My civic is 10years old now. Done only 44000 km. After watching these videos recently I am aware of these codes and functions.😮

I forgot to thank you for posting the steps in your description. I printed them out and put them in my owners manual. I wish more people would use the description section so effectively! Thanks again.

I tried it in a 2002 Civic and it works, thanks man, no more AC in defrost mode.

It eventually worked in my 2009 civic, but it did some strange things first. first try, the recirculating light blinked, not the Ac light. When that finished, the AC would ONLY turn on in each of the two defrost modes, not the others. when i tried to return it to "factory mode,' the AC didn't work at all. finally when i tried it a third time, it worked just as it does in your video.

An interesting video. Kudos to the original poster. There are some misconceptions in the comments section though. Every car will automatically turn on the A/C when the dial is set for Defrost or Defog (Defrost + floor). But it will only do this when ambient temperatures are 40°F (4°C) or warmer. This has nothing to do with the dash settings or the vehicle. This is simply the temperature/pressure point that R-134a shuts off at in order to prevent freezing up the evaporator. 40°F works out to about 25 psi, which is when the "low pressure cycle switch" offs the compressor. This is why in the summer time, your A/C will run constantly for a few minutes (starts around 100 psi and slowly goes down to 25 psi. It cycles off, the pressure rises to around 45 psi, it cycles back on. If you live in a HOT climate like Arizona, it may never cycle off no matter how long you drive, simply because it never gets down to 25 psi.....Now if you're getting into a car that has say 10 degrees below freezing ambient temp, it's already below the low pressure cycle switch point. The refrigerant is hovering at maybe 15 psi. That's below 25 psi (40°F/4°C) thus no A/C turns on. Doesn't matter if you set it for MAX A/C on the coldest setting or Defrost with the hottest setting. Nothing will happen. This is fine though. Because air is very dry when the temps are below freezing. Even though the windshield may be frozen solid. There is no moisture in this. Hence dry skin, chapped lips, dry hands, etc. A/C is not required for Defrost to dehumidify the windshield. But it sure does speed up the process! My Sunbird was ordered without A/C. It just had VENT---HEAT---DEFROST as your options. No off position. No recirculate option. No fresh option (all 3 positions were fresh). No defog position either. Running Defrost and hot would eventually clear the windshield. But it was doing it simply with heat instead of heat and dehumidifying (as cars with A/C will do when turned to Defrost). Not running the A/C compressor during the wintertime won't cause it to seize. There are countless "summer" cars that aren't driven during winter months. Stored away in garages for fall/winter/spring. The air conditioning works in the summer time just fine on these cars. Same thing with window A/C units on homes. Nobody runs them in the wintertime. But they still work fine in the summertime. The best way to make a compressor seize is to run them low on refrigerant, so that they cycle way too often. It's the initial "on" that's hard on the compressor. Once it's running, it's fine. This is why central A/C house thermostats often have a "wait" mode that will only turn the A/C on once in 3 minutes or so. So if you're fiddling around with the thermostat dial, you won't make the compressor go on/off/on/off/on/off in 10 seconds of fiddling with the dial. If I turn my home A/C off and then immediately turn it down again, it will say "waiting." 3 minutes later it will turn on. Some vehicles have gone from cycling A/C compressors (100% on or off) to variable displacement compressors. Variable displacement vary the power in order to maintain and hold the A/C at 28 psi. So they'll run 100% when trying to cool the car down and then as it gets closer to 28 psi, the capacity of the compressor is lessened. No hard cycle on/off this way. These are more efficient. Why do all manufacturers have it so that Defrost = A/C on? Because they all figure that Defrost is only used for clearing the windshield and then we'll go back to vent or heater mode for comfort. As for fuel economy differences. It really depends on the vehicle. A heavy duty pickup truck that can tow 10,000 lbs isn't going to see much if any difference on gas mileage. Because turning the A/C on is like throwing 1 bag of sand in the back of the bed. Now something like a 3 cylinder Geo Metro with it's 70 HP, turning on the A/C is going to make a HUGE difference in power and feeling of being dragged down. Throwing a bag of sand in the back of a Geo will feel like dragging an anchor. I drove across the USA one time in a V8 Trans Am (Washington State to Texas). 100% highway miles. Using the A/C during that summertime trip vs just using vent on that trip made something like 0.8 mpg difference. Negligible at best. Oh one more thing, most R-134a cars cycle off at 22 psi. Not 25 psi. The older R-12 cars cycled at 25 psi. Regardless, the point I was making above is that going below 20 psi with either of these refrigerants would result in the evaporator freezing up in the dash, wasted fuel economy, and a few other problems as well.

I used this video the same week you posted it. I bought my 07 Si in 2013, and hated that the AC stayed on.. I still have the car and drive it every day. Why I'm back to this video is beyond me..

This so work for my Honda Accord 2008. You are such a Genius. My Car technicians have already stated I change the board. More of this hacks please.

