I recently posted a column about automatic locking, in which I came to the following conclusion: automatic locking is the worst thing in the world. Might as well be buried alive. For exercise, it's worse than cutting off one's toes one by one. Worse than a college student who won't shut up to her MacBook Air.
When I read the comments section of this column, I was very happy to find that most of you agree with me: automatic locking is not good. It's good to be locked regularly. But I also noticed some other things: Most of you don’t like automatic climate control. Poor little automatic climate control, just doing its best to make your car experience more gentle. Most of you hate it. why is that?
Personally, I like automatic climate control, and I recently realized that maybe half of the people who hate it don't even know how it works. So please allow me to educate you. This is what happened: you set it to 72. You press "AUTO". It will then blow out any air needed to reach 72 degrees. On a hot day, it will blow out cold air. On cold days, it will blow out hot wind. Once it reaches 72 degrees, it will stop blowing until it drops to, say, 71 degrees, at which point it will blow out more hot air. Just to maintain the perfect temperature balance in your life.
My girlfriend doesn't seem to understand this. She thinks it works like this: you get in the car, turn it to 85 degrees, and then you press "auto". After a few minutes, she will look down, wondering why the car is so hot. Well, that's why: the automatic climate control will blow hot air until it reaches the damn 85 degrees! Then she turned it down, and she adjusted the air speed, thereby defeating the entire purpose of automatic climate control.
The problem is that when you use it correctly, automatic climate control actually works well. In my daily driver, I set it to 72 — or, if I want a slightly cooler experience, 71 — and I press "Auto". Then this thing just blows the air for a while, until I feel good and relaxed, cruising at the temperature I want. It is true that sometimes it blows the wrong temperature within a few minutes, but I have always attributed this to the fact that I was driving a Land Rover, and I was lucky that this damn thing started in the first place.
Now, I admit that the point where the automatic climate control is a bit wrong is when it becomes a dual-zone automatic climate control. This is what I mean: the driver sets his side to 57 degrees. The passenger sets his side to 84 degrees. Do you know what will happen? The temperature of the entire cabin was eventually around 70 degrees, neither lukewarm nor hot. This is because the dual-zone automatic climate control is a myth: there is only one zone, and it is called "in the car." As long as there is no partition between the seats, the air on the passenger side will reach the driver, and vice versa.
Then you have a bigger lie about this new fashion called "four-zone climate control". have you heard of it? Many new luxury cars have climate control in four areas: driver, passenger and rear passenger. Obviously they did not realize that the air blowing on the driver is likely to enter the rear, and it will also blow to the rear passengers, third-row passengers, and basically all people with heartbeats related to the vehicle, unless you put it on the roof. A family pet, Mitt Romney style.
So my point is: if done right-there is only one area-automatic climate control is a very good thing, and I would like to know why you don't like it. If you do it wrong—there are two, three, or four zones—this may be a gimmick. In that situation, and only in that situation, I felt that it was terrible. Especially bad. Of course, the central lock is not bad. But it's worse than finding your street blocked by volcanic lava. Then why don't you agree?
I don't like it because somehow many automakers have found a way to turn ACC into something that requires a touch screen, menu, button forest, etc. (Yes, I know it doesn’t have to be that way, but that doesn’t stop tech-crazy automakers.)
The manual climate control works well, requires three knobs and two buttons, and the eyes never leave the road. The automatic version is to find a solution to the problem.
Too many people choose cars based on the degree of integration between the car and the mobile phone and the degree of non-integration. More people are happy to get it than to avoid it in a new car.
I myself have never seen this so-called super-complex ACC system.
My Volvo has left and right zone knobs (with embedded buttons for seat heating, but this is a separate function and cleverly integrated), a fan speed knob (which contains the " Automatic button), and a three-button set in the shape of a sitting person, used for "Where do you want the fan to blow in manual mode?".
Although no one else has the cool iconic button as a body part, other systems I have seen are similar at a high level.
(And the automatic air conditioner does not require you to look away from the road-turn the knob to change the temperature, wait a minute. Bang.)
this. Every ACC system in almost any car is the same. You have an automatic button to do it automatically, and the temperature button to adjust the temperature in automatic or manual operation. If you want to do this manually, you can also control the fan speed and air position using buttons (or, in a few cases, the knob). Finally, you have an automatic defrost button and A/C and recirculation buttons. It is like a manual system, but with the addition of automatic functions.
I fully support flogging engineers who design systems that require a touch screen to complete basic tasks.
I hate it because I am sitting on a brand new 2018 Volvo V60 diesel engine and it is 4C outside (really not so cold), I set it to the highest (28C), but I am still cold. The air is not hot. So now I have no choice but to get out of the car and wait outside, or drive to get warm.
If it really works as you describe, that would be great. Instead, it alternates between hurricanes and asthmatic wheezing, hellish heat, and Pluto's cold. I have yet to see a compensation for solar irradiance. Maybe you are lucky enough to live in a mild climate, but when the Australian sun makes your interior warm enough to deform the plastic (I have a CD case that will never be the same), you will see the control system' fail (even if The air conditioner is powerful enough). I personally think this boils down to not enough sensors and poor PID adjustment.
You just think you know how you want the air in the car to feel. Climate control knows what you really want. Meet, damn it!
You made a good point about the need to compensate for the ridiculous amount of sunlight. Starting about 10 years ago, Acuras began using navigation systems to determine the position of the sun relative to the car's heading, and then compensated with more cold air on that side. I am also in a hot climate and it seems to work very well.
Just a compass and a clock can tell the car where the sun should be relative to the car. Thank you for pointing this out. I want to know if there are many other cars that use this kind of information.
My Volvo compass is a bit weird, and performing the calibration steps listed in the manual does not seem to have any effect. On days when the sun has a great influence on the comfort of the car (very sunny in spring and autumn), my car does not seem to be doing a good job of controlling the house’s climate. Otherwise, it seems to be doing well.
Every climate control system has a solar load sensor.
Every well-built modern ETAC system has a solar sensor. How the system uses this information is another matter.
Some like Lexus LS have a series of hidden sensors.
The old Audi has the function of pressing AUTO for a few seconds. This links two "zones", after which you can use the driver's side temperature selector for both. Maybe BMW uses the same logic?
Our car is equipped with sensors on the dashboard to determine the heat load from the sun and other objects.
My 1994 Nissan 300ZX has a solar sensor on the dashboard at the bottom of the windshield. Its automatic climate system seems to be able to handle the bubbling light.
Our 1991 LS did just that. If you are approaching traffic lights, in and out of the shade, you will hear the fan speed change slightly as you move between sunlight and shadow. Every climate-controlled car has one, and this is the only effective way to make the system predictive rather than reactive.
If you have never seen something that can compensate for the sun, then you have not tried very hard to find it. As early as 1989, my Taurus SHO had a dashboard solar sensor for this purpose. I also have one for my Acura TSX and one for my G8.
Ha ha. Get ready to make your mind explode :-)
I have a Honda ('11 Pilot) and an Acura ('08 RDX), they both can do this, they have a sunlight sensor on the dashboard to determine the brightness, and they are established between the AAC and GPS systems Connected so that they can determine which window most of the sun shines on, and the height of the sun in the sky (so how much sun should enter the cab)
The effect is also very good, yes, when I first got the Pilot, I did try to drive slowly to see the compensation between the front left, right and rear area. It’s pretty cool (geddit!) though it’s mostly about "see what you can do when you have access to all these sensors and systems and have a boring engineer on hand".
I like BMW's Automatic Climate Control (ACC), but it cannot be locked in an area. If you are in the car alone and want to unify, you must adjust both knobs at the same time. It doesn't make sense, because as you said, double ACC is a compromise.
