I asked a question the other day and got lots of help. Figured since that work so good I’d try it again. I rode in the middle row seat (2020 w/6 seat config) for the first time and the vents on the rear of the console worked great but couldn’t get the vents on the pillars to work. What’s the secret? Thanks.
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Rear pillar vents
- Thread starter M3oldtimer
- Start date
Harvey Danger
Member
Minimally, the rear half of the car does have independent controls, so I assume you tried those first: if not, expose the full AC user interface (touch the icon shaped like a fan blade), locate the rear section controls if they exist (for a six-seater they should appear below the front seating controls), and manually increase the fan setting to 11 and decrease the temperature to LO for just the rear seats.
That should at least give you an idea of what the car thinks it is capable of.
Note that manually adjusting rear AC settings will turn off the "Auto" feature for the rear section. So whatever you set will be remembered until somehow Auto resets it all. Also if you are testing with Auto selected, make sure there is someone sitting down on a rear seat if you want Auto to function as intended; if the car doesn't sense any weight there, the Auto setting disables AC in the back altogether.
It can take time to cool down all the ductwork, so don't conclude 'they don't work' until after they've had at least a few minutes to run. Also recall 'Range Mode' reduces peak climate power by design, so turn that off if necessary.
(This is all in the manual. Climate control starts on page 139:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model_x_owners_manual_north_america_en.pdf )
If you've done all the normal stuff and still don't like the result, well, many have concluded rear AC in the X was never adequately provisioned even when functioning as designed.
Also consider three other possibilities:
1) Make super sure it's actually a 6-seater, not a 5-seater. The 6- and 7- seat X's came with two AC compressors, the 5-seaters only had one. And I believe in the latest firmware's user interface, there *are no* dedicated rear controls if the car thinks it is a 5-seater. Regardless you won't get as much rear cooling if it's actually a 5-seater.
2) It's fairly common for a) ductwork to become disconnected on one side or another or b) for an electrical malfunction (loose connection or failed compressor) to reduce rear AC. Finding stuff like that requires a more involved troubleshooting process obviously.
3) There's always the traditional reason AC loses its zip over time, the refrigerant may need to be recharged. But honestly I haven't heard that come up very often, compared to these other issues.
[NB Your original post does stipulate pillar vents, but just for the sake of completeness, I'll mention here that the two vents under the front-seat armrest are in fact controlled by the front AC controls, despite the fact that they obviously point rearward.]
So there's a prompt, non-authoritative response so you can get started. Others doubtless have more insights:
Ok crowd, what'd I miss?
That should at least give you an idea of what the car thinks it is capable of.
Note that manually adjusting rear AC settings will turn off the "Auto" feature for the rear section. So whatever you set will be remembered until somehow Auto resets it all. Also if you are testing with Auto selected, make sure there is someone sitting down on a rear seat if you want Auto to function as intended; if the car doesn't sense any weight there, the Auto setting disables AC in the back altogether.
It can take time to cool down all the ductwork, so don't conclude 'they don't work' until after they've had at least a few minutes to run. Also recall 'Range Mode' reduces peak climate power by design, so turn that off if necessary.
(This is all in the manual. Climate control starts on page 139:
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model_x_owners_manual_north_america_en.pdf )
If you've done all the normal stuff and still don't like the result, well, many have concluded rear AC in the X was never adequately provisioned even when functioning as designed.
Also consider three other possibilities:
1) Make super sure it's actually a 6-seater, not a 5-seater. The 6- and 7- seat X's came with two AC compressors, the 5-seaters only had one. And I believe in the latest firmware's user interface, there *are no* dedicated rear controls if the car thinks it is a 5-seater. Regardless you won't get as much rear cooling if it's actually a 5-seater.
2) It's fairly common for a) ductwork to become disconnected on one side or another or b) for an electrical malfunction (loose connection or failed compressor) to reduce rear AC. Finding stuff like that requires a more involved troubleshooting process obviously.
3) There's always the traditional reason AC loses its zip over time, the refrigerant may need to be recharged. But honestly I haven't heard that come up very often, compared to these other issues.
[NB Your original post does stipulate pillar vents, but just for the sake of completeness, I'll mention here that the two vents under the front-seat armrest are in fact controlled by the front AC controls, despite the fact that they obviously point rearward.]
So there's a prompt, non-authoritative response so you can get started. Others doubtless have more insights:
Ok crowd, what'd I miss?
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If you take a look at the ducting diagram (Parts Catalog) - just log in with your Tesla credentials - you'll see how the ducts are routed...
The ducts are flexible for the most part, and can easily become pinched or compressed or dislodged (during a service at the beginning of last year, they had replaced my USB ports in the arm console, and during reassembly, pinched or didn't completely lock in the duct that's going through there, so, there was no air directly in the 2nd row, other than through the pillars, if I remember correctly.
The ducts are flexible for the most part, and can easily become pinched or compressed or dislodged (during a service at the beginning of last year, they had replaced my USB ports in the arm console, and during reassembly, pinched or didn't completely lock in the duct that's going through there, so, there was no air directly in the 2nd row, other than through the pillars, if I remember correctly.
Harvey Danger
Member
oh and also it's apparently two "condensers" on the 6- and 7- seaters, not "compressors". see recent posts in this thread
A/C not cooling air - Solved
(don't obsess too much about trying to follow the confusing narrative flow and extremely unusual behaviors described elsewhere in that grab-bag thread, your question is more basic than all that)
A/C not cooling air - Solved
(don't obsess too much about trying to follow the confusing narrative flow and extremely unusual behaviors described elsewhere in that grab-bag thread, your question is more basic than all that)
Well I tried everything except tracking the duct work and still nothing. No air coming out of vents at all. We just bought it on Monday and still trying figure everything out. There’s quite a bit of difference between this and the model 3. I figured I didn’t have something set right. I guess it’s time to try Tesla service.
If you've tried setting the A/C from the MCU manually - set the rear to ON (not Auto) and raise the speed, and also the front (manual, high speed), and still don't get any air from the pillars, it's possible the duct is dislodged.. Did you also verify the third row pillars - is there air coming from them? If you're missing air there, then, it may be the blower that's not functioning properly... Or, still could be the ducts. But, set the controls to manual and high speed to verify...
In either case, I would just make the appointment now since who knows how soon you'll get seen...
In either case, I would just make the appointment now since who knows how soon you'll get seen...
update in case anyone else has this issue. Turns out I had a problem with the fuse panel. They said they had to replace whole panel. Took a little over a week. Guess they had to order the part. Works great now.
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