Air Conditioner Always ON

We have had our new LaCrosse CXL for about two months now. I have recently noticed that the "snow flake" button on the heater controls is always lit up, indicating the AC is on. This happens every time the car is started. Is this normal??

I have The CXS Lacross and I have the same thing the snowflake is always on when the unit is turned on. The car is going in for service in two days while I have it there I will ask them about it and get back to you. BTW how do you like your car you have the CXL so you have the 3800 moter do you like it I have the VVT moter and live it.

EPR
Thanks for the reply. I will be very interested in hearing what your dealer has to say. I have had 5 Regals prior to the LaCrosse and cannot recall the A/C turning on by itself in any of these cars. There must be a reason for it - just wish someone could explain it to me.
Regarding your question, my wife and I like the LaCrosse very much. She has had a little adjusting to do after driving the Regals for so many years! The last 4 were GS's and I have noticed a definite difference in the handling between the two cars. The LaCrosse reacts much quicker to steering imput. Very light touches on the wheel will cause a big response in direction. This might be a good thing, just a little hard to adjust to. I kinda think I preferred the steadier feel of the GS. The LaCrosse is much quieter on the road with much improvement in the amount of road noise coming up through the wheels. The firmer seats are great and the addition of the lumbar support adjustment is a BIG plus.
I drove the CXS prior to deciding on the CXL. The engine/trany combo didn't seem right to me on the CXS. The car seemed to be constantly down shifting when light touches were applied to the accelerator between 30 - 50 mph. Didn't seem like you could ask it to accelerate without it shifting into a lower gear. I asked the salesman about this and he said he had noticed it also. Said it seemed awfully "busy" to him. I very much enjoyed the supercharged 3.8 L and was disappointed when Buick dropped that option. The 200 hp 3.8L is fine but I do miss the added hp of the supercharger. I would have opted for the 3.6L except for the "shifting" issue. One gripe I do have is about the tacky looking spoiler that Buick is putting on the LaCrosse. The car I have was equipped with it but I wouldn't have gotten it if I had had a choice! $275.00 for a $50.00 item that adds nothing to the appearance of the car.
Please give me a bump back after you find out what your dealer says about the A/C.
Thanks,
GW

The LaCrosse has gone in the same direction as every other American made car...no leg room for the driver. Being 6'2" it is almost impossible for me to find an American car with enough leg room. I currently have a 98 Lesabre and, of course, it has plenty of leg room. I will be buying a new car in the future. I will probable go with a Honda due to reliability and they have plenty of leg room for tall people like me. I sat in the LaCrosse and was very disappointed. I do agree with you about the 3.8 liter engine. It is very nice and has plenty of power.

The LaCrosse has gone in the same direction as every other American made car...no leg room for the driver. Being 6'2" it is almost impossible for me to find an American car with enough leg room. I currently have a 98 Lesabre and, of course, it has plenty of leg room. I will be buying a new car in the future. I will probable go with a Honda due to reliability and they have plenty of leg room for tall people like me. I sat in the LaCrosse and was very disappointed. I do agree with you about the 3.8 liter engine. It is very nice and has plenty of power.

Swipter,
I am surprised to hear your comment about a lack of front leg room in the LaCrosse. With the new telescoping steering wheel feature I would think it would enable a taller driver to move the seat way back, allowing plenty of stretch room for their legs. Also, when shopping for a new vehicle my wife and I looked closely at the new Chevrolet Malibu. One of the drawbacks we found with this car was the realtively short (front to back) length of the bottom front seat cushions. Those on the Buick were much longer which again I would think would be more comfortable for someone with longer legs.?
Wondering also what EPR found out at the dealer.

Gdubya

I did put the seat all the way back. They always have plenty of room on the passenger side but HAVE to put that bump on the left for people to prop their foot on, on the driver side. That takes a good 4 inches of room, which is a lot. Also, when I put my foot on the accelorator my knee was at about a 45 degree angle. That would be fine for short driving but very uncomfortable for long trips. Sit in an 05 Accord two door (or a 4 door) and then sit in the Lacrosse. I think you will see what I am talking about. I am almost 6'3" with a 34 inch inseam and have had this problem with most cars. The Passat has plenty of room but too many electrical issues. I am still looking. I will be looking at Pontiacs this weekend. I will be driving about everything until I can find a car I will be happy with for at least 5 years. I have driven a few now but without much success. I may have to go back to Buick. Nothing wrong with that. I think they are pretty reliable. I just wanted something with better gas mileage and more than a car simply made to go from point A to point B without any style.

Swipter,
You might want to look at the new 2006 Buick Lacerne. It will be shown at the Chigcago Auto Show this month. It's the replacement for the LeSabre and Park Ave and will be a front wheel drive available with either a V-6 or V-8. A search will bring up quite a bit of info on it.
GW

Just to let you guys know some GM models the snowflake means the AC is off and on other models the snowflake means the AC is off. This should be in your owners manaul on how it operates.

