Update: I still think automatic climate control is complete garbage

"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
03/01/2018 at 11:51 • Filed to: first world problems

How does anyone like this trash? I’ve given it an honest try, but it’s so unnecessarily complicated. For example, One day the car’s thermometer said it was 65 outside. That’s a nice temperature, so I set the temp on 65 and press the auto button and..... The A/C compressor comes on wtf. It wasn’t noticeably hotter in car than out, but turning on auto climate always causes either the A/C to kick in from half power to full, or the same for heat.

And even if you have the auto climate off. Still the only way to adjust the air is by selecting a numerical temperature. So if you’re OK with the outside temp, you better know that shit within a few degrees or it’s just gonna hit you with tons of A/C or heat.

Just give me a goddamn red and blue line.

TL;DR

DISCUSSION (45)

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 11:54

hahayoustupidludditeshutupandcrankyourmodeltalready

Nibby > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 11:55

I ALWAYS set it manually. I hate auto climate control too.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 11:56

Auto climate control, like most things, works well if it’s set up well in the first place.

As far as A/C goes, most of the time it’s using it more to dry the air than to cool it. Like you would do in winter to deal with windows that simply won’t stop fogging.

Also, “Auto A/C” may not necessarily mean the A/C is on, just that it has taken control of it.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 11:56

Maybe you haven’t experienced a well made Auto system yet. Mine keeps me perfectly comfortable and eliminates the need to be constantly fiddling with the HVAC all day. I just pick a temperature and that’s it.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
03/01/2018 at 11:58

Ash78, voting early and often > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 11:59

I’ve had auto climate control for about 10-12 years and still hate it. The euphemisms like “Econ” for “compressor off” or “auto” for “I do whatever the hell I want” just make no sense.

For example, it it’s a nice day and I want the windows down and vent on:

Manual: A/C off, full cold. Done. Now outside air is coming through the vents.

Auto: A/C off, Auto off, temperature down push push push push push....then it says “Low” which means “whatever temperature it is outside.” Because anything higher and the heat might randomly kick on. And in my car, the fan will raise its speed while I’m lowering the temp because it thinks it has to work harder to get there. So then I have to adjust the fan speed, too.

Argh. These are genuine safety issues, IMO, since they take your attention from the road. And rotating knobs are always better than buttons and slightly better than sliders.

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
03/01/2018 at 12:00

Came here to say this. Using “Full Auto” in my wife’s 2017 Outback is perfect. Doing the same in my ‘04 Grand Cherokee.....not so much.

Aremmes > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:01

What’s so complicated about it? Just pick a temperature and let the thing do the rest. The magic box then sets the fan to max if the difference between inside air and target temp is large enough, slowing it down the closer it gets to the target. That’s how it worked in all three of the cars with automatic climate control that I’ve owned (two Suzukis and a Honda). My wife, being mechanically challenged, always tried to use it like a manual unit and then complained that the interior got too hot/cold.

Urambo Tauro > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:02

Manual HVAC isn’t enough of an inconvenience to warrant automatic controls, IMO. I feel the same way about rain-sensing wipers. The switch is close-at-hand, so why do I need any help? It just adds complexity, cost, and unpredictability.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Ash78, voting early and often
03/01/2018 at 12:03

Preach! I have had 3 cars with Auto Climate control so far. Never once touched that button

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:05

Works great in ever old Buick I’ve been in. I keep it at 69 degrees, if the internal temp is significantly hotter or colder than that it’ll go full blast or wait until the engine is up to temp and then ramp up the fan until it’s within a couple degrees then calm down and inch closer. Also automatically manages the blend doors and stuff. Works really well, never had a complaint. A couple times I’d be like “hm it feels a bit warm in here” just in time for the fan to kick on and gently puff some cool air at me.

CB > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
03/01/2018 at 12:06

I miss that guy.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:06

I can’t stand it. I tried it and it fogged up my windows harsh.

No thanks. I am not so lazy that I can’t set my own temp.

TechJunky > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:08

Not all auto climates are made equal. In my parents Ford Flex, it mostly works but does result in occassional hot or cold air that you don’t want, and you have to adjust periodically. Meanwhile, in my Accord, I never touch it except to adjust temperature. If it’s a little warm, I knock it down a degree or two (68-69). If it’s a little cool, I bump it up a few (71-72). It does the rest. It doesn’t turn the fan or temperature up until the car is able to produce the temperature required, and then will turn it back down once the temperature is met. After that, it just does its thing and maintains the temperature extremely well. It has spoiled me greatly.

MonkeePuzzle > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:09

I’ve never understood auto climate control. 3 knobs (temp, fan, direction) and a button for ac on or off wasnt exactly hard.

