I have a 2009 RX350. When outside air is cool (68-70 F), I like to turn off the A/C but this causes the air coming into the cabin to be quite warm, regardless of the setting of the thermostat (even if it is set to "LO"). If I do leave a/c on then I have to bump up the temp setting to almost 80 to get air at a comfortable temp. This method of operating both a/c and heater at the same time seems wasteful, at the least, and requires the driver to use different interior temp settings for different exterioer temps. The dealer has checked out the codes a couple of times and claims that nothing is wrong; this is just normal behavior.

I am new to Lexus but have driven many luxury and standard cars before and never experienced anything like this. Any suggestions on whether there is a problem or not would be most appreciated; thanks!

A "feature" of most Lexus models is that the HVAC system does not remember the previous setting of the outside air/recirculation mode each time the engine is shut off and restarted. Many have complained. I don't like the way it works either. When your A/C is turned off, each time you start your engine, manually put the HVAC into outside air mode and see if that solves the problem.

The problem isn't that it goes into recirculate mode but rather that it blows heated air.