Great tip. Thanks. I am going to use this tonight. I usually have the defrost on, but never realized that it would turn AC on without showing the light. Thanks man.

Pure genius! Thanks, now I don’t have the fan cycle on every 20 seconds at a red light!!!!

Awesome. It was not making sense why my si was getting such bad mpg during the winter. Did not know this was going on in the background. Cannot wait to see how it will impact my mpg. Thanks for the info 👍

Dude, you made me leave my couch to go test it! Perfect! Winter are harsh in Canada, and the ice cold A/C running when i just want to melt the ice on my windshield is somewhat counterproductive lol... Thanks!!

Thanks for posting. This video is correct, the key difference being what mode is selected when doing the procedure. Can confirm this does work for 2002 CRV. Stay gold.

This is an excellent hack! Thank you so much for posting this. It worked on my 2010 LX Coupe - but - my Recirc (Orange light with Car symbol) was the light that flashed - not the green A/C light. Weird. But it worked. I really like this option because like the poster of the video, I don't like air blowing in my face and use the defrost a lot. I never realized the A/C was kicking on too. A note to the people who do use this. You need to run your A/C compressor once in a while during the winter. Not running your A/C compressor for 6 months is not good for it. Auto A/C systems contain many rubber components and seals. When the A/C is running, the lubricants in the system keep the seals from drying out. In the cold, dry air of winter, and with the A/C system sitting idle, the rubber can crack and allow refrigerant to escape. Meaning that first warm day next spring, your A/C won't blow cold air.

Mine worked I was wondering why was air blowing while I was driving it was annoying as heck came across this video and it helped solve the problem thanks

Omg it worked, thank you so much!! I hated that the A/C would kick on automatically whenever I used defrost.

Excellent find man! Was wondering why my compressor was kicking on in the middle of winter with the defrost at max heat. Tested it, and works. No more compressor. Thanks!

I always wondered why my gas mileage decreased from 350-370 miles per tank to 280-300 miles per tank. Hope this improves my gas mileage as well. Thanks!

This video saved me .22 cents a year on fuel thanks

Tested on 2014 Civic SI.WORKS!!!

Thanks so much for this. I was called for car leaking in winter while warning up on defrost. Because, the AC light was off the driver nor me 1st impression wasn't to check if AC is running. Eventually figured, set this so when AC is on you can tell it's on. Thanks a bunch..👍🏿👍🏿

This video will save the environment much more than all the green ideas of the government put together, imagine how many cars are now going to consume less gasoline and more miles. I had a 2011 Honda and believe me that with the AC on it consumes a lot more gasoline. I was always doing those calculations, which is a shame that I saw the video very late because the one I have is now 10th generation, but very good, everyone who has this model should apply this to their cars.

Nice video. I tried it in my 03 civic and it worked! That feature always bothered me. Thanks for the info.

Great tip, thanks !!!! Stock configuration does stay in "AC" mode if you go to floor only from Defrost or mix defrost/floor. So that can confuse you if you think the 3 left choices always are AC optional. Great disable/ control tip. !!

Worked on my 2011 accord. Preciate it man 🥲

Cool! Thanks, sir. I also like to be the captain of my civic and do not appreciate the car using the ac system without MY EXPRESS PERMISSION hahaha

Great! This is amazing. I've been wanting to know this and somehow it was in my recommended box.

I never knew about this passive procedure,I will have to experiment with this.

I didn't know the AC was on for the defrost modes but it makes sense. Cool (excuse the pun) video.

How did you even find how to do this lol? This should be an option for all cars... Thank you so much 👍🏿

Thanks for the tip. Always trying to save gas in California, we get screwed on gas prices here!

Can't wait to try this.

Thanks for posting this. Always hated this "feature."

When I did it the way you talked about in the ladder part I reverted it back then I was able for the last two modes just to hit the AC button and it'll turn it off so that seems to work for the 2010 maybe there's a difference with the years or maybe I did it wrong but that's what I found it works best I reverted it back and I hit the AC button and I can turn it off with the defrost on

Thank you so much! This has been driving me nuts!

can't wait to do this tomorrow. thanks for the handy tip!

Worked on my 9th Gen Civic EX (2012) Thanks!

Works for my 2008 EX-L sedan, Thank a lot

Worked on 2006 Honda CIVIC LX 1.8L The Reticulating light blinked instead of A/C but works GREAT!

I don’t know if this works, but when I had my 2006 Honda Civic, I just left it on the dash air and to fully turn it off I just turned on air circulation and it it shut all air off until I turned it on. Also turned air circulation of so I can have a breeze go through as I’m driving on the highway. Don’t know if this effects much but I had an EX-L model.(sun roof with all leather interior) hope this helps most of you. I live in California and it gets cold so I need to defrost a lot. Lol

Just did it on my 2010 civic and it work. Thanks

It will take A LOT longer to defrost your windscreen though.