Our Mazda cx-9 also has double acc, it can be locked, which is good. However, it will alternate randomly where the air comes out; defrost, floor, and regular vents. I haven't figured out why it will alternate or change, but when I get completely better, a burst of air will pop up on my face. A bit annoying.
But I am with you. I like ACC and my wife doesn't understand this concept. She opened the manual after I set up ACC, and I thought: "Why are you doing this?" "I'm very hot." "Well, then turn down the temperature and wait a minute! (with my best louis ck voice) you Can... wait a minute?!"
No matter how many times I demonstrate, she wants to switch it to manual immediately instead of waiting 5 seconds for ACC to adjust. Gulugulu...
Our 2014 Rav4 has a sync button that can set the two zones to the same temperature and let the driver's side dial control the two zones. If the passenger turns the passenger side dial, it will automatically turn off the synchronization function and let each zone operate independently.
The W166 approach is the same because they use mechanical knowledge to indicate personal temperature.
The old Audi has the function of pressing AUTO for a few seconds. This links two "zones", after which you can use the driver's side temperature selector for both. Maybe BMW uses the same logic?
Frankly speaking, most cars-including Bimmers-have a button that synchronizes the climate control on the driver and passenger side; yours is not weird. If it is E90, I believe there is a "REST" button in the front of LCI (pre-facelift). When the car is turned off, it uses the residual heat of the engine to heat the cabin, but those after LCI give up the REST button and function and are in that position. Added an "ALL" button...it does synchronize the driver and passenger side.
The best part is that on late LCI cars with ALL, you can code the buttons back to REST. I set up REST functions in winter and all functions in summer. Although I rarely change it from 70F, it is not important. I use Doug's most annoying switch in the world for fine-tuning.
I found that the climate control system of my e91 is perfect. The automatic air conditioner in my Abarth is worthless, I use it in manual mode 99% of the time. I own all kinds of cars in between. My Range Rover is working fine, but I prefer the blower to the blower it usually wants to provide. BMW can let you adjust this, and the new Ranger might do the same.
There are also BMWs, which just got rid of the CX-9, which can say almost the same thing. However, our Mazda does not have random air circulation, but it does occasionally "suspend" the fan for no reason. I haven't understood, now it's someone else's problem. My wife did the same damn thing; she set it to 65, turned off the recirculation, turned off the air conditioner and controlled the fan speed, and adjusted the vents to blow to the feet and face on warm sunny days. My favorite thing to do is to enter, set it to 72, press the "auto" button and continue to ruin all her hard work. My e60 uses the old annoying iDrive, which means setting the climate is a painful thing, so thank goodness, she hardly fiddled with me like I did. The previous article about the BMW/RR wheel in the center of the dashboard applies to this car, except that it is in the iDrive menu. The same concept; you set the control to 72 and then enter the menu to change the intensity of 72 (which also doesn't make sense to me). I just fixed the thermistor in her new/old w220, so I'm curious how she will fiddle with this. For the record, I like the car climate very much. I got it on my 92 Volvo 960 for the first time, and since then there has been no car without it. Your home stove has no unmarked heating/cooling slider and variable fan control, why should your car? I really don’t like playing around with stupid knobs, trying to guess how far the comfortable temperature is in the red zone. I like the car climate very much, and I want all points of my car to be temperature controlled in the same way. I like my heated steering wheel and heated/cooled seats, they are great! Heat the shift knob and door handle on one side! Bring a computer, extra wires, interesting sensors, and all the delightful complications they need! I have fixed them before, I will fix them again, they are totally worth it.
"The same concept; you set the control to 72, and then go to the menu to change the intensity of 72 (which also doesn't make sense to me)."
I found that in my Volvo, when it tried to reach the set 70 degrees, sitting in a warm car and letting my hands *freeze* in the cold air was a bit annoying.
Telling it "you can take a moment to get there" ("intensity") will help.
It makes me want BMW-style ventilated temperature control wheels for the body. I have heard a lot, and some people hate it very much.
It depends on what car it is in. Europeans seem to be better at it. My Subaru has its own ideas, and I often have to put it in the manual to get what I want. Once my system works again, my Volvo will be much better.
Agree that Subaru's climate control is very bad. The system in my '10 Legacy wagon (yes, we have these in New Zealand) seems to apply the following weights to the sensor input:
Outside temperature: 10% Inside temperature: 10% Ambient light sensor on dashboard: 80%
Drive me crazy. The Germans did do better in the following order: BMW> VAG> MB (a considerable sample size, because other people in my large family bought various German cars). That being said, the larger Honda and Toyota vehicles (for example, the Accord and Camry) are also doing well. Smaller ones usually don't have enough cooling capacity to really cool down the cabin effectively.
The same car, the same place, the same problem. Just because there is plenty of sunlight, but the cabin is not so hot, it will blow to the maximum. At other times, when the temperature is set close to the outside ambient temperature, it will blow out a gentle warm air, which should have been gentle cooling, and vice versa.
In my old E90, I really like the REST button, it keeps the cabin warm when I go to the store or anywhere else
My 13 Forester has the worst automatic climate control of all the cars I own, but it is still better than manual.
The real problem is digital control, not automatic climate control. The first-generation Lexus IS has an automatic climate control system that provides three simple analog controls for the entire HVAC system. Stupid is simple to use, there is nothing to break, and it has never caused me problems. Much better than constantly monitoring the engine thermometer.
I installed ACC on several cars and 2 out of 3 are good.
The only exception is Juke. This is the Special Olympics for climate control.
Suppose the outside is 50 degrees, and I only want a mild 65 degrees inside the car. Well, ACC thinks it knows what I really want, so it blows hot air to make it much higher than my target temperature. In fact, if the outdoor temperature is lower than 60 degrees, then any automatic setting higher than 60 degrees will blow out hot air. 60 degrees will blow out icy cold air. A setting of 61 degrees will blow hot air. I can't feel comfortable in that car in winter. At first I thought it just took time to "stabilize". But I was wrong. Even after driving for more than an hour, POS did the same thing. I should add that the behavior is the same whether in automatic mode or manual mode. Imagine driving a car in mid-December, the temperature is set to 61 degrees, and the windows are cracked to prevent sweating.
In the end I just stopped driving it in cold weather and used Focus (rip) to work when it was not warm.
I really, really like old-fashioned, low-tech climate control.
Most automatic climate controls simply do not work properly. When the sun is behind the clouds, 72 degrees may be perfect, but once the sun comes out, you will bake at that temperature-"automatic" climate control takes a long time to determine that the cabin has warmed up.
Give me three knobs-where, how much, how hot/cold.
When I choose a new car, ACC is the main choice I want. When too much blue is too cold, I just get tired of figuring out how much red is just right, and vice versa.
Want to know why it is not the standard configuration of most cars? Of course, it will not cost as much as the screen system of most cars today (note, Honda, Acura, your SUCK).
@mechaman because this is not the problem. If the dealer has two identical cars that I want, one is equipped with ACC and the other does not, I will choose no...for all the reasons mentioned here, but especially because self-driving cars are easy The proportion of failures is high. Time gets older. Repairing yourself is a completely wasteful project, or letting someone else do it will ruin a budget.
For me, mental arithmetic is like this: the estimated cost of repairing a faulty unit multiplied by the probability that the unit will fail during my life cycle is the mathematical expected cost.
Since many car buyers and I believe that there is a high probability of failure during the actual life of the car, and since we all know that if a failure occurs, the repair cost will be high, so we decided that it would eventually cost us hundreds of dollars on average. This is like a hidden tax on vehicles.
Unless you have manual climate control, in this case, your cost and probability of failure are much lower. In contrast, the effective cost of manual control is very small.
As a side benefit, I don't have to worry about my SO playing double ACC banjo with me.
Auto marketers are smart and can solve this problem. The end result is that there are few cars with ACC, enough to satisfy those who do not calculate the lifetime cost but just want to have extra "luxury" and convenience.
