I've had difficulty wrapping my brain around the idea, too, of the air-conditioning being on during the winter. When I read the owner's manual for my '98 S70, it recommended that the air conditioning always remain on. In the winter, the AC's evaporator acts as a dehumidifier, thus relieving the air inside your car of moisture that can fog up the windows. If you set your climate control setting to defrost, the AC will automatically turn on too (for the same reason).

I currently set the climate control setting at AUT and it works nicely, particularly because it automatically senses the need to defrost, then I don't have to switch it myself. However, I've read (can't remember where, maybe on this board) that the AC's compressor does turn on at 32°F and up. So I'm thinking that I will not use the AUT setting then and turn the AC manually off. Anyone have any input on the wisdom of turning the AC off when temps are at 32°F and up?

JOHN

WHEN THE AUTO FUNCTION IS SELECTED THE AC COMPRESSOR IS TURNED ON. IN A SENSE THE AC AND HEAT ARE ON AT THE SAME TIME. YOU USE THE TEMP SELECTOR TO SET THE TEMP YOU WANT IN THE CAR. THE AC CAN BE SHUT OFF IN THE AUTO MODE IF YOU WANT. WHEN DEFROST IS SELECTED THE AC IS AGAIN ON AND YOU CAN NOT SHUT IT OFF THIS WILL HELP GET THE MOISTURE OFF THE INSIDE OFF THE WINDOWS.

FRED