the set temp is 68 or 72. My previous explorers did exactly that, so it is hard to get used to the change. I will say that I really like how the fan speed is automatically reduced when using voice command or phone!

Thanks for for letting me know this happens even on the newer builds. My fan speeds do not reduce when using the voice commands but that doesn't bother me (I think they made that change in the 2016 and up models). It just drives me crazy that the fan wouldn't kick in on full speed to bring the cabin temperature down to the set level as quickly as possible without having to hit the Max/AC button.

 

[Curtis]

Also note...
AC and Max AC sound differently anyway because of the recirc door
When on AC the door is open to the outside, so you dont hear the fan as loud
When on Max AC the door is open to the inside to recirc and recool the inside air and you can hear the fan substantially louder

 

[scoutexplorer]

Somewhat related to the topic, when I start the car using remote start and the air temperature is hot (80's-90's), the A/C does not engage until I enter the car and press the start button. Is this normal? I have settings set to auto cool or heat to the requested temperature (in this case 70 degrees).

 

[peterk9]

Somewhat related to the topic, when I start the car using remote start and the air temperature is hot (80's-90's), the A/C does not engage until I enter the car and press the start button. Is this normal? I have settings set to auto cool or heat to the requested temperature (in this case 70 degrees).

I've never used remote start to cool the vehicle but I have used it to warm it up in Winter. In that case the fan is on full blast until I hit the 'start' button and then it slows to normal speed. Not sure if that helps.

Peter