There is absolutely no reason to doubt why it is not standard. Standard is the first choice of most people, if you cancel it, you will be at a competitive disadvantage.
I always see forum posts that start with "My EATC (ACC) has stopped working". How can I solve it? "Almost never, "My climate control (manual) has stopped working..."
This is the KISS principle at work.
There is no way to refute your point. It's just that I'm thinking about a thermostat in a building; usually, you set it up and finish it. Numbers and everything. Then I started to think about the difference between cars and buildings—arguing.
Spring and autumn are especially the places where ACC shines. I drove for a drive yesterday afternoon, and my non-ACC FR-S HVAC was set to cool... The temperature dial has been kept cool, the upper vent has air, and the blower is at 2 o'clock. This morning, the temperature was in the middle 50s. I turned the first dial to direct the air to the floor. The second dial lowers the blower to 1. I set the third dial to 1/2 warm. As soon as I got in the car, I turned 3 different dials... When I was driving to work, it needed to be further manipulated. On our Rav4, I usually just press the "Auto" button. Of course, if my wife didn't try to overtake the machine and mess up the fan speed of the blower, I wouldn't even have to press the automatic button. The ACC of the Rav4 is very consistent, and only requires a temperature dial and front demister button. It works very well.
This topic reminds me of a person who made a "modification" on his WRX so that when he turns on the demister, the air conditioner compressor will not start, so that the parasitic resistance of the air conditioner compressor will not harm his performance Or fuel consumption.
What is disturbing is that we are issuing driver's licenses to those who do not know how to work at ACC.
I think it’s more troublesome for us to issue driver’s licenses to people who can’t drive.
I think what is more disturbing is the fact that there are so-called drivers on the road ignoring the lights to turn green.
The only part that can be compensated is that they usually lead me unconsciously instead of accelerating towards me.
I like acc. Put it on BMW, Toyota, Nissan and my house. On Nissan, I can activate it with my phone so that when I'm away, the car can determine whether it needs to be cooled or heated. This cannot be done with a manual system.
Why do I hate it? When I buy a car that is 10 to 20 years old, it usually breaks.
What do you think is broken? Many cars no longer use cables and vacuum cleaners, as if those will have no problems after 20 years, so in fact the same compressors, electric doors and variable blowers are controlled by knobs or ACC brains.
The ACC on my 15-year-old Lexus worked well. I did add some r134a recently, but this happens on any system.
My car has dual-zone automatic climate control. I can say that the only time my wife and I used it was accidental. The car part is great, but the dual zone is useless.
Even more annoying is that automakers insist on running the air-conditioning compressor when the defroster is turned on.
I know this is to provide dry air to help defog the windshield, but at least it allows me to choose to turn it off. The last car I remember giving the driver this option was my mother’s Escort in 1991.
In winter, the air is dry enough, which is not necessary. Just heat it directly. Once the windshield is deiced, I don’t need to use that little extra fuel to run the compressor.
In principle, I am with you on the condenser-defroster issue, but in reality, too many people know nothing about the advantages provided by operating air conditioners in humid conditions. On rainy days, you will still see some idiots completely fascinated from time to time (maybe the air conditioner is not running but the cycle is turned on), but fortunately, I have seen less and less in the past two decades. It may be because of this feature.
I didn't understand air conditioning and humidity until I moved to Texas.
"Once the windshield is deiced, I don't need to use that little extra fuel to run the compressor."
OMG, Ebeneezer, that extra fuel? ? It must cost you a lot of money!
Not to mention cars that use air conditioning and defrosting as a way to run compressors throughout the year to prevent the seals from drying out, etc.
Yes, I *never* turn off the air conditioner of my old Toyota pickup truck.
As a result, when I replaced it 18 years later, the compressor worked well.
If you stop using a new compressor for a long time, you will need to save a lot of fuel to pay for it.
(Especially today, when so many compressors are driven by electricity... Yes, the alternator will naturally load more, but it will be more efficient.)
The only electric compressors are in hybrid and electric vehicles.
What a story about an old woman. You don't need to turn on the air conditioner frequently. My ex-girlfriend drove a 23-year-old Mazda MX-6. She doesn't like wasting resources, so she avoids air-conditioning and defrost-only locations. Her compressor may be turned on twenty times a year, all between June and August. It still works fine and has never been repaired. The air conditioner in her house will probably be used for ten days a year in July and August, right? Yes, this is also very useful.
The same goes for my mother's 17-year-old Sunfire and her air conditioner. My father taught us to use the defrost-only position with the air conditioner turned on only when necessary, and there was no problem with our air conditioning system. I even modified the circuit board on my Mazda3 HVAC unit so that it only activates under my command. I hardly use it, although I did try to run it once a month for six of the nine months, because it is completely unnecessary in my dry northern climate. The other three are too cold to start the compressor. In the 11 years I have owned this car, my average fuel economy is better than the EPA highway rating. If I have been spinning the air-conditioning compressor unnecessarily, I think I can’t tell.
I can tolerate automatically turning on the air conditioner in the defrost only position-especially if I can choose to turn it off-but my Mazda 3 is also set to run the air conditioner in the defrost/floor and floor only settings, and there is no option to turn it off. ridiculous.
My manual control '04 Passat lets the driver turn on the air conditioner while defrosting.
Most manual systems can defrost as easily as 1 2 3.
When every car I remember needs to be defrosted long enough, there are the usual three controls, and turn all three controls clockwise as much as possible to ensure that the windshield is quickly defrosted.
Clockwise, clockwise, clockwise. Thaw immediately.
Even chimpanzees can do this, driving at 70 miles per hour on crowded highways, with reduced visibility due to foggy or icy windshields, at least without thinking or distraction.
In the mild and humid areas of winter, it is sad to watch those idiots walking around with foggy windows. You want to yell, turn on the air conditioning compressor mo-ron! Welcome to Texas.
If the weather is very cold (most cars <~40F), the air-conditioning compressor will not run anyway. In most climates, if the temperature is higher than 40F, unless you live in the desert, you will need to dehumidify anyway. Modern variable displacement compressors use absolute trace amounts of extra fuel at low cooling loads.
What shocked me was how many completely foggy cars I saw on the road in winter.
I can write this article.. I agree with every word. I press 6 9 and automatic, and may not touch the automatic climate control for several months. Only really touched it twice. On days from a few degrees below 69 degrees to 10 degrees, when it thinks it needs to blow hot, but because it is stuffy, you really need some cool air, when you need to clean the front windshield like when it’s snowing .
Exactly. Sometimes I change the temperature setting, but I like my ACC because without it I turn the knob every two minutes and it is always too hot or too cold.
Except for temperature adjustments and turning off the air conditioner several times a year (except in summer), I don't touch it!
I read all the comments. From Pontiac in 1966 to Volvo in 2009, many of my cars are equipped with automatic climate control systems. There have never been any problems. I also have a manual. In many cars, except for my 87 Mazda, I have never encountered any problems. I often hope to have a thermostat during long-distance driving because the air conditioner will become too cold. I do not approve of turning the hot air into Inject cold air and not just recycle the compressor-but it will not recycle the compressor, it will only release hot air. If I don’t need cold air, why continue to make it (and consume fuel to drive the compressor) and then heat it up?
But other than that, I did not encounter any actual problems. I think I was lucky to have ACC and didn't get a bad design.
I think people who hate ACC actually hate bad implementations.
For example, in my Volvo, there are two knobs (passenger side and driver side, yes, I understand that the idea of "dual zone" is stupid in a car of this size) and the actual target setting in F. I just turn each knob to get the desired setting, and I'm done. If I had to go through this touch screen BS, I might want to tear off the SOB and replace it with a potentiometer and a switch. When I was trying to find a car that could be controlled like a car instead of a kid’s latest mobile phone/Ipad/tablet, I was afraid to look for a new car next time. Can we make adults take responsibility for designing car ergonomics again?