Flatrater,
Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your help! The owners manual states that, when on, the light next to the snowflake button indicates that the A/C is activated. In EPR's post he indicates that his LaCrosse does the same thing as mine. I live in Michigan and its cold outside. No reason for the automatic temp control to call for A/C. Do you think the owners manual may be wrong and the light is actually indicating the A/C is off??
By the way. I noticed that you are a licensed aircraft mechanic. Where are you located? I have a son who is a Corporate mechanic at Midway in Chicago.

Flatrater,
Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your help! The owners manual states that, when on, the light next to the snowflake button indicates that the A/C is activated. In EPR's post he indicates that his LaCrosse does the same thing as mine. I live in Michigan and its cold outside. No reason for the automatic temp control to call for A/C. Do you think the owners manual may be wrong and the light is actually indicating the A/C is off??
By the way. I noticed that you are a licensed aircraft mechanic. Where are you located? I have a son who is a Corporate mechanic at Midway in Chicago.

This wouldn't be the first time something was mis-written in a manual by GM. Some of the trucks work the way I posted before. I am not sure on this one.


BTW have you had any problems with your rear doors not closing when cold? Please place your car in a warm shop overnight and then lube your door latches with some spray silcone. GM has a problem with rear doors not closing on this car. GM is currently working on this problem.


I haven't worked on planes in over 12 years now and I do miss the fun of airplane work. I am located in northeast PA. If your son has any problems on his car and owns a GM I have a good friend who works in South Chicago at a dealership.

Flatrater,
I'm taking the LaCrosse in to the dealer for its first oil change this week. I'll see if they can be of any help on this.
Unfortunately, my son married the daughter of a Ford Motor Co. retiree and can't afford to drive anything but Fords (gets the employee purchase price). He has a Ford Windstar and a Mustang GT. He enjoys his job a lot. Makes a fantastic salary, great benefits, and has very flexible hours!
GW

Took the LaCrosse to the dealer yesterday. Asked the service writer why the A/C indicator light came on each time the ignition was turned on. He said that is normal as when the car is started the automatic climate control is calling for the windshield defroster to come on. This requires mixing dry, A/C air with the heated air from the heater to clear the windshield. This made sense to me initially, and the fellow seemed quite confident in his answer. Only after thinking it through on the way home I am wondering why the A/C doesn't shut itself off after the cabin temp reaches what is called for? Doesn't seem very efficient to have the A/C running all of the time unless manually turned off by me. :screwy: BTW, he also said this is the way my Regals functioned only there was no indicator light to inform me when the A/C was on. Anyone have an opinion on this?? :uhoh:

GW

Next time I hop in a Lacrosse I will have to check it out.

Ok I checked out 2 different cars today. Both work the same way which I think is dumb.

If you leave your HVAC on when you shut the car off and restart the AC will be on. If you shut off the HVAC when you restart the car the AC will be off. I don't understand why this does it and I can't find anythnig to support this in the service manuals. I will try to get in touch with someengineers and hope they have an answer for me.

Thanks Flatrater. I was not aware of that. Guess the best thing is to just turn off the A/C in the winter and leave it off. I'll try our car this weekend to see if it works the same way you describe.
GW

In my haste I missed a private TSB on this. This TSB is between the General and the dealers. No public display of it but according to the General. On startup the HVAC defaults to defrost and that is why the AC comes on at start up. Futher GM reccomends no corrective action be taken because no fix exists and that it is normal operation.

Thanks for passing that along Flatrater. I checked out our LaCrosse this past weekend and the HVAC works as I had previously reported. The light next to the A/C snowflake comes on each and everytime the ignition is turned on, regardless if it was on or off when the ignition was turned off prior. As I read your last post this is the correct operation according to the GM TSB. However, when I read the part about "no fix exists" it leads me to believe that maybe it doesn't function the way they would like it to but there is nothing that can be done about it. Would you agree with my thinking? One last question: would it be more economical to manually turn the A/C off after starting the car in cold weather (if I can remember to do it!)?? Is the A/C running all the time, using horsepower, if I don't? Thanks again for your help.
Gdubya

What the no fix means is that GM engineering has had several phone calls from techs trying to find out if it is a problem or not. This is a standard thing we deal with when we have a new product come out. The engineers issue TSB on problems or non-problems that the techs deal with. Now if the TSB had "engineering working on issue no fix now", that would lead you to yes there is a problem but no fix ready yet. If you want ask your dealer to do a PI search on this problem and see if they can tell you more about it since I can't legally post the info.

The AC system works the way GM engineers wanted it to work. I'm not saying it makes sense to us.

As for turning it off, I would reccomend doing so to save fuel milage. As long as your windshield is clear no need in leaving it on all the time.

Flatrater, thank you again for all your help. I think you have resolved this issue and cleared up my questions. I feel better knowing that, at least as far as Buick is concerned, my car is operating properly and I have no cause for concern. I will bring it to the service writers attention next time back to the dealer and ask for that search. Now if I can just remember to turn off the A/C when we don't need it! :uhoh:

Thanks to people like yourself, these forums are great! :biggrin:

Gdubya