# 2012 chevy cruze climate control



## jrw300 (Sep 17, 2011)

hi
never had this feature in my other cars but how do i set the temparture for inside the car. i did not see anything in the manuel
thank you


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## yourdoinitwrong (Aug 7, 2011)

jrw300 said:


> hi
> never had this feature in my other cars but how do i set the temparture for inside the car. i did not see anything in the manuel
> thank you


If you have an LTZ with the automatic system then you turn the temp knob closest to the driver and it will display the temperature you are setting in the radio screen. It only displays briefly and then times out.


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## scarletwhite (Aug 27, 2011)

If you are looking to use the auto climate control, also hit the button that says 'automatic' in the middle section as it will control your fan automatically to reach the temperature you set with the dial on the driver's side. 

You can override the auto fan speed by manually adjusting the fan dial on the passenger side if you want to but usually the automatic is great and you never need to fool with a bunch of different A/C settings - you just turn the temperature dial up or down.


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

Continuing this thread....

I have had to run the heat for the first time over the past couple mornings, outside temps in the mid 40's.

Here's my question...(I have the LTZ w/Nav and Automatic climate control.)
When I hit the Power button to turn on the system, and the temp was set to 73 degrees, the "Auto" LED lit and the LED over the A/C Snowflake icon lit, and the nav screen display indicated that the fan speed was in auto and the vent control (little icon of a seated person) was in auto. The system was circulating warm air, even though the A/C ON snowflake was also displayed on the screen. 

Now, if I press the "Snowflake" button, the LED goes out, but so does the LED on the "Auto" button....BUT the nav screen still says the fan and the vent control is in "auto", and the A/C Snowflake on the nav screen has a line slashed through it indicating that the A/C is Off. So....the nav screen indicates I'm in some sort of "auto" state, but the buttons on the control stack do not indicate anything.

Seems to me that the "Auto" button should be lit, even though the snowflake button is NOT lit when the heater is needed, and the system is in "auto"....but am I wrong, or is this the case? Really, there is no way to even tell the system is on, when NO LEDs are lit at all. So far the Auto and Snowflake LEDs only operate in unison on the control stack.

Am I missing something here, or is this just the way it "is"??

My main concern here is that I do NOT want to operate the compressor unnecessarily...


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## yourdoinitwrong (Aug 7, 2011)

That's just the way it is. The "Auto" LED will only be lit when everything is in "Auto" mode. As soon as you change anything it goes off, though parts of the system are still in "Auto." Every GM system that I know of turns on the A/C compressor in "Auto" mode (even on heat) because it dehumidifies the air which is more comfortable for passengers and keeps the windows from fogging.


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## mattk (Feb 18, 2011)

hey, jumping on this thread because I definitely don't think my auto climate control is working right and maybe yourdoinitwrong can shed some light. My issue is that if I hit the Auto button with the temp set low then the Auto button lights and the A/C (snowflake) button lights and the A/C is on. Then if I hit the A/C button the Auto light and the A/C light will go off, I see the snowflake with the line through it on the display, and the A/C will turn off with regular "vent" air coming out... all normal so far. The problem is that within a few minutes without me touching anything the air coming out of the vents is ice cold again, still with the Auto button and A/C buttons off.

I took the car to the dealer because I don't want my compressor running when it shouldn't. A tech sat in the car and turned off the A/C himself and then looked under the hood and said that my compressor was running all the time, and that it was probably a bad relay or a bad compressor. They took the car, had it for two days, and then told me this was normal and that the car has a humidity sensor inside which will turn on the A/C even if you have it off if it senses humidity. This sounds like a load of bs to me, but until I see my compressor running for no reason in the middle of winter I really can't argue it.

Anyone else feel like trying this in their car to see if they get the same result? yourdoinitwrong, do you know anything about a humidity sensor in these cars?


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

yourdoinitwrong said:


> That's just the way it is. The "Auto" LED will only be lit when everything is in "Auto" mode. As soon as you change anything it goes off, though parts of the system are still in "Auto." Every GM system that I know of turns on the A/C compressor in "Auto" mode (even on heat) because it dehumidifies the air which is more comfortable for passengers and keeps the windows from fogging.


So even when it's pumping full heat into the cabin in the dead of winter the compressor is still on? Doesn't that put a little more load on the engine and decrease fuel economy? Should I be turning off the ac during the winter? Or does the car automatically do this when it's not needed.