I'm pretty sure that most (all?) cars regulate the cooling capacity by discharging hot air into the stream while running A/C. Due to sunlight, small spaces, directional airflow, and uninsulated windows, the temperature changes too quickly to be adjusted by the circulating compressor. (The fan keeps meeting, causing a sultry air to come out of the vent every time the air-conditioning cycle is turned off)
Not all modern cars cycle air-conditioning compressors, with or without automatic climate control, although some cars do more than others. It does not cause a sultry air when the loop is closed. The system pours liquid refrigerant into the evaporator and continues to produce cold until all of it evaporates. Therefore, unless there is a maximum demand like 110 degrees, the system will cycle on and off. Some cars still use thermostatic expansion valves, so they require a much lower load before cycling.
However, they still use the hybrid door to dial in the precise temperature. According to the required temperature, ambient temperature, interior temperature and the precise design of the system, it can mix cooling air and outside air, heating air and outside air, or cooling and heating air. Again, this has nothing to do with whether the system is automatic or manual.
Not all cars have recycle compressors. On my MKV VW, the compressor doesn't even have a clutch. This system only adjusts the displacement of the compressor. When the car gets cold, it mixes in hot air, but it just reduces the compressor to the minimum displacement to maintain the set temperature under most air-conditioning conditions. Mine has a climate, which means it will automatically adjust the temperature to reach the set point, but you can manually control the vent distribution and fan speed. I move it from 72 to 10 times a year. The automatic two-zone system in Ford Flex and Explorer is similar, but it has a clutch that can completely deactivate the compressor when you turn off the A/C switch.
I like it, put the cabin where I want, don't worry. Even using Ford My Touch is very simple.
I have two cars with automatic climate control. In a Japanese car in 2014, I would say that it was indeed better than I expected, and it was basically sold to me technically. On the other hand, General Motors in 2007 insisted on changing the recycling settings, "change" I mean "close." I know that designers think recirculation is a special thing, when you need to cool the air quickly, etc., but in the real world, the outside air is very bad, I know what I want, I want a system that keeps running Recycle 100% of the time.
The recirculation function is turned off after a fixed period of time so that the passenger compartment can get some fresh air. The windows in the car are always foggy because the recirculation function does not close automatically.
Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, moisture, and Taco Bell require recycling options that cannot be maintained forever. The car manufacturer is saving yourself. In addition, your passengers may not want to pickle in your juice.
Do not. In a car with automatic air conditioning, it will keep circulating forever, as do all other cars I own.
My car is not a submarine. Their doors and windows opened. The air is exchanged. Levels of CO, CO2, etc. are not a problem in all but the most absurd situations. I don't have foggy windows because the air conditioner will dry the air. And I don’t eat tacos, let alone put them in my car.
I don’t need the automaker’s savings.
No wonder I see the windows of so many Asian cars are foggy.
For some obvious reasons, the recirculation setting only recirculates a portion of the air, in fact it is just a bypass trap door in the cabin leading to the air intake. Outside smells and dirty things can still enter the cabin directly.
Therefore, the trade-off of avoiding odors by recirculation is that they will still enter the car and stay longer when you return some odors through the system...
But it is nowhere near non-recirculating, and I didn't notice the lingering smell (as if I simply opened up to the outside air).
Only crappy cars have recirculation settings that still allow outside air to enter the car through the climate control system. Okay, there is a sealed door with a binary position. Either fully open or fully closed.
Recir 100% will cause carbon monoxide or moisture to accumulate in the cabin. My 2003 BMW has a smoke sensor. If the air outside has smoke or is very bad, it will go into circulation mode. I know some other manufacturers do the same.
It's good in my Z. In fact, the effect is very good.
The problem is that people are stupid. They don’t read car manuals and don’t understand how the HVAC in the car (or their home) works. If someone tries to patiently explain how the system works, they don’t want to listen, and then complain that the car is hot or cold, the windows are foggy, etc. . ACC is an attempt to solve this problem for most people and increase convenience for everyone.
How many cars have you ridden, when the car gets cold, the driver turns the manual HVAC temperature control to hot, then turns the fan to high, and then keeps this state until the car turns into a sauna, and then turns the fan completely Until the car returns to the refrigerator state? Of course, on hot days, the process is reversed.
Or the car next to you is at a traffic light, because the driver has never turned off the "recirculation" button, so all the windows in the car are completely fogged? Or, the driver sits in a cold car, turns the heater to the hottest and the fan to the highest, does not wait for the engine to be warm enough to do anything good, and then complains about the cold air entering the car.
If the driver is smart enough to set the temperature and (more or less) ignore it, then ACC does a good job of making the car interior comfortable. Since most drivers cannot really figure out how to optimize manual control, ACC is definitely a better choice for most car owners; computers are smarter than drivers.
Sometimes I feel sad for automotive engineers; instead of spending their time creating truly great and interesting features, they figure out how to make things like HVAC completely prove idiots.
"How many cars have you ridden, when the car gets cold, the driver turns the manual HVAC temperature control to hot, then turns the fan to high, and then maintains this state until the car turns into a sauna, and then turns on the fan Shut down completely until the car returns to the refrigerator state? Of course, in hot weather, the process is the opposite."-Honestly, never.
"Or the car next to you is at a traffic light, because the driver has never turned off the'recirculation' button, and all the windows are completely covered by fog?"-Again, I can't think of anything.
"Or the driver in a cold car turns the heating to hot air, turns the fan to the highest level, does not wait for the engine to be warm enough to do anything good, and then complains about the cold air entering the car." – Again, I can't say This has happened before.
I don't know how the people with you are, but the people around you don't seem to be stupid.
My 14 Accord has automatic climate control. It works well. The only thing I don't like about it is that when it starts in heating mode (the cabin temperature is lower than the set value), it blows cold air on my face for a while. As the temperature inside the car rises and the car heats up, the cold air exhausted from the upper vent gradually fades. I haven't found a setting that seems to affect this, but I also don't seem too difficult.
It should remain off in cold weather until the engine gets hot, provided that the fan is under the control of the system (the chart is not shown on the control).
If you don't manually select the mode setting, the air will mainly blow out from the floor vents (a little bit through the side panel vents) and through all the dashboard vents in warm weather.
Give me manual HVAC control ACC anytime.
The concept of "the owner does not know how to use ACC" is not a problem.
The calibration and implementation of the factory system in the car I drive is not consistent with my preferences.
My biggest annoyance is that the temperature has been reached. It is very easy to "maintain" the cabin temperature in a high temperature environment. Usually it blows out mild warm air at a higher volume, but I prefer to blow out "hot" air at a very low volume. The difference in cold weather may be related to cabin dynamics/wind chill/outside air temperature/etc, but it is much more comfortable without a stable breeze.
This is also my complaint about it. I really don't like high fan settings, every acc system I have tried uses them to make the system respond faster. Therefore, I never leave the acc.
Some are better than others, but newer ones will allow you to set fan speed preferences to maintain the current temperature. My 11-year-old BMW did just that; set your temperature and select high/medium/low fan speed to maintain this state. Of course I like to be low, because I don't care about hearing a lot of wind noise, and I don't care about the air all over my face.
Again, this is a bad implementation, unless the ambient temperature is very low or very high or the amount of sunshine is high, otherwise my system has reached the minimum fan speed. They also allow you to set a fixed fan speed if needed.
I like it. I have it on several cars of different brands. This is a technology invented by IIRC and GM about 50 years ago. They call it "Comfortron". (You can write a great article explaining where all the great medieval car adjectives go, but I digress.) With the development of sensors and chips, this technology will only get better. The only time it doesn't work is when some Yingyang comes in and starts to fiddle with it. It's a bit difficult to say calmly, "You set it to 72. You press AUTO. Then you leave it alone, you idiot!" But I will try.
