Auto = Awful, a Climate Complant

[jjrandorin]

(moderator note)

Before it goes any further, I do not think this website is the proper place for a Theological debate. Nothing has quite crossed the line yet, but, just like politics, its pretty much inevitable that it will as it relates to what this website allows. Please return to discussing the auto climate controls in this thread vs other topics.

Thanks

 

[XPsionic]

Am I day dreaming? I swear in my car I could aim the vent whenever I like and the rest of the AC system is still in Auto?
Also when I feel a bit hot I just tap minus 1 on the temperature, when I feel cold I tap plus 1. I don't find the auto climate in my BMWs and Porsches work any better than the Tesla, none of them have an IR scanner that knows exactly how I'm feeling at the moment.

If you're really lazy you could even yell at the Tesla "I'm hot!" "I'm cold" and the car will do the +/-3F for you.

 

[Zcd1]

“Auto” climate control has never worked well for me in any car.

In winter, I set the temp at about 67 and fan speed to 2, with air going to the windshield and footwells and I’m good. (seat heater on 1)

 

[father_of_6]

Am I day dreaming? I swear in my car I could aim the vent whenever I like and the rest of the AC system is still in Auto?

You can definitely point the forward airstream anywhere, but the 3 button choice of up, forward, and down (a.k.a. windshield, face, and feet) are chosen by "auto".

Perhaps my car is an outlier, but it seems to strongly prefer blowing at the windshield (the already very clear windshield), leaving the humans feeling cold while still using just as much energy.

That anyone thought they could *know* where to point their air to begin with is mind-boggling to me.

Another goofy climate issue is that the front passenger seat heaters icon hides itself when you turn off the fan-based climate controls... so you can no longer tell if it's on or not, which wastes additional energy when there's no one sitting in the seat. What's the benefit of this? More "whitespace"? Doesn't make any sense.

 

[ay221]

I'm trying out auto again since they added the fan levels. Will see how long that lasts before I change it back

 

[stopcrazypp]

Am I day dreaming? I swear in my car I could aim the vent whenever I like and the rest of the AC system is still in Auto?
Also when I feel a bit hot I just tap minus 1 on the temperature, when I feel cold I tap plus 1. I don't find the auto climate in my BMWs and Porsches work any better than the Tesla, none of them have an IR scanner that knows exactly how I'm feeling at the moment.

If you're really lazy you could even yell at the Tesla "I'm hot!" "I'm cold" and the car will do the +/-3F for you.

When using AC during hot weather vs heat during cold weather, it seems to be different. I don't recall the same issue when using AC during hot weather (although it could be because during hot weather I care less about which section it comes out), but in cold weather, when in auto, the windshield, face-level, or foot-level vent choices are grayed out (noticed it when trying to switch to windshield-only).

 

[SDRick]

Simple fix for me.
Had the mobile tech replace the interior temperature sensor.
If it worked properly before, mostly likely it is a bad sensor.

 

[cappo3]

Simple fix for me.
Had the mobile tech replace the interior temperature sensor.
If it worked properly before, mostly likely it is a bad sensor.

I had both the exterior and the interior sensors go. I noticed the exterior went wonky because it was indicating stupid temperatures on screen (I was in southern Italy in July, so I guess it was hot... But not 122f hot). The broken interior sensor really ruined the auto climate feature. It's better with the new sensors... and still hopeless.

 

[davewill]

Just to be clear, turning on Auto HVAC does NOT engage the auto seat heaters. They have their own "auto" setting. I know because I like the auto seat heat and my wife doesn't.

The one thing I want, and no recent car I've owned has had, is a way to turn off the heat in the same way you can turn off the AC. It's really annoying to get into a cool car in the morning, knowing that the sun is going to warm it up quickly, and have the heater kick in. The only way to avoid it is to turn off Auto, turn off AC and turn the temperature all the way down. Dumb.

 

[andy.connor.e]

When I purchased my M3 two years ago, the climate controls were the bee's knees. Being able to start both heating and cooling from the phone and having the interior temperature heat or cool so quickly meant never getting into an oven or icebox again.

Fast-forward two years and it's all hogwash. "Auto" has ruined the experience. In every case, "auto" tends to imply that I'll have to fidget with the controls very frequently while driving. What a hassle.

First and foremost - auto seat heaters. In no circumstance will my car ever know whether or not I want heat on my butt and/or how many bacons. Okay, I suppose there could be *one* circumstance - neuralink... but I'll never accept the mark of the beast, they'll have to cut my head off.

The only "auto" that the software initially had for me (v10) was for fan speed control, and that was perfect.

Now, the car wants to control *where* the vents point, and far too often it points at the windshield for no good reason (when it's totally clear, and I'd be happy to manually enable/disable defrost as needed).

