a/c confusion

[Simon333]

my 2008 yaris has manual a/c, i always thought that a/c was only used in summer to cool the car,, but in the hand book its talking about using it in the winter , has does a/c work and for what  reasons could i use it for in the winter.. many thanks simon.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Air con, when used in conjunction with the heater, provides faster and more effective demisting inside the car. See -

Aside from that, using the air con at least once per week throughout the year, keeps the seals in the system lubricated and lessens the possibility of air con gas leaks.

Is your Yaris a 2008 (as per your post) or 2009 (as per your profile)?

[Devon Aygo]

AC can be used whatever the temperature, one of the benefits of using AC is that it dehumidifies the air coming into the cabin so on a cold day with the temperature set to hot and the AC on the car will demist much quicker than with AC off see Here

[bathtub tom]

9 minutes ago, Devon Aygo said:

AC can be used whatever the temperature

I understood it disables itself around temperatures of five degrees centigrade and lower to prevent damage from freezing.

[Mooly]

1 hour ago, bathtub tom said:

I understood it disables itself around temperatures of five degrees centigrade and lower to prevent damage from freezing.

Certainly that is the case on some vehicles although the actual figure may vary a little.

My theory breaks down at this point... if the evaporator temperature is held at (say) 4 degrees C which would be a reasonable value for cooling the incoming air, and it is held at that temperature by the physical laws relating pressure/temperature of the refrigerant gas, then would it (the evaporator) heat the air once the incoming temperature dropped below that value. I'm not sure on that one.

Maybe the lower ambient cut off is actually related to protecting the system from lubrication issues rather than than the evaporator freezing up... driving into a low ambient air temperature would take the condensor to very low temperature levels, possible compromising the lubrication properties of the oil.  

 

 

[Simon333]

Thanks mooly

 

[Simon333]

Thanks everyone