Because in order to increase cost, complexity and weight, I got a solution to a non-existent problem.
Because it usually doesn’t know how to compensate for sunlight
Due to the delay in adjusting the air temperature after changing the desired temperature.
Because the programming is not clear about what I want.
Because I seem to be contrary to Doug in every respect.
Automatically lock the acc for me any day ☺
weight? Zero additional. "Manual" air conditioners have the same actuators and flaps.
complex? Trivial-the same mechanism, just different dials and some software.
cost? Again, trivial-it is *sometimes* in expensive option packages, but it doesn't actually cost more to build.
(Now, preferences? Can't argue. But the system is getting better every year and can be more customized according to preferences.
And I prefer to use the manual system, fiddle with the dial every ten minutes to adjust the temperature during long-distance driving, which is not perfect. )
I like the automatic climate control of the 3 series in 2004. Without it, I would never own another car. "Set it and forget it". Very useful on hot and cold days. A nice detail-on cold days, the fan stays low until the coolant reaches a certain temperature. There is no point in blowing cold wind.
Dual zone automatic climate control? Although I suspect that someone has used it for 57F drivers/84F passengers, it at least gives people a warm and fuzzy feeling, that is, it costs more for DUAL ZONE instead of REGULAR single-zone automatic CC. In addition, I have not seen how many single-zone automatic CCs are offered these days. It is usually manual or automatic dual zone. This is true even for "basic" cars like Focus and Mazda 3.
Oh, I have a very clear memory of the long-distance road trip of the Accord in 2011. The double group on the side of my fiancee was set to 90 degrees, and mine was set to 60 degrees. I said we need a plexiglass partition to separate the car from the middle.
I guess the total metabolism is extreme. When I was comfortable, she was wearing a sweater. When she feels comfortable, I will sweat.
The perfect example is today. It was about 86 degrees outside. When I got home, the air conditioner was turned off and all the windows in the house were open. That just won't cut it. I closed the window and turned on the central air conditioner. I feel good, but she is cold. That's it.
One thing in common (thankfully) is that we all like to sleep in a cold room. But we need a different number of "layers"-trying to make the quilt cover only half of the bed all night can be a challenge. ;)
Yes, dual zone. It's like the smoking and non-smoking areas in a restaurant are next to each other. .
"Why do you want to marry a lizard?"
Dual is actually very useful for creating a few degrees of difference, maintained by air blowing directly into your area. In my G8, my side is usually set between 69 and 72, and my wife's side is usually set between 75 and 78. This is enough to make us both comfortable.
The same is true for my R-350 Mercedes. The wife likes the temperature to be 3-5 degrees higher, which works very well. 72 for me 78 for her.
Once I discovered automatic climate control, I assured myself that I would never buy a car with a manual knob again.
In addition to automatically reaching the required temperature, it also knows (based on my experience with Volvo and Infinity) where to blow air to reach that temperature. For example, if it is hot air, it will blow through the lower regulator, while for cold AC air, it will blow through the top regulator. It took me some time to figure out why my face flushed after using a rental car; automatic climate control has never been a problem.
The ACC on my 2014 Mazda 3 is great. As you mentioned in your experience with Volvo and Infinity, it "knows" to blow heat on the lower register and the top air conditioner, and on cold mornings, it even serves my windshield before switching to heating Defrost. In one year of ownership, I may only need to cover the ACC a few times (usually to let the defroster run longer). Other than that, it has been perfect.
Yes. I kind of like our modern system in 2011 because when it changes the ventilation direction, the CC flow chart will flicker. My 2004 BMW did not indicate where the air is going.
In addition, on cold days, many automotive CC systems will not increase the fan speed until the coolant temperature reaches the minimum temperature. The car knows that it is cold outside, the car knows that you set the temperature to 72F, but the car also knows that the coolant temperature is only 30F... So it makes no sense to blow cold air around the cabin.
I get blowing hot air, rising, through the floor vents, blowing cold air, falling, through the top register, which makes sense from the point of view of temperature distribution...but it ignores the fact that in a cold car, one of them The first thing you want HVAC to do is to defrost the windshield, so it needs to be covered almost immediately after you start the engine.
Every ACC system I have used has a one-button button to optimize the defrost settings. Usually this means windshield vents, A/C opening (higher temperature to compensate), and higher fan speed. Foggy? Push the button. Isn't the smog anymore? play one more time.
Bad implementation again is the problem. On my car's system, when the weather is cold and/or the humidity sensor senses a certain degree of humidity, it will defrost/defog. When the car and the outside are cold, it will start running the fan at the lowest setting during pure defrosting, and then as the coolant heats up, it will slowly speed up the fan and begin to expel hot air from the floor. After a period of time, if the humidity sensor does not show real humid air, it will switch to 90-95% floor and 5-10% defrost.
I like acc. If the interface is good, I like multi-region acc.
My wife hates it. She wants to control the fan directly. She thinks she can get results faster than the machine, because she can't wait for the 15 seconds it takes for the machine to start. I waited until she made things worse before I reopened it.
What is going on with some people? 1.5 years later, my wife still does not understand how to use her extremely simple automatic CC. I told her, just press AUTO and set the temperature you want. She still doesn't understand...? This is easier than the fully manual CC in her last car! ! !
At the risk of being discriminated against by sex, I began to suspect that it was a gender issue. My wife always believes that turning the controls to the maximum will speed up the operation in some way, but all it does is cause you to exceed the desired mark and require another maximum adjustment. She does this in the car, at home, anywhere with temperature control. I have long since given up trying to explain my masculine logic, just waiting for the wash to adjust to the happy medium she originally wanted.
I will take the same risk and agree with you. However, I will take an extra step, just to say that most people (women are a subset of them) are ignorant idiots, thus making me a sexist and a hole.
The problem with dual-zone climate control is that when there is warm, humid, and unstable air on one side of the car and cool and dry air on the other side, the sun will cause some convection and form a tiny thunderstorm between you and the passengers.
How dare you despise the great console twister of 2012! This is a tragedy for all participants. ;-)
The main reason I don't like it and don't use it is that when you use it, the car is always not at the proper temperature, and I can't stand the fan generating heat or alternating current when it is running at full speed. I find that noise is more disturbing than uncomfortable temperature. In addition, I found that I only want a comfortable temperature. When sunlight and other factors are taken into account, the value adjusted to the thermometer does not always guarantee this.
The problem is not automatic climate control, but staying away from the 3-knob system. There are too many things to mess up. My old RSX may have the best and simplest automatic climate system I have ever used.
Knob 1: Automatically set the fan speed. Knob 2: Temperature Knob 3: Wind direction with automatic setting.
You can easily make it do whatever you want, but if you put knobs 1 and 3 on the auto and only adjust the temperature knob, the car will do what it needs according to the temperature. It's not that difficult, I don't know why more cars are not set up like this.
Yes, although automatic is good, dual zone is bad.
This really looks like a system with the best of both worlds! Can I control the on/off of the air conditioner when using defrost? In summer, does it cycle on/off AC power or heat to set temperature?
It sounds like the same system as my second-generation CR-V, and the third-generation has a similar system, but there are dual zones (which can be locked as a single zone) as long as you use it manually, the dual zone is actually pretty good. There is warm air on one's feet, and cold air on one's face. I also think this is the best of both worlds. I don't hate ACC, I just don't believe it really exists... Oh, by the way, the compressor is a clutch, so unless you use cold air, it won't run at all. This is bad, because Honda can't make the clutch system work like the rest of the car, so it will malfunction and it will be expensive to repair...
