Climate Control Turns Itself On

[Squishman]

2019 Crossroad. I have a medical delivery route. I put on about 4,000 miles a month. That's approx 25k since I bought it this year in January. If I turn off the climate control, after a short period of time, it'll turn itself back on. Seems to go back to my previous settings, except the driver/passenger sync. That will be un-synced every time now. Has anyone heard of this before? I wonder if my climate module has gone wacky or is it in some computer elsewhere? I may be able to snare a used module (or controls, whatever it's called) locally. 

[Dean H]

Pull the fuse for the rear HVAC controls.

 

Located In the fuse panel up underneath the glove box. 

 

My rear HVAC controls are wore out. I don't use them, so pulling the fuse.

Worked for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2025 by Dean H

[Squishman]

Ok! I never need the rear on either. I'll see if that does the trick. 

[Squishman]

27 minutes ago, Dean H said:

Pull the fuse for the rear HVAC controls.

 

Located In the fuse panel up underneath the glove box. 

 

My rear HVAC controls are wore out. I don't use them, so pulling the fuse.

Worked for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Ok.  That's out now. I'll see if that fixed it tomorrow. Thx Dean!

[2late4u]

if you have the dual zone climate controls there is a switch in the rear that needs to be turned off other wise it will go on and off according to the temp back there,,I had that in my 2011 ,my 2014 doesn't have the dual zone

[Squishman]

43 minutes ago, 2late4u said:

if you have the dual zone climate controls there is a switch in the rear that needs to be turned off other wise it will go on and off according to the temp back there,,I had that in my 2011 ,my 2014 doesn't have the dual zone

I went back there and looked for a switch. Couldn't find one. Unless you are referring to the knob in the rear that has auto - 0 - and then fan increments. Or was that temp increments? Can't remember as I am in the house now and I don't sit back there to remember. Anyway it was at the first increment. I changed it to zero or "0", which is a moot point since I have the fuse out for the rear now. Had I found the switch you were referring to I was going to put the fuse back in and try it. There is a switch on the front controls for rear. I have that off as usual, but it mysteriously turns back on and has a mind of it's own. I'll see how it works with the fuse out tomorrow. 

[2late4u]

that is where it is has been so long since I had my 2011,I am sure others will chime in on what to set it on,,,, in a way I do miss the dual zone as it did a better job cooling and we live in alabama

[2late4u]

I would have it set thur the radio to stay on all the time but then when my kids would go for a ride back there they would turn that switch back there and it would not work and I do remember that it seem to to act up as well sorry but its been about 9 yrs since I had the dual zone ac

[Locosiete]

On 9/8/2025 at 3:27 PM, Dean H said:

Pull the fuse for the rear HVAC controls.

 

Located In the fuse panel up underneath the glove box. 

 

My rear HVAC controls are wore out. I don't use them, so pulling the fuse.

Worked for me.

 

 

 

 

 

My rear HVAC is damaged from minor rattling i have. Never thought about pulling the fuse. Mine will default back on to MAX AC but display still shows it's off. Really annoying since sometimes, and that's rare here in TX, the temp is just right where you don't need AC or heat and the window down is best.

I will have to give that a try 

[5rebel9]

When we first got our well used '11 DJ for my son, it had this same problem. But being a new driver, I could not get the car away from him to do anything with it for a couple of years.

What I found was the dial knobs had come loose and the the attached contacts were loosing connections to the circuit board of the overhead rear control panel. I found a youtube video of a person that took out the panel and opened it up to fix this issue. NOT an easy task as the panel is a pop in, but quite tightly mounted and the panel itself has many tabs to keep the case together that break easily.

I was able to finally have the car for a while and followed the video with only breaking a couple of those tabs. I got it all back together and he has not had any trouble with the posted concerns since, and it has now been 2.5 years since I did that task. 

      As a faster "fix time" repair would be to buy a new panel unit, a bit costly but not as time consuming or "nerve wracking". 

[Locosiete]

2 hours ago, 5rebel9 said:

What I found was the dial knobs had come loose and the the attached contacts were loosing connections to the circuit board of the overhead rear control panel. I found a youtube video of a person that took out the panel and opened it up to fix this issue. 

 

In my case there isn't a rear seat anymore so really have no reason to have it. I think I will block off the hole and add a dome light to cover the hole.

[Squishman]

Whatever is the situation, it is not the rear causing it. With rear fuse out, my unit is still acting up. I drive 8 hours a day. With the unit off, it comes back on and seems to be getting worse. Also, the driver/passenger sync comes un-synced sometimes. I just tried shaking the on/off knob and it came cack on. Did that 3 or 4 times, so now, that pretty much confirms the bad unit. I found a used one on ebay and just bought it. Cheap. $59 no shipping. Prefer new, but Rock Auto is out of stock. I'll post later on if it's working after the used one is installed. Plus, I'll put that fuse back it. 

