Pbob Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 I bought a new 2014 Fusion Hybrid about a month ago. Does anybody know if there's a system setting somewhere that changes the climate control fan speed so it's much slower when it's on the lowest setting? In other words, I would like just a small amount of air coming through the front vents. However, when I have the fan speed set to the lowest possible setting, there's still a pretty decent flow of air coming out of the vents and the system is definitely not in AUTO mode. I like to keep it cool in the car but I just don't like to feel air blasting me. I don't like to run it with defrost vents selected becauses that forces the A/C comp to kick on. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey14SE Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Cant change the fan speeds in that way. Try vent and floor, that might get it down far enough for ya. Thats how I run mine. Also running the AC wont hurt fuel mileage, if thats what you're shooting for. Compressor is completely electric on Hybrids. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
propwash Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I don't know how things are set up on the 2014 models, but on the '10-'12 models, there is a control next to the center vent that will let you modulate the airflow from full blast to none at all. If yours is the same, you could play around with that adjustment until you get the airflow volume you want out of the center vents. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey14SE Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 2013+ no longer have that unfortunately. Be nice if they did. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Also running the AC wont hurt fuel mileage, if thats what you're shooting for. Compressor is completely electric on Hybrids. You must not have driven a hybrid. A/C can cause a major drop in fuel economy on the hybrid as you have to run the engine to charge the battery to run the compressor. You can sometimes see a 10mpg drop when using A/C, although when you calculate it out, the A/C does still use less fuel then in a conventional car. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbob Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Yep, any additional load, even if an electrically powered load, will cause a decrease in fuel economy. The A/C compressor is a significant load and I prefer to keep it off if it's not needed. Would be nice if all (not just some) auto makers would give consumers to the option to not have the A/C comp automatically kick on when defrost is selected. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 You really need the A/C in most climates to prevent fogging inside because modern cars are so tight with very little natural outside venting. That said it would be good if it was configurable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey14SE Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 10mpg huh? Not saying you're wrong but I'd love to see some solid proof of that aside from one opinion vs another. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/7229-effects-of-ac-on-mpg-and-how-to-maximize-efficiency-while-using-ac/ http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/8889-1st-gen-summer-fuel-economy/ http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/8838-high-ambient-desert-temps-kills-hvb-performance-mpgs/ The thing is that while 10mpg sounds like a big number, it's not really as big as it seams. It's easy to get 50mpg in a warm climate in the Fusion hybrid, so dropping to 40mpg sounds like a lot, but when you calculate the actual amount of fuel used it's not that much. Further exaggerating it is the fact that the hybrid gets it's best mpg in city driving. But in city driving you're usually going pretty slow, which means your A/C is on for a longer time relative to the distance you are driving. This makes the A/C fuel consumption/mile very high compared to highway driving. So when you subtract the highest A/C consumption from the highest mpg condition, you can easily get a 10mpg difference. BTW the 10mpg number came directly from a Ford fuel economy engineer when asked by a journalist. I drove my hybrid all summer last year and though I never did any true scientific tests, it certainly seems plausible. Edited February 17, 2015 by Waldo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 It's not a 10 mpg drop in the efficiency of the ICE with or without A/C. It's the fact that the A/C causes the engine to run more often than it otherwise would. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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