I am a lover. The only problem I encountered on the Audi A4 in 2003 was the choice of vents. I hate vents that target you directly, but climate control seems to use these vents 70% of the time. By deselecting these vents, you can adjust the fan speed and the air conditioner to be warmer/cooler for several weeks.
I never let these people have climate control, but always random and manual control controls: AC power on/off, fan acceleration/deceleration, temperature increase/decrease. The second is fogging the windows and a series of swear words in damp conditions...
The biggest complaint I seem to hear about automatic air conditioning is that when you start the car, you will hear any temperature of air currently in the duct before the right temperature starts to start. To avoid this situation, I recommend shutting down the system before turning off the key.
In the dual zone mode, it is best to just succumb to the wife's temperature change requirements and set for both parties.
I remember GM’s technical specifications say that even though their cars have dual zones, the passenger’s setting will actually only change the driver’s setting by +/- 2 degrees. Most GM AC devices have only blue/red dials and no temperature readings. So no one noticed.
On my 2010 Ford F-150, when the weather gets cold, it will not blow until the engine reaches temperature, unless you manually overtake the truck or turn on the defrost. Ford provides you with a nob, so you can easily adjust the temperature up and down a few degrees without having to mix and match hot and cold air. The dual zones in the truck work well. My mother and I ridden once. She likes driving at 80 degrees, while I like 68 degrees. When I reach through the cab, I can feel a hot wall. Most cars have poor insulation, so the air coming out of the vent determines the best temperature.
My complaint is that it runs the fan at its maximum. I can't stand the noise, and I don't want the air to blow from the vents at this speed. If the fan peaks at level 3, I will always use it. I have used it in many cars and they all do the same thing. It is more suitable for heating than cold air conditioners, and does not seem to turn the fan. I like that it will not blow any air in winter until the car is warm enough.
My Jetta SportWagen does not have, nor does it have automatic climate control... This annoys me because I have to constantly make adjustments. However, my Golf SportWagen has it, and it works very well. In addition, the interface is clean and there is no need to access any content through the infotainment screen.
My problem with automatic climate control is twofold...it usually vents air from vents that I would not choose, and it chooses a fan speed that I would not choose. I think most people want to make a compromise between getting the cabin to the required temperature in the fastest time, and to strike a balance between not letting air blow out from where we don’t want it and the fan not turning on too strong.
These systems have a task-to reach the set value as soon as possible. When the temperature reaches 10 degrees, I want to warm up, but I don’t want the contact lenses to dry out completely. When the temperature reaches 90 degrees, I want to calm down and don’t put my fingers on the sixth wheel a few inches from the vent. , Turn white and numb.
My other question about ACC is... go look at the ACC section in your handbook-I will wait. Bum-bada-bum bum... well, you are back. Yes, that's right... It is 40 pages long. Screw that.
My 2011 GTI has what I think is perfect... it is a semi-automatic system. It has a thermostat and several well-located temperature sensors. I use a simple rotary dial to control where the air comes out of. I use a simple rotary dial to control the speed of the fan. The third simple rotating dial has actual temperature numbers instead of blue and red like the manual system, as well as a loop button and an A/C button-that's it.
Yes, if the outdoor air temperature is higher than the cabin temperature I want, I must press the A/C button. Yes, if the outside air is hotter or colder than the required cabin temperature, I will have to run the fan at a higher speed. I can handle it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for pointing out what is the unrestricted BS multi-zone HVAC load in the vehicle, with one possible exception... the rear air conditioner of a vehicle with a very large internal volume and distance, such as a minivan.
"It's 40 pages long. Screw that one."
Wow, that must be a complicated car. I just checked the 2014 Nissan manual: 2.5 pages explaining HVAC control; it can be placed on a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper, and its writing level has reached the middle school reading level. If this is too complicated, there is a quick reference guide to boil the entire HVAC system (vents and all) to about a page and a half to the 5th grade level. Maybe 2 minutes to read.
The average cost of a new car is more than $30,000. Is it too laborious for owners to read the instructions so that they understand how the vehicle works and how to make the most of it? Car enthusiasts usually spend hours researching what to buy, test driving, and negotiating prices; is it too laborious to read the f-ing manual to actually figure out how the vehicle operates?
By the way, when I bought my Nissan, I did read the manual. The HVAC has an unremarkable button that constantly allows cold air to be gently blown out of the defrosting vent to prevent the dashboard from radiating heat. If I hadn't read the manual, I would never know.
No, they are not really 40 pages long-I have exaggerated the effect... This is a well-known device, but it may not be so well-known at the middle school reading level.
I am very impressed with the Nissan Manual. This is very concise.
Yes, I did read my user manual.
But one of my complaints still exists-these systems are trying too hard to reach the set point, people eventually surpass the fan speed, they always decide to choose an outlet that is inconsistent with the occupants' desire, so they eventually overwhelm this too. a little.
I have owned five vehicles with ACC in my life, four of which are equipped with dual-zone systems. All five are easy to understand and allow users to use them as a manual system when needed (I don't want) with minimal difficulty. It is true that none of these five people are German.
According to my experience, the Germans do better than anyone else in this regard. The Japanese are really bad. The Americans are somewhere in the middle, even though the often mentioned fan blows too much.
The problem with ACC is that it does not work properly when it becomes very hot or very cold.
On hot days, the system will spray exhaust gas at you until the air conditioner is activated.
On cold days, it will run at full capacity again, blowing cold air before the engine has a chance to warm up. Most importantly, you usually want to clear the windshield first, and then move the airflow down to your feet after the view is clear, which means you have to manually manipulate the damn thing.
So you have an "automatic" system, it will continue to hit you with the maximum power of air, the temperature is completely wrong, and when the outside temperature is lower than "no climate control needed", this requires you to enter multiple overloads. "It's like looking after someone else's loud ADD child.
In addition, if the external temperature changes only a few degrees per day, I am sure that ACC is working properly.
I have never turned on the ACC system before the engine warmed up, including the '89 SHO.
As for the hot air that needs to be cooled, fresh air needs to be drawn into the vents and the system needs to be cooled in some way. Whether you turn on the system immediately or endure a few minutes before turning on the system, you will encounter hot air at first. The same is true in manual systems.
I don't like it because it assumes that the temperature perception is constant. It is not. Sometimes 75 is cold, sometimes 75 is hot. When I drive, it also changes over time. Entering work is usually 20 minutes wa cold machine. But I also drove more than 3 hours to work, which covered huge environmental changes.
Automatic climate control does not work for me. When I borrow my wife’s car, I always find myself turning it off to make the cabin comfortable for me.
For me, this is all about blowing cold air into my face at a constant and even speed. I may wish to have warm air under my feet, I may wish to have conditioned warm air on the windshield, but I wish to have cold air on my face. I haven't found an automated system that can be given to me.
I really hate the ACC in my 2008 Lincoln MKZ. I understand how it works, I understand what it wants to do, but I will never want any climate control on any vehicle I drive to run at full speed, and this is what it does every time I click "Auto" of. Well, maybe if it is 110 degrees and there are passengers behind me, I want it to explode completely, but how often does this happen? I mainly drive it myself and press the button until I get what I want.
The only benefit is the dual zone, for the rare situation where my wife is with me and I am in the sun and she is not. This is a good thing. Otherwise, just give me three simple knobs that I fully control-the best climate control design ever!
BMW did it right too-in automatic mode, the fan speed control changes the relative speed of the fan. If you like a lot of fans, you can make it bigger, and it will use more fans depending on the conditions. Turn it off, it will use relatively few fans. The only way it can make the fan explode is if your temperature reaches HI or LO. Even so, relative fan speed control will play a role. There is no such thing as a “one size fits all”, so the degree of customization that is well implemented is a good thing. I am surprised that Doug did not complain about this feature.