 

@Locosiete, why do you not have a back seat? I also removed mine! Both middle and 3rd row. I did leave the storage box though. All that extra room is quite awesome for my job. 

Edited September 10, 2025 by Squishman

[Locosiete]

4 hours ago, Squishman said:

 

@Locosiete, why do you not have a back seat? I also removed mine! Both middle and 3rd row. I did leave the storage box though. All that extra room is quite awesome for my job. 

 

Oh... no reason lol

 

[Squishman]

9 hours ago, Locosiete said:

 

Oh... no reason lol

 

Oh, I see. 

[Locosiete]

5 hours ago, Squishman said:

Oh, I see. 

Call it my factory system. 

[Locosiete]

Disconnected the rear HVAC controls and haven't had any issues with it automatically coming back on. That said there was a couple small plastic parts loose inside. Not sure why that happened lol. Could be from that small vibration I have 🤣🤣🤣☠️☠️

[5rebel9]

28 minutes ago, Locosiete said:

Disconnected the rear HVAC controls and haven't had any issues with it automatically coming back on. That said there was a couple small plastic parts loose inside. Not sure why that happened lol. Could be from that small vibration I have 🤣🤣🤣☠️☠️

 

So, you had enough room with your factory sound system to drop the rear HVAC control panel down and unplug the harness?

If so, you need to upgrade for bigger and taller speakers !!!!

Edited September 11, 2025 by 5rebel9

[Locosiete]

4 minutes ago, 5rebel9 said:

 

So, you had enough room with your factory sound system to drop the rear HVAC control panel down and unplug the harness?

If so, you need to upgrade for bigger and taller speakers !!!!

Tabs were half broke off so wasn't that hard to pull it off. Had about 6" of wire to disconnect it. Control is right in front of the enclosure so not too hard to undo

 

You can barely see it in the photo but it's not that hard to get to for me. Now the dome light harness... that one is another story 🤣🤣

Edited September 11, 2025 by Locosiete
add info

[Squishman]

The new/used one that I got on Ebay works great. Two days of driving on my route and it's good. 

[5rebel9]

8 hours ago, Squishman said:

The new/used one that I got on Ebay works great. Two days of driving on my route and it's good. 

Glad to hear that replacing that rear control panel is working out well for you! 

As I stated, I like to keep costs down and repair things without just replacing parts that can be "fixed". BUT just so all know... I had an ample availability of other used control panels from my friend if my panel "fix" did not work out. The only thing I "used up" was my TIME to investigate and then do.

[The Salmon]

My 2012 Journey has the same issues. The fan will not shut off, if I shut it off it just comes back on. Also, it will un-sync after awhile, and the rear climate control will not keep a setting. If I set it to the lowest temp and fan speed it will just go to the highest temp after I leave the setting screen. I had to use the rear controls to move the air to to the floor. I do not have dual controls and the screen is the 4 inch. 

[5rebel9]

40 minutes ago, The Salmon said:

My 2012 Journey has the same issues. The fan will not shut off, if I shut it off it just comes back on. Also, it will un-sync after awhile, and the rear climate control will not keep a setting. If I set it to the lowest temp and fan speed it will just go to the highest temp after I leave the setting screen. I had to use the rear controls to move the air to to the floor. I do not have dual controls and the screen is the 4 inch. 

I'm confused by your explanation of your concern, maybe you could "elaborate a little differently.

   ALL journeys have separate driver and pass. side TEMP controls{ what is called DUAL ZONE} and then for 3 row seating Journeys have REAR control mounted in the roof. 

 Problems just recently discussed are for cars with the REAR control mounted in the roof. When that unit "acts up", it will affect the front settings also as has been described.

 And sorry, but the 3 pictures you posted did NOT come thru, and if they do, would probably have me getting a better "understanding" of what you post of.

Edited September 23, 2025 by 5rebel9

[The Salmon]

Sorry, Yes it has dual zone. I will check the rear roof controls for a wiring issue as discussed in this thread. Also gonna try pulling any fuses associated with the Climate Control.  Thanks for the quick reply.

[5rebel9]

7 minutes ago, The Salmon said:

Sorry, Yes it has dual zone. I will check the rear roof controls for a wiring issue as discussed in this thread. Also gonna try pulling any fuses associated with the Climate Control.  Thanks for the quick reply.

Don't bother with the fuses, it won't stop the problem. 

IF you drop the rear control from the roof, you can just unplug the wiring connector to it and then re mount the unit... IF you don't use rear control for passengers very often.

[The Salmon]

Thanks, I give it a try!!! Will this help the front fan from turning on by itself?