Strange 95 Civic AC problem

Greetings, I have a 95 Honda civic with a very strange AC problem. In general the AC system it self is fine, it blows cold air and works well. However, the problem is that whenever the car interior temp is high (like if I park the car under the hot sun all day), the AC won't come on at all. If I press and hold the recylle botton (I must depress it and hold it constantly) then the AC will kick in. As soon as I release my finger from depressing the recycle air button, the AC stops working. Therefore, I must press and hold the recycle button for about 10 to 20 min into the drive to make the AC stays on and cools down the interior of the car. Once the interior is cool, I can stop holding the recycle button and the AC will continue to work.

Needless to say, it's not very practical to hold the recycle button continuously while driving. Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to fix this? I thought about replacing the whole climate control unit, but was told that it's a big job because I have to remove the whole dash. Is this true?

Thanks

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