Car, love. Dual zone, if there is a thermal sensor to adjust the sun, that's great, it's only really useful when there is a separate compressor in another zone, such as high-end luxury brands. There have never been four districts.
Surface temperature and ambient temperature.
When you heat up, it is very effective to measure the ambient temperature. It is very popular when you need to cool the vehicle.
The cooling effect of the air flow helps to deal with hot spots from direct sunlight to the glass. Regardless of the actual temperature, the speed and direction of the air flow are as important as the actual temperature in the car.
If you live on the surface of the sun like me, there are only reasonable temperature settings for 8 months of the year. Fan speed and vents are the variables you want to control.
My main problem with ACC is that dual zone is a fraud. You should be able to use the system to create weather. When I set the driver side to 90 and the passenger side to 60, I really want a little thunderstorm in the middle. Instead, I just got the lukewarm nonsense described by Doug.
When gf wants to be "gentle" and I don't want to die of heatstroke, I seem to be lucky. I got air conditioning and she got less cold air* plus heated seats. *
Either it works, or her inner anger towards me keeps her warm. I'm really too lazy to ask.
In the three cars I have used ACC recently, I can't think of anything I don't like. Our current vehicles, the three-zone Odyssey and the two-zone Silverado are running well.
It seems that most complaints stem more from user errors than system errors. I have always been surprised how many people don’t understand how a thermostat works...it is even worse than a car in the home and office.
I have not seen most people agree with you that automatic locking is not good. Those who design the system well love it. Those who have experienced a system designed by idiots, or those who have big idiots change settings to meet their wishes, don't like it.
The same is true for automatic climate control. The well-designed system works well and requires almost no driver intervention. A poorly designed system does not work well and can annoy the driver.
The only time I need to intervene is when the car is usually very humid, I will switch it to direct defrosting for a period of time, and then let the car back. Otherwise I just don't touch the system.
As far as the dual zone is concerned, if you stay within the design parameters, it can work normally. No, it cannot maintain a temperature difference of 30 degrees, most people would say they can make a difference of 15 or 20 degrees. In the real world, although most people keep this difference even lower. In cars, we have a double rather than a single difference, usually 2 or 3 degrees, and we are all happy.
What's the point of having acc? Yes, let your car not only work, but also think! But this only works if the manufacturer you choose to produce the car has done everything correctly. 1. Appropriate heating capacity. 2. Appropriate cooling capacity. 3. The correct size and location of the vent. 4. Take enough time (and therefore invest money) to develop the correct algorithm to make everything go smoothly.
What you see is that if you pay enough for the car, it usually works. For example, in my SAAB 9-3, I can get on a car at 19 degrees Celsius and raining in the Netherlands, and drive directly through Belgium and France to the Riviera coast, where the temperature is 38 degrees Celsius and there is plenty of sunshine, no need to fiddle with Air conditioning controls. I can't do this in my daily driver, Renault Captur (look at you Americans). Also bring ACC. But the heating and cooling capacity is sufficient for the area where I live (we rarely see snow, in summer, when our temperature is above 22ºC (72ºF), we are happy. Anything beyond that range will Let you start fiddling with the controls. You get what you pay for.
I am always happy that the car not only has proper heating and cooling capacity, but also has excess capacity. My very cheap ultra-American car is equipped with air conditioning that can freeze exposed skin and heat, reminiscent of Saab. When driving a long distance last summer, I didn't even notice the temperature rise from 73F (23C) to 105F (41C) until I saw the outside temperature display.
Yes, this is another example of black panther love.
I like the automatic climate control in my Accord Hybrid, but sometimes I turn it off because I don't want it to run the engine when I stop. If it tried to heat the cabin during my short trip home, it would keep running the engine instead of turning it off when it was not needed, and I would get (relatively) poor fuel economy.
Before they started using heat pumps, this was a problem with automatic climate control and hybrid vehicles. If the engine is not running, you can quickly absorb heat from the engine. When my wife is going to work in a mild morning, she usually shuts down the system to keep the engine off for longer. This is a net big drop in altitude, so she can walk quite a bit in taxi/EV mode, or use insufficient fuel to generate enough heat for the heater core.
Except for my 07 Cayman S, all three of my cars have automatic climate control, and many of the previous cars have automatic climate control, but I don't care. I agree that all these multi-regional things are nonsense, but I like it. I forgot to set it once, 70-72°, that's it. In my life, I never understood why some car experts or people like CR would complain about the size or position of climate control knobs, dials, etc. If it is not a manual system, just set it up and forget it. The only exception is the need to speed up the defrost in winter, and this is always a button...press it and let it work, then press it and return to automatic. And, for the record, since I missed the discussion about automatic door locks, it can usually fail... My 07 Mini Cooper has a failure setting hidden in the menu, my Audi Q5 and my wife’s 10-year MB is also like this. On the other hand, I like it. One thing you don’t have to worry about when you yell to people to fasten your seat belts.
Depends on the system used. My 2005 Outback suffered from schizophrenia. Set it to a temperature and wait for the airflow to stop and the fan to drop to normal speed and temperature. Wait 2 minutes and start again. Drive me crazy! However, my 2001 Volvo V70 worked well. It works very well and I often forget it is even there. Regardless of the outside temperature, the vehicle can be kept comfortable.
"And, for the record, since I missed the discussion about automatic door locks, it can usually fail... My 07 Mini Cooper has a failure setting hidden in the menu, my Audi Q5 and my wife's 10 years The same is true for MB. On the other hand, I like it. Yelling at people to wear seat belts, don’t worry."
Similarly. My Acura has a configurable system. I set it to lock when it exceeds 5MPH and unlock when I switch to parking. I don't know why this bothers me. I can't imagine wanting to open my door between these two events. In the rare case I did (to get someone out of the car without changing the parking), there is a small switch on my door that can be unlocked, which is no big deal.
The automatic climate control in my 04 Deville works very well. The temperature is set to 73, and I never have to touch it or adjust the fan speed. From -30 to +90, it makes me feel very comfortable. In winter, the fan will not start until the coolant temperature rises, and in summer the air conditioner will instantly become colder. Once the temperature in the car reaches a preset level (very fast), the fan speed will drop to a quiet level. I have three-zone control, but no passengers felt the need to change one side there. The other thing I like about it is that there are 2 separate sun visors, which can also slide out of their pillars. Surprisingly, many cars, including high-end cars, have bad sun visors.
I prefer automatic climate control instead of having to alternate temperature settings, fan speeds and outlet controls while driving. Set it to the desired temperature and drive it to make the system perform its best.
In other words, every vehicle I own with this feature has better/worse moments in operation.
If the internal temperature is roughly equal to the ambient temperature, our Mazda5 is programmed to basically do nothing. So, after 65 days, you will start the vehicle and there will be no air flow at all, when you want something to move the sun away from the edge of your face.
My '12 MINI controls the recirculation setting and chooses to circulate the internal air most of the time. This may be good, but I sometimes like to smoke pipes and cigars. Recycling cigars is not what I want. It won't escape from the window that I open about an inch. I would rather it allow me to choose or not to recycle in automatic mode.
Our '14 Encore has dual zones, but as mentioned earlier, it is very compact and works well, so no matter how the independent controls are set up, the two front-row passengers have a similar experience.
Our 2007 Corvette actually seems to provide the best experience...Although the cabin is small, I think it is divided enough to work properly.
All of our vehicles are controlled using knobs/rocker switches instead of touch screens, so this helps to make them easy to use or understand.
I am still a fan of these systems and just want to help engineers provide some suggestions on customizing "functions".
I hate that they turn off the air conditioner compressor when the air conditioner is cold enough. I want it to stay cool and dry, not cool and damp.
Every vehicle, whether it is automatically controlled or manually controlled, will cycle the compressor on and off when the A/C is turned on. This is necessary for the survival of the compressor.
