Does the Atto 3 A/C not blow cold air when it's freezing outside? (-10°C / 14°F)

Ornery-Hedgehog8477 | 2026-02-02 18:40 | 21 views

**Hi everyone, greetings from South Korea! 🇰🇷** **I recently took delivery of a BYD Atto 3 last week. This is my first EV after switching from an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicle. I’m really enjoying the transition so far—the car is fantastic, and the price point was excellent compared to local competitors like Hyundai and Kia (which are quite expensive here).** *Context: There are even rumors here that these units are surplus inventory from China, which might explain the aggressive pricing, but I’m happy with the car overall.* **Here is my question regarding the Climate Control/AC:** **Currently, it is winter here in Korea, with temperatures ranging between -6°C to -12°C (approx. 21°F to 10°F). Naturally, I’ve been using the heater. However, out of curiosity, I tried testing the A/C.** **I turned on the A/C and set the temperature to "Lo", but no cold air came out. It just felt like ambient wind/fan mode (ventilation only).** **I asked about this in a local Korean EV community, and people told me:** *"EVs are just like that. Why would the A/C compressor run when it's freezing outside?"* **However, in my previous gas cars, the A/C compressor would engage regardless of the outside temperature (often used for dehumidifying), and it would definitely blow cold air.** **Is this behavior normal for the Atto 3?** **Does the system prevent the compressor from engaging in sub-zero temperatures to save battery or protect the hardware? Or is my unit defective?** **If this is not normal, I plan to visit the service center, but I wanted to ask the global community first.** **Thanks in advance for your help!**

Comments (3)

Unusual_Emergency_13 2026-02-02 18:54

Heating and cooling is done differently in an EV with a heatpump. In an ICE the heat comes from waste energy from combustion. The A/C taked care of the cooling. In an EV with a heatpump the heatpump warms up the cabin and battery. There is only one compressor so if the cycle is running in order to heat the battery, it might not be able to cool the cabin. It is possible to do it but more complexity and costs over just opening the windows.

abaris-eiwar 2026-02-03 22:50

I assume that just like the Dolphin I have, it's climate control A/C, when you set a temperature the A/C is trying to match the cabin temperature to set value. I'm guessing Lo is not -10, so it's probably mixing cold air from outside with heated air as well to reach whatever temperature Lo is. At least that's my assumption, it's my first car with climate control. Maybe try heating up the cabin as much as you can tolerate and then set it to Lo, see if that will make the compressor to kick in. Although the compressor should work in both cold and hot settings since it's a heat pump, like in a household unit.

proxiblue 2026-02-04 15:17

Hey, I am having same issues, you can see my posts here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/BYDAU/comments/1pm4w9u/atto3\_aircon\_struggle/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BYDAU/comments/1pm4w9u/atto3_aircon_struggle/) My atto 3 is booked in for a check this upcoming monday From what I gather, quite a few atto 3's have had aircon / gass depletion issues upon delivery. The service guy I spoke to said the temp on low should measure around 10c. Best I get is 17/18c. I plan to update my post with the outcome. See coments on my post, suggestions on settings to check.

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