HVAC UI design sucks

[Zaphod]

My friend, who is a Sherrif's Deputy, told me this:

To me, manipulating this while driving is asking for trouble. I don't think I could bust drivers for this, since it's part of the car, but if it didn't control vital features of the car, I'd treat it like someone using their mobile phone. Its designed for a future where driving is a distant memory.

That's absolutely silly. So does he feel he should "bust" people for changing something on the radio? What about already existing HVAC controls? How are those any different? I don't see these controls taking any more focus and concentration to use.

 

[Zaphod]

I'll tell you, I'm not concerned with the air vents too much. What I'm more concerned about, being in the cold climate that is Canada, is the defrost and floor vents. Haven't seen anything regarding how they work.

Defrost is still the main vents at the base of the windshield. Floor vents would have to assume are normal design but hasn't been mentioned. Just think of the slot vent on the 3 as replacing the discrete vents normally located on the dash. Rest of it is the same as any other HVAC.

 

[jsmay311]

That's absolutely silly. So does he feel he should "bust" people for changing something on the radio? What about already existing HVAC controls? How are those any different? I don't see these controls taking any more focus and concentration to use.

Knobs and physical buttons and manually-adjustable vents are fundamentally different than touchscreen controls: They can be adjusted using only peripheral vision and touch/tactile feel without taking one's eyes off the road.

How that isn't obvious to people, I don't understand.

The Gen 2 Volt got overwhelmingly positive reviews from owners for going away from touchscreen controls and capacitive-touch buttons for its climate controls and going back to traditional dedicated physical buttons and knobs for exactly this reason.

 

[electracity]

Seems like voice control is a good UI for HVAC. Almost everyone uses only a couple of manual vent settings. Fan speed and temp looks to be always available at the bottom of the screen, so those changes should require only a quick glance as in a standard dash. I'll bet almost no one changes fan speed on a conventional car without looking. I don't.

The major immediate vent change is typically 1) Need max defrost. 2) Wife too cold.

 

[chronopc]

Knobs and physical buttons and manually-adjustable vents are fundamentally different than touchscreen controls: They can be adjusted using only peripheral vision and touch/tactile feel without taking one's eyes off the road.

How that isn't obvious to people, I don't understand.

The Gen 2 Volt got overwhelmingly positive reviews from owners for going away from touchscreen controls and capacitive-touch buttons for its climate controls and going back to traditional dedicated physical buttons and knobs for exactly this reason.

If people care that much about physical button to control the AC, then by all means go and by the Gen 2 Volt. The 455k+ people in line will thank you.

 

[eSpiritIV]

Jason covers it quite well over at Jalopnik

http://jalopnik.com/this-first-look-at-the-tesla-model-3s-dash-controls-is-1797857601

Yes the car is barely born.. and I bet this HVAC UI was a proto just to get the stuff working in the car.. And somebody said, "works well enough, leave it". It's an unfinished concept. Stub of a thing. Yes, it makes air flow with user inputs. But ...

I hope Tesla does a major improve on this before I get my 3.

I think EVERYONE else besides Jalopnik likes the HVAC design. Sure some software tweaks may occur during updates, but as a whole the design is killer!

 

[eSpiritIV]

Scott, I'm curious if you know (or can imagine) why Tesla made the decision to control the vents through the touchscreen?

There is way less moving parts and only one vent as opposed to 4 in traditional cars.

 

[Craig9080]

If people care that much about physical button to control the AC, then by all means go and by the Gen 2 Volt. The 455k+ people in line will thank you.

That comment is a little harsh confronted with the reality that a touchscreen is more dangerous to operate than physical controls while driving. I know the 3 is a incredibly safe car, and is intended to be the next step towards autonomous vehicles, but the added danger of the touchscreen deserved criticism. Is it a big deal? Not to me, but to some it might be.

 

[scottm]

Scott, I'm curious if you know (or can imagine) why Tesla made the decision to control the vents through the touchscreen?

Cost savings and I imagine they wanted soft control of everything in model 3, so that the car will remember your preferences and adjust accordingly next time you're driving the car. Or anyone else's shared fleet model 3 for that matter - your settings come up in that car. (cloud remembered settings)

I gotta point out though, soft control with preferences memory does not dictate use of touch UI. Tactile with visual feedback can also take on a setting and show you what it's currently set at. Rotary encoded knobs with a visual LED or LCD on the knob, or LED point illumination around the knob... or displayed value on the display screen ... all works too.

 

[chronopc]

That comment is a little harsh confronted with the reality that a touchscreen is more dangerous to operate than physical controls while driving. I know the 3 is a incredibly safe car, and is intended to be the next step towards autonomous vehicles, but the added danger of the touchscreen deserved criticism. Is it a big deal? Not to me, but to some it might be.

This thread isn't talking about a touchscreen being more dangerous than physical buttons which I'm not sure it is. Even with physical buttons you have to look down and take your eyes off the road.

My comment was only addressing people who have big concerns about the way the AC is being controlled. If you're someone who adjusts the AC frequently and insist on having button, then the Model 3 isn't the right car for you. Just like the iPhone isn't the right phone for everyone.

 

[scottm]

Well since he hasn't been back........he's just stirring th pot

Hello @03DSG

I like pointing out how Tesla can improve the UI
because they're not great at this, and figure they could use the help

 

[CarlitoDoc]

It's Jalopnik......the TMZ of automotive journalism ! Enough said.

