In the 18 months I have owned my A4 Avant Qtip, here are the only 2 things which have stymied me:<p>1. The recirculate setting is tied to the AC compressor setting. In the winter, I can't turn recirc on in the tunnel, so I just eat fumes. Is there no clever re-programming trick for this?<p>2. There is no tie-down point on the rear door. Really! There is no way to tie something to attach a bungee cord or anything. Any modificaiton ideas out there (for the mechanically ungifted?)

Try turning on the front windshield defroster first.

In my Honda, during the winter, when the windows fog up, I just turn on the AC and leave the temperature set to hot. It justs blasts hot, dry air.

Something about the A/C evaporator will freeze up in the really cold weather which I guess would wreck it or cause some other problem. Not sure why this is a problem on an Audi and not on say a Honda. But I would tend to trust the German engineers who designed the car...there must be a valid reason.<p>Andy Hedin

I think any system designer would be safe in assuming that drivers won't blow cold air through the system when outside temperatures are THAT low. Idiot proof can only go so far. Look at auto transmission selectors, if you push them forward while driving there's a reverse/park lockout. If you're stupid enough to do it while holding the release button then there's no way any amount of engineering's going to save your ass. <br>2cents<br>:-)

Mark...I appologize for my lack of knowledge in the whole A/C area...I was just trying to pass on that it isn't so much a "law" issue, but rather some sort of mechanical reason why Audi chose not to allow the A/C (and thus the recirculate) to work below a certain temp.<p>I pobably should have just kept my mouth shut and waited for someone more knowledgeable to step up and post a valid response. Anyway, thanks for the clarification/thoughts.<p>Andy Hedin

I don't really know how the AC works either. Just guessing; but the other discussion re: the starter lockout got me thinking about the ways in which the engineers sometimes design for the lowest common denominator. Whereas I think the starter lockout is a good idea, it seems to me that not being able to defog your windows during cold weather is a not so good idea (especially here on the east coast in Canada) <br>4 cents<p>Cheers,<br>Mark<br>

As for the past 2 years my A4 in Australia has been able to have recirc on with or without the air compressor turned on.<p>Graham

See, the problem is really the tunnel thing for me. I guess the best answer is just to turn the fan all the way down. some air does creep in though...<p>But it's frustrating to have a liability lawyer or an engineer (german or otherwise) decide to screw with a feature which works fine on every other car I have ever owned or experienced.<p>By the way, the defrost has worked fine through a variety of conditions, as has the climate control.<br>

I, for one, have never heard of any case where a car manufacturer was found liable for injuries caused by fogged up windows. It really seems kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? I mean, if you keep driving after your windows are fogged up, then you are really the problem, not the car, right? And, think of how many cars don't even HAVE air conditioning, but still have recirc. <br>I don't buy the law argument at all. Who knows why the gnomes in Ingolstadt do what they do?<p>Miles<br>