OK,,I've read the manual and it says to use in heat only mode as though it makes it impossible to activate the A/C, thus saving the poorer gas mileage with A/C.

I've hit the button and the fan speed slows down in heat mode and speeds up with the A/C on.

I'm starting to think it is there just to fill an otherwise open space in the row of function buttons to cover the entire width of the console.

i.e., it is an idiot switch with no real purpose other than as a space filler.

Any suggestions?? I've asked dealers and others and no one knows.

 

I thought it just blew in whatever you set the temp to (i.e set it at 85 and it'll give you 85 no matter how hot it gets).

 

when I was having A/C trouble, Econ turns off the compressor. pretty useless...

 

That is what I was thinking. Econo leaves the temp what it is set at vs auto actually being a climate control (adjusting hot or cold to keep at temp selected).

Mark

 

thats what i thought too oh well i dont think its a big deal here in buffalo in the summer... come winter time, oh yeah crank up that heater baby! no more economy then!

 

I used the Economy mode during the winter, or whenever it's colder outside than what I want inside the car. I think it adjusts the fan speed to maintain the cabin temperature. The compressor doesn't run, so that's why they say to use Economy ONLY when you need heat. It's capable of heating, not cooling... so use it when it's cold outside.

 

You are correct. You will notice in your book that it says if you ever use Economy NOT to have the temperature setting lower than the outside setting or it may not work properly. Economy is for heating only. If I am running with air from the outside, I just hit the fan button and it comes on in no mode.

 

So in other words, it is an idiot switch to lock out the A/C regardless of the temp. setting?
I still think it's worthless and some "genius" in hvac systems at Nissan invented this to fill an open space of
1" in the line of controls.

 

Econ turns off the compressor.. It will cool, let's say the outside temp. is 50 deg F and you're black maxima has been in the sun and you get in it at 2pm.. it's around 80f inside the car.. econ will use the outside air to cool the car.. and then heat/cool it once it gets to whatever temp you set it to... auto will run the compressor to get cool air... It will still heat in "auto" mode, and you actually get drier air.. the compressor pulls a little of the moisture out of the air... that's why you can't defog your windows with econ.. (usually)...

Since the compressor is off you've got a little extra power too.. so that's nice


it's quite possible I'm full of it, if so someone let me know

 

No, I think you're right. Cause the Econ mode just blows air at the outside temp. Whereas the Auto mode is the true "air conditioner (heat/cool)" mode.

 

sounds about right to me. i always assumed it just disabled the condenser

 

When you get in your car and it is hot from sitting all day the econ switch is good so that you can open the windows and let the fan blow out the hot air, then you can just hit the auto switch close the windows. This switch is not really "useless" though. also....if you have the air inside the cabin to what you are comfortable with....then you can hit the econ switch and then hit the recirc button and you get room temperature air movement within the car. If you get hot.... hit the auto for a couple of minutes and then back to econ....see....the button has a function.

 

I use it for that too.. it's just really irritating that the recirc function turns off when you hit auto or econ...

 

Economy is just a fancy word for vent.

 

Audi is just a fancy name for Volkswagen..both of which fall apart as soon as their short warranties expire.

Up here in Canada I'm usually asking myself..."is there any real use for the AUTO button!!!

 

Well put!




Not true, for VW that is. I've owned 2 Jettas since '94 and they pretty much held up. The longest I've had one was 4 years and it was still excellent. Now after 4 years I may be wrong... The 2 year bumper to bumper warranty really do suck.

 

Economy is not a fancy word for vent, because the fan stays on. Economy is simply auto without the A/C compressor, period. When I need heat, I use economy and not auto. I only use auto when I really need cold, or I need to keep my windows condensation free, like in rainy weather.

If you want vent, when your auto climate control is completely OFF, hit the mode button and then adjust the temperature to,like say 65 F. Your vents open and air flows in without the fan. That's vent. This is only really useful on the highway on a cold day or night though. Slower speeds don't generate enough of a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the car to cause a decent airflow.

DW

 

Here's another use,

say you're on a long road trip and its cold outside. You're cruising along at 70-80 mph. Since its cold outside, you don't need to put on the A/C compressor. You can keep your cabin just the right temp using econmy mode. Since you are not using the a/c compressor, your mileage will be better. Hence, the name, economy mode. Economy mode really makes a difference then.

The auto mode is always cycling your A/C compressor on and off.

DW

 

Yes, the compressor is always running in auto mode, even when it's heating. The compressor is a Calsonic variable displacement unit, so it's not always running at full bore, a host of sensors are used to make everything just right. I try to keep my system on econ as much as possible to save fuel and improve acceleration. I end up using auto more when it's cold to keep the windows clear than I do to cool the car. I rarely use the defrost button because the windows clear so fast just by using auto. I don't care for the dry air, it seems to cause me to sneeze more, especially in the sun.

 

So, what's the difference between manuel and econ?? seems like there is no difference when you are trying to heat up the car.

