AC blower fan has a mind of its own

[rnev8437]

Just put 1500 miles on my Maverick XL this week to visit family. On the trip there were several instances of the AC blower fan randomly increasing speed to much higher levels. I never use automatic climate control, so it wasn't the fan adjusting to achieve a preset temperature in the cabin. It's a very strange glitch and seems to happen randomly and frequently. The increase in fan speed is not shown on the driver display but can be heard and felt. The only way I've found to return the fan speed to a lower level is to completely shut off the AC and then restart it.

I wonder how many more owners are seeing this issue or not noticing it, thinking it's supposed to be happening?

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[OTACORB]

I've not seen this fan behavior. I have occasionally ran mine is non-auto mode. However, I've grown to like the auto-mode now.

 

[Darnon]

Did you have vents selected? I've found if no specific vents are selected, even out of auto temp, it will seem to change fan level on its own.

 

[MLowe05]

Yeah I suspect this is user error. Don't be fooled.. whether or not "auto" shows selected, the truck will still try to maintain that set temperature.

 

[Dmason]

I've seen this issue posted before so you aren't the only one.

My thoughts are it's an inbuilt safety/defrost to prevent the evaporator from icing over as all instances seem to be long trips, ac set to a low setting, and air set to recirculate. Basically ideal circumstances for the evaporator to ice over, and increasing the fan speed would allow more air to move across the coil, therefore, preventing icing of the evaporator coil.

I don't believe anything has been confirmed by ford.

 

[LowLeadAV]

I have had this issue too. Normally I leave it on recirculate, so my thought was maybe the increase in speed was it kicked out of recirculate even tho it doesn’t indicate it. So I cycle that button and it returns to normal. I am at 4000 miles and it’s happen a least 10 times.

 

[Clarkdonbran]

It will lower and return back automatically for the microphone to hear you.

 

[rnev8437]

Yeah I suspect this is user error. Don't be fooled.. whether or not "auto" shows selected, the truck will still try to maintain that set temperature.

User error? I'll admit that once you explain to me why Ford even bothered to put an 'auto' button on the HVAC.

 

[rnev8437]

Did you have vents selected? I've found if no specific vents are selected, even out of auto temp, it will seem to change fan level on its own.

Don't recall, but will look next time. Thanks

 

[rnev8437]

I've seen this issue posted before so you aren't the only one.

My thoughts are it's an inbuilt safety/defrost to prevent the evaporator from icing over as all instances seem to be long trips, ac set to a low setting, and air set to recirculate. Basically ideal circumstances for the evaporator to ice over, and increasing the fan speed would allow more air to move across the coil, therefore, preventing icing of the evaporator coil.

I don't believe anything has been confirmed by ford.

That's interesting. If true, Ford should document this feature, so owners don't think it's just an electrical issue.

 

[Darnon]

That's interesting. If true, Ford should document this feature, so owners don't think it's just an electrical issue.

The manual does mention that recirc setting may turn itself on/off automatically which can affect fan noise/pressure.

 

[rlhdweman]

User error? I'll admit that once you explain to me why Ford even bothered to put an 'auto' button on the HVAC.

The reason is you find the temperature that you are most comfortable with & leave it there, that way the cabin is always at the temp you prefer. I have found my temp is 71*. Auto temp control is nothing new, I have a 1964 Cadillac sitting in my garage that has this feature, it was the first year for it & by the 80's many vehicles had it.

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

I noticed for the first time yesterday that when I answered my phone on Apple Play in my Maverick, the fan speed went down so I could hear the phone better.
As I took the call, I thought nah, I'm just imagining it. But after the call ended, the fan speed kicked back up.
So am I crazy or is this a feature of the AC system??

 

[Darnon]

I noticed for the first time yesterday that when I answered my phone on Apple Play in my Maverick, the fan speed went down so I could hear the phone better.
As I took the call, I thought nah, I'm just imagining it. But after the call ended, the fan speed kicked back up.
So am I crazy or is this a feature of the AC system??

It is. It also does it when you trigger the button for commands to SYNC3/phone voice assistant.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Just put 1500 miles on my Maverick XL this week to visit family. On the trip there were several instances of the AC blower fan randomly increasing speed to much higher levels. I never use automatic climate control, so it wasn't the fan adjusting to achieve a preset temperature in the cabin. It's a very strange glitch and seems to happen randomly and frequently. The increase in fan speed is not shown on the driver display but can be heard and felt. The only way I've found to return the fan speed to a lower level is to completely shut off the AC and then restart it.

I wonder how many more owners are seeing this issue or not noticing it, thinking it's supposed to be happening?

Hi there. This A/C concern doesn’t sound like something we want you to experience with your Maverick. Could you please send us a PM with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer? I'd be happy to look into how I can assist you on my end.

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