Air Conditioner Always ON

[Flatrater]

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.

[Gdubya]

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

[Flatrater]

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.

[Gdubya]

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!

Thanks to people like yourself, these forums are great!

Gdubya