I am glad I read some of the threads regarding A/C is on without tell us.
I forced A/C to be off and I see an improvement in mpg already.
I am also glad it displays the A/C off indicator on the mini display panel as well.

My mpg history:
1st tank from the dealer = 13.5mpg
after 1st tank = 15.3mpg
after forcing A/C off = 16.7mpg

These numbers are mixed city & freeway.
I have been "abusing" the turbo since day one.
It's hard to resist the power.

I use the fans alot and I used to assume that A/C not kicking in until the temperature is set low. However I did feel the air being cooler compared to the outside temperature previously when I just wanted plain outside air. Now I do feel the plain outside air with A/C off. Now I just turn A/C on when I really need it.

Just curious if there is a different way to turn off A/C without using voice command?

 

This might seem quite novel, but how about just pressing the "AC" button?

As for the MPG trend, I think you need a lot more data at the same driving conditions to really make a conclusion. One thing you can try is drive along on a flat road with cruise on. Observe the instantaneous MPG. Then turn AC off and see if it changes much. I would trust that a lot more than the limited average data you have presented here.

 

The Mythbusters found out that you get poorer gas mileage driving with the windows down than you do using A/C because of the extra wind resistance.

 

That may be, but my Integra GSR accelerates from 80 to 100 much quicker with the windows open than with the A/C on. Seems the wind resistance is less than the compressor resistance to me.

 

It's so funny that I didn't see the AC button for some reason. I think my brain has been trained to look at the new Map/Audio buttons. I mainly hit "Auto" for temperature control.

My daily/weekend driving routes have been the same: drop off the kids to day care/school, go to work, gym, shopping mall, etc.

The instantaneous MPG is always higher (20mpg+) than trip mpg for me. I think the lower number is more realistic.

 

I've also noticed the AC reducing my MPG. Not sure why "auto" mode still needs to have the AC on all the time, even when it's 7 degrees out and temperature set to 80. It doesn't seem to be very "Auto" to me. If my home AC worked that way, my heating and cooling bill would be even more ridiculous.

 

Perhaps we exposed a bug in the system or this was bad design. I will let my dealer know about this soon.

 

It runs AC to dehumidify. It cuts off below about 42 deg F in most auto systems, so it's not always running in winter. The tech manuals would probably give the exact temp. It's 42F in the Nippon-Denso systems I believe.

 

The average takes into account the integrated MPG over the trip, so it definitely can be lower than the instantaneous reading at a given time/condition. What I am saying is that if AC does have an effect, it will show up in the instantaneous MPG reading. Since that's a situation in which you can eliminate almost all other factors and simply observe the effect of toggling the AC button on/off, that seems like the best way to gauge the effect to me. By using the average, there are way too many other factors coming in to play. Unless you can repeat the same exact driving history, comparing averages is not going to be accurate for small differences in MPG.

 

They say it's by design but I think the logic is flawed.

 

Well, I think my AC is broken. When it was in the teens in Chicago about a week ago, noticed my AC was on. I guess it happen when the unit was on Auto but I hit Mode button to turn off the Auto. The problem with that the console doesn't show the state of the AC until you explicitly hit the AC button to show it as being On or Off. So the AC doesn't even shut off in the teens.

Can some one confirm what I'm seeing or at least convince me this is right. If it was for humidity, you think the thing have a humidity detector.

 

What led you to believe the AC was actually running? Did you hear it cycling, or hear the clutch engaging/disengaging?

If it's any consolation, all of the auto climate control systems I have used are confusing or odd in some way. Acura's are among the least confusing. The one in my Subaru is among the worst (until you take the time to understand and surrender to the system). Once I figured it out and resigned myself to dealing with the behavior, it wasn't so bad. My wife still fights with it though -- like a battle of wits!