Nissan Xterra

Nissan: Xterra AC units are designed to NOT turn off

I bought a new 2007 Nissan Xterra a couple months back and the AC won't turn off unless I shut the entire truck down.  The dealer and Nissan told me the unit was designed that way.  I'm not kidding. I bought the truck in Naples, FL. On the drive home to Miami I realized the AC wouldn't turn off. I shut the truck down at red light and that did the trick, but when I used the defrost, which automatically turns the AC on, the AC wouldn't turn off again. It didn't matter what mode was selected after that, whether the AC button was in the "on" or "off" position, the AC stayed on until I stopped the truck, shut the entire thing down and restarted. Like most Floridians, I use my defrost a lot when it rains and humidity fills the cabin. But running the defrost will infringe on my gas mileage and unnecessarily wear the engine and the AC unit. I took it back to the dealer and they said it could not  be fixed, that it was designed that way.  I called Nissan's corporate offices and they said the same thing. Is this possible?  (Feb 13, 2008 | post #1)