Air Conditioning comes on without selecting A/C....

CanyonHypermiler · May 25, 2017

Just bought a new Canyon V6 SLE. Enjoying the truck, but the A/C is baffling me. If I"m driving along with the fan on low, and the A/C OFF (no A/C light, and no light on the Auto A/C). Periodically, I will notice very cold air coming out of the vents, and condensation on my windshield. There doesn't seem to be any excess humidity to cause the A/C to come on. I checked the Climate Control settings on the touchscreen and turned both the auto defog feature for the front and rear to OFF.. The only way to get the A/C compressor to turn off is to push the OFF button for the fan. This turns everything off. If I turn the fan back on to low... no A/C no condensation.. just the fan blows as it should.

I've watched it closely and cannot get any rhyme or reason as to WHY the A/C is coming on by itself. If there is a feature built in to the truck whereby it senses excess humidity and turns on the compressor automatically, then you would think there would be a visual queue, such as the A/C light illuminating for the period that the compressor is on, then the light going back off again. I don't notice any of this.

Anybody else noticed their air coming on and off automatically? Thanks for your reply

newdude · May 25, 2017

Do you have the AUTO climate control or manual climate control?

Edited May 25, 2017 by 15HDriver

CanyonHypermiler · May 25, 2017

15HDriver, Thanks for the reply. I have the Auto Climate Control to off (no light lit) and the temperature setting on 68 normally. I have the A/C button turned off (no light lit) and the fan usually on next to low. From what I can tell MOST of the time the fan runs, blowing ambient air from outside the cabin. Then I feel the air get colder, and the windshield gets condensation on it from the cold air. If I look down, the lights on the auto A/C and the A/C button are both NOT lit, but the A/C is definitely on. The only way to turn off the compressor is to hit the fan off switch.

It seems counter-intuitive to have a button saying 'A/C' that lights up when you press it and it turns on the Air Conditioning, but then you have to press that same button to get the air to turn OFF when it's NOT lit at all.

I thought someone that's had a Canyon for some time would be able to explain or tell me if I have some sort of software glitch. Thanks again.

cire0309 · September 11, 2017

My 2007 Avalanche had automatic climate control and did what you are mentioning when I had the air on recirculate. Auto was off, temperature was 72, set to manual and fan on low. When I switched the system to recirculate, the air would suddenly begin to get colder and I would notice that the AC was on.

Do you have it on outside air or recirculate when this happens?

Supreme Pizza · September 11, 2017

I would drive down to the dealer, and ask them to show me what i'm doing wrong.

tboris · October 18, 2017

Did you go to the dealer?

I just bought a 2018 Colorado Z71 and am having the same issue. AC is off and no AC light, suddenly ice cold air coming from the vents. I only had the fan on.

Other issue is backup camera display brightness too bright at night. It's not adjustable and is a safety issue because I cannot see out of the right mirror (because I am blinded by the light).

Supreme Pizza · July 9, 2018

It took me a bit to figure it out, but it turns out that on my rig, I do not have an "AC ON" button. Turns out that the button is actually an "AC OFF" button. I would have the A/C off and I would get cold air. When the A/C was turned on, I got luke warm air. I was not using the controls correctly. Perhaps this is a common issue?

RADAZE · December 31, 2019

Same problem with my 2018 GMC Canyon SLE. AC was coming on in "manual" mode, seemingly randomly, with AC off, AUTO off, defog off; even set at ambient temperature. AC came on even when ambient was 40, 50, or 60 degrees and temp set in the 70s. The only way to turn off the AC was to turn of the fan switch which also shuts down the ventilation system. After several visits to the dealer and finally two contacts with GM (First contact recommended turning off auto defog which did not help the problem) Second contact with GM got the following response:

"Keep in mind that these automatic systems will keep the AC compressor on but at a reduced displacement when not needed as much and this helps to minimize moisture buildup on the windows and windshields.