 

[Zaphod]

Knobs and physical buttons and manually-adjustable vents are fundamentally different than touchscreen controls: They can be adjusted using only peripheral vision and touch/tactile feel without taking one's eyes off the road.

How that isn't obvious to people, I don't understand.

The Gen 2 Volt got overwhelmingly positive reviews from owners for going away from touchscreen controls and capacitive-touch buttons for its climate controls and going back to traditional dedicated physical buttons and knobs for exactly this reason.

One can't use touchscreen with their peripheral vision? I'll concede that tactile feel does offer slight advantage, but doesn't seem to be that big of deal, at least to me.

 

[scottm]

The contrast issue is a ridiculously weak point. Would take 3 seconds for Tesla to change that part of the software.

You'd thinks so, right?

After all that's the "promise" of OTA software updates.

Reality is, they don't change clearly bad stuff after 3 years. ... and counting.

Stuff like this often never hits the radar, or falls off the bottom of "interested" pile, or whatever... just be prepared to never see better vent controls and be happy with what you see you're buying. However, there is no sure bet that things will stay this way and won't change for the worse.... Tesla sometimes makes "improvements" that ... aren't welcomed by many. Brace for poor vent controls getting even sloppier one day when nobody saw it coming.

Many of us think that the dudes don't design / think / develop / test this stuff in real cars until the beta is upon us.

 

[burnside]

From someone that has actually tried it:

• D_LivsGarland
  8/15/17 4:52pm
  That’s the thing... it’s not buried. It’s easy and fun to use.
  
  I’ve tried it. My friend has a beautiful white Model 3. It’s so cool. Just trying to offer my opinion as you guys are all shitting on it. Try it! I thought you guys were enthusiasts who could appreciate fun design. Perhaps you’re just used to other automakers *sugar* infotainment systems? Having hot flashes?
  
  It’s seriously not any more confusing than the HVAC in my Porsche with its Lear-jet inspired interior with 1,000 buttons. I still have to hold down the “economy” button for 3 seconds to engage mono temperatures. That’s not easy or intuitive (my fiance can never remember).
  
  And no. I have to adjust temps in cars that are older than 10 years ago. Modern cars do a good job of keeping in comfortable once you find a temperature.
  ........
  What is so hard for everyone to understand? I can only assume everyone is used to *sugar* HVACs or *sugar* infotainment screens? Do all these Jalops really drive *sugar* cars all the time?
  I’m telling you: I’ve actually used one of these things, and it’s freaking cool. Where as the jalopnik author and everyone else here are judging it off a twitter video. The two people who have used it love it. Torch is obsessed with beetles so we know his opinion on HVAC systems is not to be trusted.

Also, note that the passenger in the demo video was trying to film and use the UI at the same time, so trying to frame the video and using your other hand in a moving car is a leeetle difficult.

Since you've had access to an M3, do you know if you're able to save the vent positions to your profile?

 

[Alketi]

Since you've had access to an M3, do you know if you're able to save the vent positions to your profile?

If it isn't now, it will. It's just software. Anything in the main display can be customized and remembered per user. The (future) Model 3 use-model is explained here: The Model 3 Needed New AP Hardware, But Not For The Reason Everyone Thinks

Tesla controlled everything via software not just to save money, but for another very important reason ...

 

[Runt8]

Knobs and physical buttons and manually-adjustable vents are fundamentally different than touchscreen controls: They can be adjusted using only peripheral vision and touch/tactile feel without taking one's eyes off the road.

How that isn't obvious to people, I don't understand.

The Gen 2 Volt got overwhelmingly positive reviews from owners for going away from touchscreen controls and capacitive-touch buttons for its climate controls and going back to traditional dedicated physical buttons and knobs for exactly this reason.

I anticipate using the thumbwheels on the steering wheel for a lot of this. Not only will I not be taking my eyes off the road (at least, for any longer length of time than finding a physical control), I won't even be taking my hands off the wheel.

 

[oktane]

Best to wait and see. But in general, I'm not a fan of having basic controls (HVAC, radio) on a touchscreen that requires eyes on the road. At least give us some multitouch gestures or voice control!

 

[SnoopyMarkham]

Defrost is still the main vents at the base of the windshield. Floor vents would have to assume are normal design but hasn't been mentioned. Just think of the slot vent on the 3 as replacing the discrete vents normally located on the dash. Rest of it is the same as any other HVAC.

Sorry, I meant that the defrost and floor vents haven't been mentioned or demo'd in any video yet and I'm wondering how it will be displayed on the screen. I image you tap on the fan image (or some other image) to bring up the rest of the images to change from defrost, floor or vents. I get how the vents work, very cool imo.

I wonder if it will be similar to cars now, where they have different buttons for different directions (except they'll be images on the screen you tap) like a defrost and floor image or defrost and vent image etc.

 

[JeffK]

Sorry, I meant that the defrost and floor vents haven't been mentioned or demo'd in any video yet and I'm wondering how it will be displayed on the screen. I image you tap on the fan image (or some other image) to bring up the rest of the images to change from defrost, floor or vents. I get how the vents work, very cool imo.

I wonder if it will be similar to cars now, where they have different buttons for different directions (except they'll be images on the screen you tap) like a defrost and floor image or defrost and vent image etc.

Yeah, it's all there.