The worst part is that changing the vent direction disengages "auto", which means manually controlling fan speed. Enabling "auto" again then *also* enables auto seat heaters... I CAN'T WIN!!!

It feels like an endless game of fidgeting. I'm so very over it. I want control to write my own UI. Tesla be damned, I'm just not sure I ever want to own one again.

Another issue - I often preheat the car... usually 10 or 15 minutes in advance on HI with heated seats, but when I get in the car, the seats are cold and the seat heaters are off. Sometimes the vents are not very warm as well... however this issue is inconsistent - one time it seems to work, another the seats are cold and the cabin is tepid.

Thanks for reading. I feel better now (not really though).

Ditto. I preheat the car, but I generally set the temp and fan speed and forget it. I adjust if it's too hot or cold. Never been a fan of auto climate. And anything auto if Tesla is garbage except highway autopilot.

 

[father_of_6]

Just to be clear, turning on Auto HVAC does NOT engage the auto seat heaters. They have their own "auto" setting. I know because I like the auto seat heat and my wife doesn't.

It does for me. To be clear, it doesn't happen when you turn climate controls on... it happens when you switch from "manual" to "auto" on the climate screen.

This will force the seat heaters into auto mode, which is a toss up at that point - sometimes it'll turn then from off to high, sometimes the other way around.

 

[andy.connor.e]

It does for me. To be clear, it doesn't happen when you turn climate controls on... it happens when you switch from "manual" to "auto" on the climate screen.

This will force the seat heaters into auto mode, which is a toss up at that point - sometimes it'll turn then from off to high, sometimes the other way around.

Yes, this is also why I won't use auto climate.

 

[cappo3]

Just to be clear, turning on Auto HVAC does NOT engage the auto seat heaters. They have their own "auto" setting. I know because I like the auto seat heat and my wife doesn't.

The one thing I want, and no recent car I've owned has had, is a way to turn off the heat in the same way you can turn off the AC. It's really annoying to get into a cool car in the morning, knowing that the sun is going to warm it up quickly, and have the heater kick in. The only way to avoid it is to turn off Auto, turn off AC and turn the temperature all the way down. Dumb.

Mine does engage auto seat heating... Weird indeed. Are you sure it doesn't on yours?
I agree with your second point, I'd prefer to have more control on what the heater is doing. It's guesswork at this stage, setting a temp that seems lower than the current one. I go for MIN on other cars, but here the AC kicks in automatically and it's one more step to deactivate. Dumb.

 

[father_of_6]

Any "Auto" feature in any car sucks.

While I can't personally vouch for this, I suspect that "auto" is hard to get right in a lot of cases. I don't even need "auto", but the problem is that in a Tesla, "manual" is typically severely lacking.

In most cars I've owned, there are 3 climate dials - one for where the air comes from, one for the temp (red to blue gradient), and one for intensity (e.g. 1-5). Since these are tactile, it's easy to do without taking your eyes of the road... and rather quickly too.

In the Model 3, it seems like I have to adjust the climate controls far more often, and doing it feels like playing with a tablet while driving.

 

[Zcd1]

While I can't personally vouch for this, I suspect that "auto" is hard to get right in a lot of cases. I don't even need "auto", but the problem is that in a Tesla, "manual" is typically severely lacking.

In most cars I've owned, there are 3 climate dials - one for where the air comes from, one for the temp (red to blue gradient), and one for intensity (e.g. 1-5). Since these are tactile, it's easy to do without taking your eyes of the road... and rather quickly too.

In the Model 3, it seems like I have to adjust the climate controls far more often, and doing it feels like playing with a tablet while driving.

I find that the Model 3's climate control requires far less adjustment than any other car I've owned, and that the UI's ability to tailor the airflow to my liking is far beyond and better than any other car I've owned.

*shrug*

 

[father_of_6]

I find that the Model 3's climate control requires far less adjustment than any other car I've owned, and that the UI's ability to tailor the airflow to my liking is far beyond and better than any other car I've owned.

*shrug*

Wow. Maybe I *do* have some failed sensors.

 

[Zcd1]

Wow. Maybe I *do* have some failed sensors.

You know that you can simply use the voice recognition system to say "Set cabin temperature to X" or "Set fan speed to Y", right?

I should add that I rarely use the automatic setting, preferring the lowest comfortable fan speed at all times.

 

[SDRick]

Once the mobile tech put in the new interior sensor, I've only needed to occasionally change the temperature 1° . It is pretty much set it and forget it.

 

[father_of_6]

You know that you can simply use the voice recognition system to say "Set cabin temperature to X" or "Set fan speed to Y", right?

That's even worse than touch controls, IMO.

 

[Zcd1]

That's even worse than touch controls, IMO.

Okaaaaayyyyy