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

CHUV said:


> So even when it's pumping full heat into the cabin in the dead of winter the compressor is still on? Doesn't that put a little more load on the engine and decrease fuel economy? Should I be turning off the ac during the winter? Or does the car automatically do this when it's not needed.


It should load the engine more, and that was my concern for bumping this thread. I guess it is just as easy to just turn the compressor off when running heat, as the fan and vent positions still indicate they are in automatic mode. This is my first GM EVER with automatic climate control, so it sounds like mine, and yours, is probably acting normally.

We just have to remember....it can be subfreezing, really cold, and when we activate the defrost function, the compressor runs, no matter what car(s) I have ever owned, this has been the case....so, it seems feasible that in full auto mode, the compressor can be utilized as a de-humidifier to aid in keeping the windows clear.

Thanks yourdoinitwrong for your input! It helps to have someone on the "inside" in cases like this!


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

Found out something else this morning...

Pressing the AQS button whilst the Auto and "Snowflake" LEDs are lit, will cause the Auto LED to go out, but the "Snowflake" button LED will remain lit.

So far, this seems to be a minor thing, but also one of the most counterintuitive/confusing thing I've found on my Cruze!


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## yourdoinitwrong (Aug 7, 2011)

CHUV said:


> So even when it's pumping full heat into the cabin in the dead of winter the compressor is still on? Doesn't that put a little more load on the engine and decrease fuel economy? Should I be turning off the ac during the winter? Or does the car automatically do this when it's not needed.


I haven't driven an LTZ in the winter yet but if it's like every other Chevy with automatic climate control then it will still keep the compressor on when you are using the heat. It does put more load on the engine and decrease fuel economy but it's done to keep the windows from fogging. I have had a few GM cars with the auto system and personally I don't like it, I control everything manually. As long as your windows aren't fogging up then you can turn off the compressor. Also, the LTZ has the auto front and rear defog (if you have it turned on) so when the humidity sensor inside the car detects a high humidity level it is supposed to do it's thing. I haven't been able to test this out though to see how well it works.


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

yourdoinitwrong said:


> I haven't driven an LTZ in the winter yet but if it's like every other Chevy with automatic climate control then it will still keep the compressor on when you are using the heat. It does put more load on the engine and decrease fuel economy but it's done to keep the windows from fogging. I have had a few GM cars with the auto system and personally I don't like it, I control everything manually. As long as your windows aren't fogging up then you can turn off the compressor. Also, the LTZ has the auto front and rear defog (if you have it turned on) so when the humidity sensor inside the car detects a high humidity level it is supposed to do it's thing. I haven't been able to test this out though to see how well it works.


Hmmm... that kinda sucks. 

Also, I've noticed that in the cold when using the remote start, it doesn't turn on the rear defog, even when the back window is coated in dew and can't see a single thing. It would be nice if it came on, especially in the winter with frost.


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## yourdoinitwrong (Aug 7, 2011)

CHUV said:


> Hmmm... that kinda sucks.
> 
> Also, I've noticed that in the cold when using the remote start, it doesn't turn on the rear defog, even when the back window is coated in dew and can't see a single thing. It would be nice if it came on, especially in the winter with frost.


I don't know specifically for the Cruze but other GM vehicles only turn on the rear defroster (and seats and/or mirrors if equipped) if the temp is below 45 degrees.


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

yourdoinitwrong said:


> I don't know specifically for the Cruze but other GM vehicles only turn on the rear defroster (and seats and/or mirrors if equipped) if the temp is below 45 degrees.


It hasn't gotten below 45 here yet! Still enjoying milder temps.

I found out this morning though, that when I hit the "Power" button to turn on the HVAC system, it went into "fan" and "vent" auto mode without any LED's coming on (snowflake or auto)...so it came back on in the last state it was when I last used it and turned it off. This is pretty cool as I don't have to keep fiddling with it every time I turn it on.


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

yourdoinitwrong said:


> I don't know specifically for the Cruze but other GM vehicles only turn on the rear defroster (and seats and/or mirrors if equipped) if the temp is below 45 degrees.


So maybe that's why my seats haven't been coming on at remote start eventhough the option is on. I thought they just take a while to warm up and I dodnt wait long enough. Guess we'll have to wait until winter. 

Thanks for the info.


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## BMeyer87 (Jul 1, 2012)

I have a 2012 cruze ltz. When I want heat I set the temp in the car to 75. But the car does not get very warm. What is wrong?


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