LongbowMkII > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:10

I set mine at 69* (nice.) and dont worry about it too much. sometimes need to adjust for an intensely sunny day or windows fogging, but its generally good. it generally tries to kick the a/c on but just hit the a/c button again and done.

facw > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:10

Works great for me. Just set it and forget it. Why are you even worrying about the outside temp? Just set it to something comfortable and it will take care of it. Admittedly, mine doesn’t blast the air unless the car is really hot.

I do have the problem that my blower motor is on the way out, and can’t go above ~70% without making noises that sound less than ideal, but luckily it’s easy to override the blower setting, and still works well.

LOREM IPSUM > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:12

I just wish the Germans could equip their vehicles with a blower motor and resistor that will last the life of the vehicle. My last 3 German made vehicles all had the blower go out on them. (Merc, Bmw, Cadillac badged Opel)

In contrast I’ve had American cars, some of which were older than I am, and an assortment of Japanese vehicles, none of which have ever had a blower failure.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:12

To agree with others, good auto climate is good, bad auto climate is frustrating as hell.

My 2001 Honda had auto climate and I pretty much left it set to 70 for the 5 years I owned the car and it was always comfortable in the car. I miss that system.

My 2013 Volvo on the other hand... isn’t as good. During the winter I have to prod it into giving more heat whereas in the summer it seem to need encouragement to give me more AC- OMG I just realized my ambient air sensor is probably biased hot...

Anyway, the Disco runs somewhere in the middle in performance. With 72 being comfortable in most situations, but needed extra help when the exterior temperature is at an extreme.

I will say having actual buttons and knobs, where appropriate is good. The Volvo and the Honda have knobs for the temperature and fan speed, and designated buttons for each “zone” (face, feet, defrost, etc) where as the Disco has an inferior setup with just buttons for everything and it is bad.

so... tl;dr is: Yes, badly designed auto climate is inferior to traditional, but there are some good examples too.

404 - User No Longer Available > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:21

Don’t mind either. I used the “recommended” settings most Bimmer people are saying: set to full Auto, fix the desired ambient temperature, and use the red/blue wheel in the middle of the vents on the dash to adjust temperature.

Works just like the blue/red dial on my Solstice.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:26

Mine works great. I set it at 72 and leave it. The inside temperature is great and the windows don’t fog up. I only fiddle with it when I need the front defrosted quickly.

Sovande > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:29

Set it at a temperature you like and leave it there. It’s a pretty simple system to understand. If you set it at 68 and it’s hotter than that, the AC will come on. If it’s colder the heat will come on.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:33

Just roll down the windows.

I also hate auto climate control. After driving my car for a while I know exactly where I like it based on the outside temp. Even things like having the sun shade open on the moon roof affect the temp.

Kinja'd!!!

Textured Soy Protein > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:41

In every car I’ve had with auto climate control, if the auto climate control kicks on the a/c, you can press the a/c button and it’ll turn off the compressor but stay in auto mode.

In my 335xi sometimes the auto climate control gets way aggressive with blasting the fan on high speed in which case I pop it into manual mode and all is well.

This has never caused me significant aggravation.

Hammerdown > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:42

I’m currently car shopping and looking for something with auto climate control. I like being able to set and forget...

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
03/01/2018 at 12:49

It helps that mine has 18 fan speed levels. It lets it fine-tune the air flow perfectly.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Urambo Tauro
03/01/2018 at 12:51

I used to feel the same way until I daily drove a car with rain-sensing wipers in my former E39. They were pretty damned glorious, and I miss them at least a little bit. Find the sensitivity setting you like and then you never have to adjust the wipers as the intensity of the rain changes. Then again, I’ve also liked the auto climate control in my cars that had it.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 12:54

I’ve liked the auto climate control on the cars I’ve owned that had it. I just set the temperature I want and then never have to adjust anything else most of the time.

TeamPunkassRacing > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 13:02

I loved it in my FiST. I set it at 69* (of course) and just left it like that. Sometimes I’d set it to 73* if it was cold though.

The only one who complained was my wife if we got in, and the fan automatically ran at a high speed for the first few minutes.

t0ast > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 13:21

I’m sure they can be done well... but the one in my ‘05 Outback XT most definitely does not fall into that category. Even outside of Auto mode, A/C and/or recirc. have a tendency to get flipped on randomly unless you explicitly toggle them at some point during the drive. This is made especially annoying because unexpected compressor drag tends to get in the way of smooth manual transmission operation. Also the defrost button is not only separated from the main vent selection button (which toggles through every other mode, including combined defrost/floor) but also likes to override the current fan speed settings, often jumping straight up to full blast.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > facw
03/01/2018 at 13:28

Because it always over corrects. If I set it to 75 when it’s 80 out, it’ll run the A/C on full blast until the inside gets to 75. It’s annoying, because 80 isn’t that bad, I just want a little bit off A/C. And if the temperature is fine outside, you can’t just set it to just blow in outside air without heating or cooling it, you have to pick a temperature to set it too.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 13:32