I don't use ACC in the world. The fan and temperature settings I want depend on what I wear and how active I am before getting in the car, so I will end up being fooled by it anyway, and ACC is just in the way.
Give me three knobs or give me a different car.
I love my ACC. love it. Without it, you would not buy a new car, period. Will try my best not to buy a crappy used blender without it. During the whole process of my driving, I need to make adjustments every minute or two minutes, and make adjustments every few times. I have been thinking about [email protection] temperature to thinking about more useful things, such as my driving.
On my Audi and Acura, ACC works fine. One thing I don’t like is that they don’t blow warm air from the central vent. This means that I cannot easily heat my right hand while driving. Of course, it is not difficult to push the button to blow the heat out of the vent when needed. Either buy a car with a heated steering wheel or wear gloves.
The problem is that most idiots don't know how it works. On a hot day, even if it is set to 75, the acc will reach the maximum cooling. Therefore, there is no need to increase the fan and adjust the temperature to 65 or maximum cooling. I like the way that acc increases the fan speed and temperature to turn off, and then maintains the desired temperature. Tired of my friends freezing my bejeebus because it was 100 outside. Put this damn thing in a comfortable environment. Set it and forget it!
I currently have a 05 Outback XT with automatic air conditioning, which is probably my least favorite part of it.
The interface of the mode loop button and the free-rotating knob plus the low-level digital display usually requires the eyes to leave the road to make precise adjustments.
Even if the automatic mode is turned off, it will still try to perform most operations automatically. Turn the temperature knob below 72? The air conditioner may just decide to turn on halfway through your drive (even if the weather is not guaranteed). Want a defroster? You obviously also want fans to go all out. I also found it accidentally switched to recirculation, although I am still trying to determine the exact cause of that.
It is also not very good at maintaining temperature. It will work very hard to reach the goals you set, and then get confused about what it actually needs to do to stay there. Random periods of hot/cold fast/slow spikes abound.
I am sure that newer model year vehicles and other brands handle better, but for me a lot of it can be boiled down to three things: 1-I want to be able to adjust my climate control without having to treat them as much as possible . 2-I want to control when the air conditioner is turned on or off. 3-I like my vents to spit out air at a stable temperature and speed of my choice, and don't mind making 2-3 small adjustments during driving to maintain this (#1 is also provided).
Yes, I have to buy something other than Subaru for one year, just to see what this "automatic climate control" is. My Legacy GT has it in name, it's dual zone.
In the second winter, thick frost formed on the car. After starting, I put it in the car at 22 degrees Celsius and then returned home. After 45 minutes, the ice on the skylight melted, but the windshield had not been completely removed. It's totally useless.
Don't even consider driving it with Auto in cold weather. Since there was not enough heat to get there, the slush froze on the windshield. The only hope is to fully heat up in manual defrost mode. all the time.
Now in the summer, Auto seems to be just a bit bad. The head temperature is high, the knees are frozen, and the fan speed is split. But after a while I got a headache, when I saw it was still circulating and tried to cheer me on, sure enough.
I can totally believe that Subaru's CC is the worst. None of the three I own have real foot vents. They just blow out from a fuzzy hole under the steering wheel boss on the dashboard. Tragic.
The only way to proceed is to control things manually. The successful entry ACC on the specification sheet is only a nominal function.
Once again voted for Subaru's worst climate control. My favorite is the dual zone in the inland area, where you can't connect the area where you have to twist the two knobs. At least wrx has a simple 3-knob single zone.
Oh man, I forgot about winter, yes. If it is icy/muddy, a complete manual defrost is absolutely necessary. Also agree with the boring foot exhaust.
I don't like automatic climate control. My typical situation is that it is the heating season, blood pressure is a little low, and fingers tend to get cold. I want the system to blow hot (not hot) air on my fingers until they get hot, which takes a while. Unfortunately, the system does not have temperature sensors for passenger body parts, such as the temperature of the driver’s fingers; it only has a cabin air sensor. Since my fingers have more thermal mass than the air in the cabin, the temperature of the air in the cabin will gradually rise, while the fingers remain cold. I don't care about the cabin temperature; I want the system to ignore it, because the most important task is to get my fingers to the proper temperature. Unfortunately, changes in the cabin temperature will cause the system to adjust, so I need to constantly change the thermostat settings to maintain a constant temperature of the output air. This results in much more control on the automatic climate control system than on the manual system.
Once the car has been running for more than 45 minutes, the automatic climate control will come into play. But the first 45 minutes is annoying, and most trips are shorter than this. The dual-zone manual control system would be an ideal choice.
All three of my cars have automatic air conditioning. I like it and will continue to look for a car that owns it. Simple, efficient and effective. I have never had any problems with the effectiveness of its work. I especially like that I can operate it with few adjustments.
The ACC in my 4Runner is much smarter than the ACC in my 911, but I rarely use them. I hate it when the AC compressor engages when ACC is selected. Just give me the knob and I will be very happy.
As you pointed out, duel ATC is one of the reasons. The other is more troublesome. If I am very hot, I just want to let a lot of cold air blow on me instead of waiting for it to blow a little bit of cold air intermittently.
There is also a very good third reason, at least valid for Panther platform owners like me, is that their EATC keeps opening and closing the pipes in the dashboard, and finally the hinges start to bind, leaving the owner either cold or cold. Constantly hot. In terms of dollars, the remedy is a relatively inexpensive component, but it takes a lot of time to remove the dashboard, remove the problematic hybrid door mechanism, and install a new one.
Those of us Panther owners who "unfortunately" did not purchase the upsell option to receive the EATC option will not encounter this problem. Those who get EATC almost always encounter this problem sooner or later.
Thank you very much. I can get hot as much as I want. I don’t have to worry about turning on the heating in summer and turning on the air conditioner in the coldest winter.
Although I am only familiar with this problem on Panthers, I also encountered this problem on the Volkswagen Diesel Rabbit once. I remember that I paid the dealer to put down the dashboard and replace it. Thirty years ago, more or less, I remember a small repair fee of two hundred dollars. I don't know if this is a common point of failure for that car, but again, ATC is very costly, just because it is automatic and cyclical.
I like some of the beautiful features of my Grand Marquis, but in most cases, the KISS motto is the best strategy, and ATC is one of the best examples of why it is the best strategy.
Its value is limited, and its shortcomings are significant. I would never think it was a plus sign, in fact, I would think it might be a minus sign.
When I recently purchased my 97 Grand Marquis, the two things I cared about most were whether the plastic intake manifold was replaced (it has) and whether the car has EATC (it does not). Both of these things make me happy and make me sleep better at night because they are two of the most expensive repairs that can happen, apart from normal wear and tear, as any Panther owner can tell you , Not something that loses a lot of sleep.
In my dual climate control, I sometimes set the left side to warm my feet and the right side to cool my upper part. I point to the correct vent.
Two reasons: Regional warfare, and the need to remove the dashboard to repair the automatic temperature control hybrid door when the continuous cycle is interrupted without operator input.
I would rather manually set the controls every time I get in the car than spend a weekend pulling and replacing the dashboard and hybrid door.
Too much automation. The point of revenue has been reduced.
My Mazda 3 has a three-zone...a true three-zone (fan accelerates or decelerates with the blow of hot or cold wind), and it works very well. You forgot one thing... the hot air barrier effect. Basically, as far as I know, because the molecules bounce at different speeds, cold air encounters hot air and forms a barrier. If alone, yes, they will mix together, shake hands and sing kumbaya. Fortunately for us, we have AUTO, as you wisely said, it controls the temperature of each zone. Therefore, these fast and slow bouncing small molecules will never have time to meet.
My wife is born a very cold person and needs to be heated as much as possible. I used some cold spells to fight back and calm me down. It works very well!
I agree with you. I like automatic climate control, and I like watching your videos, Doug!
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