Actually, in the 03-05 HCH, if the climate control is set to defrost, then the autostop will not work. This is because the AC is automatically activated to dehydrate the air when the defroster is on. You can put the selector on defrost (making sure recirc is OFF to get outside air) and just turn the fan off - that will enable you to get an autostop and still actually have some flow-through to your windshield of fairly warm air, given that your temperature is set warm enough.

 

First, there is a think you can do on some of the HCHs that will allow you to turn off A/C while in defrost mode (there are threads here describing how). Second While you can put it on defrost I find that auto stop works more often when you have it on auto with the fan off.