The dual-zone climate control is great in both my cars. Just set it and ignore it unless uncomfortable, aside from switching it to/from auto when it’s warm out (I usually turn the A/C off) and turning the defroster on/off (which engages the A/C when it’s on). I like ~67-70, depending on my mood and ~72 when I’m warming up (plus heated seats & wheel on). I play with the seat heaters more often, honestly, because they only have three settings and don’t automatically maintain a specified temperature.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Urambo Tauro
03/01/2018 at 13:35

Good rain-sensing wipers are amazing, especially in places where rain isn’t constant/consistent. Like almost everywhere I’ve lived aside from California. Hell, on the one I have, I just leave it in auto and let it wipe when it wants to.

Chariotoflove > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 13:59

What is this heresy I read? Auto climate control is the bees knees. It’s not great for quick cooling on a hot day or quick heating on a cold day. What it’s best at is maintaining comfortable equilibrium over a longer drive.

My car is garaged, so I don’t deal with starting extremes very much. I have the temp set at 74F, and it just comes on and keeps me comfy. I had manual control the previous 13 years, and it was fine, but I just had to adjust it to keep at a comfort point while driving. It wasn’t a hardship, but I do enjoy my new little luxury.

Chariotoflove > Urambo Tauro
03/01/2018 at 14:01

I’ve always wanted rain-sensing wipers, and now I have them. I hate having to keep adjusting the wiper speed on a drizzly day depending on speed or being splashed.

functionoverfashion > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 14:07

I agree with respect to nearly every car I’ve driven, except my E46. In that car, I rarely change the temp setting from 68, year-round. It just... works. I turn on the A/C manually when necessary for cooling in the summer, or moisture removal like last weekend when I had a car full of snow-covered kids and all their wet clothes.

I remember a trip from New Jersey to New Hampshire in the fall, where the temp outside varied from 40F to close to 65F and back, clouds to full sun to darkness, and I didn’t touch the control ONCE in 6 hours.

There are a few times when I’ll mess with it, but they are few and far between. I’ve never driven another car where the auto climate worked so well.

Now, on the whole, I’d still take the 3-knob system any day (temp, direction, fan speed) with a separate a/c button.

Can we take a moment to recognize this insanity?

Kinja'd!!!

Who thought it was OK to make me choose between the location and the status of a separate, but related system? That’s like combining the volume and tuning knob on the radio.

random001 > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 14:21

You do know that it’s also measuring humidity, and usually runs the AC to cut that down to reduce window fogging, right?

Arrivederci > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 15:54

Works great in every car I’ve owned with it (Lexus, Subaru, Audi, Kia). I just set it and forget it until I get cold or hot inside the car, then increase or decrease the temp two degrees and that usually sorts it out.

Arrivederci > Urambo Tauro
03/01/2018 at 16:04

Completely disagree - automatic climate control can regulate temperature across multiple zones in the car. My wife is usually cold, I’m usually warm, so having two zones of automated control is extremely nice.

Automatic wipers can be good if they’re developed well. I’ve had two cars with them - Mazda CX9 and my Audi S3. They worked BRILLIANTLY on the Mazda. Very rarely did they not change speed or start wiping when I would’ve had I been controlling them manually. The ones in my Audi SUUUCCCCKKKK. As soon as the tiniest pellet of water hits the windshield, they start wiping. So that smears everything around and makes a big ol’ mess.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
03/01/2018 at 16:44

yeah the auto in our 04 explorer kinda sucks so we rarely use it but id imagine its come a long way in 14 years

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 17:53

I like it. I’m not normally a fan of things automatic, but this I don’t mind. I usually just turn off the A/C compressor if it doesn’t feel humid, and wish I could disable it from automatically starting, particularly in winter.

My car has nice round knobs, so I can just reach down and turn it without needing to take my eyes off the road. The W210 had fiddly buttons and that was a bit of a distraction, but a proper, simple system like I have now is a thing of joy.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 18:01

>Complains about one variant of the system from one car

For Sweden > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 18:59

I’ve heard some takes but this is the worst. All cars should have automatic climate control, just as all houses should have a thermostat.

Nauraushaun > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/01/2018 at 23:42

I agree. Fuck an actual temp. I want hotter or colder.

Especially when I have the roof off which is almost all the time. You’re not gonna get the whole cabin to 19 anyway, just give me coldness until I say stop.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
03/06/2018 at 14:38

I have noticed that my STi has an “Auto” setting but I have yet to ever use it. If I want cold, I set it to cold. If I want hot, I set it to hot. Same as it has always been for decades. No idea why I would ever bother with the Auto setting.

But I also live in Socal so I usually just have the windows open and don’t mess with HVAC.