Thanks for the video I learn something new today..

didnt blink my ac light , it blinked the re circ light instead but the result was the same. Having the option to shut it down is great, esp since my ac compressor clutch is wearing.

This also worked on my 2006 Accord with the 2.4 L4

Million thanks to this video.

Your asking for potential AC problems my friend !! This AC is coming on for a reason and engineers designed this way for..1) Humidity purposes as you mentioned in the video....2) The AC compressor must constantly be cycled SO IT WON'T SEIZE !!! If the AC compessor did NOT cycle all winter, your compressor could / will seize up !! Do what you want BUT your playing around with possible A/C problems in the future that can cost lots of $$$$$ !!! Ask your local Honda dealer how much a new AC compressor is installed ?? Good Luck !!@

Thank you. Needed this.

Thanks - Worked on 2012 Civic EX

thank you so much!!! I was so annoyed by this feature. I guess the driver does not have to know that in order to defog the windshield he should use AC- Honda will do it for you :) It is like the ATM machines don't require the knowledge how to use the decimal point anymore - when you put 4 it is 4 cents not dollars and so on

Worked for me! Thanks man!

Did this soo long ago, must have with the underpowered R18(with a/c on)

Thank You. Do you have other civic “hacks”??

What happens when summer rolls around and now you have no air conditioning. Will disconnecting the battery and resetting the radio code work?

For my car, the recirculating light is blinking instead of AC 😅

I did it on honda civic 2014 and it worked. Thanks 👍💪

Gotta know, how did you figure this out!?

Helpful trick, thank you!

+Ray Chu , your settings are preventing me from replying to your comment. It sounds like you have other problems with your car. The AC controls have no relation to the radio or the car starting. You might have to talk to a mechanic on that one.

my ac compressor squeals and this is a great option if you don't have the time to fix it.

Sweet, thanks for the video.

Thank you!

Very good tip thanks for the video :)

It worked for my 2012 Civic as well.

COOL man, thank!!!!!!!!! I wonder what OTHER hacks there are in all these cars that the dealer doesn't give a flying FUCK to tell us about.

I just did it it works thanks

Worked for my 2008 Civic Si, thanks.

thank you for this video

tremendo,me resulto en el carro,honda civic.espero que sigas poniendo video de esa manera;saludos pepito.muchas gracias.

Okay I found actually by turning that on because I did do that on my car I did have an issue I reverted it back and now I'm able to turn on defroster in feet and defroster and then I just turned the air conditioner off and it blows regular hair with the AC off

It worked on Honda CR-V 2006, thank you

This is helpful, Thanks

Thx u very good info

just incredible....thanks

i just unplug the ac compressor wire also works ( : but this will save the electric fan motors from turning also on woo

I'm gonna try it on my 2007 Honda Civic si

Thanks for the video, Do you mean even in winter when the fan in heat (red) mode still A/C works?

OMG! Thx, i really doesnt know about that.

why did my recirculation button flash instead of the AC button

Great video!

Don’t do this, there’s a reason the factory wants the compressor to keep running. If you do this the compressor wont start for a long time and when you go to turn it on in the summer. It has a high chance of not turning on since it hasn’t been on in such a long tiem

Holy crap it worked on my 2010 accord! Thank you!! So awesome.

Thanks!!!!

Awesome. I hope this works on my 2006 crv. Maybe my 2016 civic as well. ??? Thanks

i tried it on my 8th gen civic. instead of AC light, the Recirculation light blinks. hmmm why?

Thanks! This worked on my 08 civic, but i just have a question how does it improve the power? thanks!

excellent friend thanks

At the 4:00 minute mark, why is there a giant eyeball floating near the tune dial

I did not know you could reprogram the HVAC control. Going to try that on my 12 civic thanks for the infro

Thank you u just help me ❤❤

Great.... thanks!!!

My car made a funny noise when I turned it off what’s the reason behind that ?

thanks good video

How did you figure this out? Like is there a source? I recently took my 2008 to get the AC checked (found out the compressor is dead) but the fans pushing air through my Radiator are running on max power now, I feel like it's related to an option similar to what you showed us.

Or, you can just turn the hot/cold dial on the right to the top position and the AC will shut off. Magic!

Did not work on my 2007 CRV but did work on my friend's Civic, also a 07. Please let me know what am I doing wrong. Thanks

but with the AC off , it take too much time to remove the steam on the windshield

Thank youuuuuuu

Great hack!! Woked on my 06 accord. How did you know how to do this?!?!?! Thanks

It is possible I may have did something wrong but basically what mine was doing okay on the face the face and the feet and the feet I could turn the AC on and off but then when I would turn on defrost it would the AC would be running whether the AC light was on or off

need help my a/c compressor never shuts off a/c works for 30 min than all the lines freeze so no airflow how do i shut the a/c off