 

So What Exactly Is The Final Answer For This Question?

 

A/C = Air Conditioning? Is it safe to assume it conditions the air to be less humid? So if it's humid in canada and you wanna dry up the air a lil, can you hit the Auto button, set the temp, and let the car do the rest?

As for the manual button, you get to choose the fan speed, temp, and where the air comes out. In econ/auto, you can only choose the temp...car handles fan speed and where air comes out.

Jae

 

What I don't like is when I hit the front windshield defrost button, ECON turns off automatically, and I can only go in AUTO. I like to keep circulation in the car, and would rather have it blow at the windshield, then at my feet, face, or windshield and feet.

However, I didn't realize that AUTO runs the compressor constantly. I thought it would run it only when needed. I've been driving with the front windshield defrost button on, and it's set at AUTO.

I think I've just found the answer to my poor mileage. I'm going to play around with this some more, and read my owner's manual again.

 

It assumes u want to de-fog the windshield - since the A/C dehumidifies the air, it defogs much better ( than stale, re-circulated air ).

The worst A/C controls are on Ford Taurus - the A/C mode is actually tied down to the airflow direction mode ( i.e., you can't get A/C to run when you set the fan mode to "face" only -- the only time A/C runs is when you set it to "face and feet" ) Wierd stuff.

 

MANY American cars are like this. Actually, years back you couldn't even get the A/C to turn on when defogging the windsheild....only when it was pointed at your face. Really sucked when you wanted to defog on a warm day and had to use the heat

All the Jap cars I've owned had the ability to turn on the A/C in any mode (via a separate switch).

 

I wish I could run the defog mode without the AC. I know ACed air will clean the windshield quicker, but there are times I just want the flow of fresh air to go up through the windshield-only, without the AC compressor running.

DW

 

press the MODE button a few times and you'll eventually get a Windshield/Feet split which is the closest thing to defog without the AC

 

 

It has been well documented that using the Econ mode regularly will improve fuel economy by 2-3 mpg. Auto, running the compressor, reduces fuel efficiency big time. Just think how high your electric bill goes in your house when you are running the air conditioner in the summer. It is the same for the Maxima with Auto (air conditioner) and fuel economy.

 

The manual says ECON is for Heat

 

The ECON button is the equivalent of the Vent setting on non climate controlled maximas. It lets the vent fans run w/o the A/C compressor on. Basically, if its a cool day and you dont wanna run with the windows open, just hit econ and it lets in outside air.

 

Doesn't anyone here ever drive with the windows down or sunroof open?

Vito,

Actually you're right, the compressor is not always running. It cycles on and off as needed when trying to air condition. And, unless you're in Defrost mode, if your car needs to heat cold outside air your A/C compressor won't run. So, for most of the time, when driving with the windows and sunroof closed just leave it on Auto year round. You're not wasting gas by running in Auto during cold weather.

One use for the Econ setting is to allow for air flow out the vents while the windows are down. Let's say it's 90 degrees out but you want to drive with the windows down. If you have your climate control set to anything under 90 your A/C is going to kick in to try and cool the car down. With the windows down it will essentially try and cool down the whole planet and will run long and hard, loading the engine and wasting gas.

You have two choices, either OFF which is OK but you get no fan driven air out the vents. The other option is ECON. Your system will still try to cool down the car from 90 but using uncooled outside air without the load of the A/C compressor. Your fan will ramp up to a high speed but you can dial that back manually.

Since there's plenty of airflow with all the windows down I rarely use it then. Mostly I use it when the sunroof is open. Don't want the A/C on wasting all that cool air out the roof but want some additional airflow out the vents.

While shopping for cars a couple years ago I found that the old Saab 9-3 convertible (and probably the new design) automatically kicks the climate control into their version of Economy automatically when you lower the top. Same principle. No sense running the A/C compressor to blow cool air out into the world. However, it did let you manually put it back into A/C mode if you wanted to conciously do this to keep cool air out the vents onto your face even with the top down.

 

Auto is needed to defrost windows because it dries the air. The compressor will cycle on and off, regardless of interior/exterior temp.

E55AMG2's explaination is very good. Why was this thread dug up?

Jae

 

Can we not resurrect dead threads?

 

Econ mode isn't just a nissan thing. lots of cars that have the auto climate control have this feature. I use it only in the winter as the manual says because it doesnt turn on the a/c compressor. I don't think it's a stupid feature cause in the winter time i don't wont my a/c coming on and also it's a good gas saver......Good feature

 

I thought the economy mode on auto climate control systems just ran the A/C compressor less. My sister had a Mazda once and that was it's function on that car.

 

******* NOOB BUMPERS!

 

yeah, I use ECON with heat, AUTO with cooling (or sometimes with heat if it's humid out; usually I just use the defroster then)

 

Wait a second... I thought many people on this thread had said that ECON is only for winter time (cold weather)... what's the benifits of using it when it's 90 degrees outside?

 

damn, my old username comes up in the quotes ...