Also, even if the customer does not have the AUTO selected, the temperature regulation is still in AUTO mode unless the temp is set to full hot or full cold. So, if the customer has the temp set to 70 degrees, and the cabin is at 70 degrees, the HVAC system will cut back the temp and could actually feel colder than needed, but it is working to maintain the requested/commanded temp. If the sun is shining inside the cabin and the inside temp increases above 70 degrees, the system will turn down even further and provide cooler/colder air to get back down to the requested temp."

In summary, setting the temp control to full cold or full hot overrides the AUTO function. At full cold, the display on the temp control display reads "LO". (Haven't checked the high side yet but assume it reads "HI") So far, this seems to be working on my vehicle. None of this is outlined in the owners manual.

In reality, there is no "manual" mode as you are either getting air at ambient temp or full hot. There is apparently no in between temp which does not involve the AC compressor. My non-GM vehicles with auto climate control do offer a true manual mode in which you can adjust the temperature without involving the AC. A far superior system as far as I am concerned...

Mikemarl · February 13, 2020

I have a 2018 Colorado Z71 which has the automatic temperature controls.

I also had the bright rear camera problem but the dealer can perform a computer flash which will dim the screen. Picture resolution is still bad, but at least you can see the screen.

Automatic temperature control seems to do whatever it wants to do. Nothing like the auto controls on my Honda. Still battling with the dealer on this issue.

Sparkplug · April 13, 2020

On 5/25/2017 at 9:52 AM, CanyonHypermiler said:

Just bought a new Canyon V6 SLE. Enjoying the truck, but the A/C is baffling me. If I"m driving along with the fan on low, and the A/C OFF (no A/C light, and no light on the Auto A/C). Periodically, I will notice very cold air coming out of the vents, and condensation on my windshield. There doesn't seem to be any excess humidity to cause the A/C to come on. I checked the Climate Control settings on the touchscreen and turned both the auto defog feature for the front and rear to OFF.. The only way to get the A/C compressor to turn off is to push the OFF button for the fan. This turns everything off. If I turn the fan back on to low... no A/C no condensation.. just the fan blows as it should.

I've watched it closely and cannot get any rhyme or reason as to WHY the A/C is coming on by itself. If there is a feature built in to the truck whereby it senses excess humidity and turns on the compressor automatically, then you would think there would be a visual queue, such as the A/C light illuminating for the period that the compressor is on, then the light going back off again. I don't notice any of this.

Anybody else noticed their air coming on and off automatically? Thanks for your reply

Mine does the same thing. I have a 2017 SLT Canyon, that seems to bother most when it is misting out/raining. The goofy release engineer does not care about your problem. It has not been corrected either. Thats the plain and simple. I took mine in with readings from a temperature probe installed in a vent so the video could see it as well as the selections for the heater, and they said there hands are tied, its a GM problem. When soaking wet in the summer and it blows cold air at you from the vents, you notice/know it. I think a Honda is in my future after I get rid of this Canyon for that reason. The 8 sp problems I could live with. You may also wonder why the gas mileage is so low.. The air cond is running. You don't have a lemon, and if everybody pays attention they will find it to be TRUE also.

Geofront · October 15, 2021

Why don't you drive your car to a service center? Maybe they will manage to repair your aircon there. Of course, you could try to buy a new one, but it will cost you a lot of money, that is why in my opinion it is much better to repair it. Try a chemical overhaul for your aircon; maybe it will help. Visit https://www.marvellous.sg/aircon-chemical-overhaul/ for more information, they will find a way to help you there.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Geofront

BlaineBug · September 25, 2022

Just the other day I noticed my A/C condensate drain was dripping on the floor of my garage. I had the HVAC turned on, but not in AUTO mode and I had also disabled the A/C by pressing the A/C button which turns off the A/C indicator light. So apparently the only way to turn off the A/C entirely is to turn off the HVAC entirely to where you have zero display and no cabin fan. Mind you only the front A/C was draining. The rear A/C unit was dry.