Just wondering what your opinions are on the effectiveness of the ES350's Auto Climate Control. I have owned several other Lexus and other brands with auto climate control and all were better at maintaining a constant temperature. I find my 2010 very slow in reacting to the heat of direct sun, then driving into shaded areas. I have to fiddle with the temperature and fan speed manually in order to properly regulate the AC.

The best auto climate control was my '04 LS430. I could set the temperature and never touch it again from winter to summer. This ES is the worst I have experienced. How do you guys feel about the performance of the AC on your ES? Should I get mine checked out, or is it performing "as designed"? I really enjoy everything else about the car, so I'm hoping my AC is malfunctioning.

 

You might want to get it checked out. I've owned an '07 and '10 and no problems with either in summer or winter. Just set and forget.

 

I had an 08 and now a 10 and have had no problems. In fact I set it at 73 when I got the car and have never touched it again.

 

Thanks for your feedback. Looks like I'll need to get it checked out. I wonder how the AC system could be checked, since it's not just a matter of taking the temperature of the cooled air.

 

I agree with Mike that the program for the climate control in ES is pretty stupid. AC works strong and cold but the algorithms are far from optimum. It blows too hard when it needs to cool, and tries to to get it too cold for the set temperature. It also cycles too often between cooler and warmer air when trying to maintain steady temperature. Another thing I don't like is that it uses AC too much in cooler (< 65°F) weather. Automatic recirculation is a joke - it would respond to some pollutants, but totally ignores stench from a cow feedlot or black smoke from a diesel truck.
I am also curious - what can possibly be checked by the dealer? The heater is warming in winter, and AC is cooling in summer - what to complain about, except that the programming of the climate control is dumb?

 

Today I went for a ride in both sunny and shady environments. I am currently in Houston and the temperature is around 95 degrees. I have parked my car in the sun for at least an hour, but the AC was great in quickly cooling the car down.

What I changed was the direction of the air flow from the vents. I used to have the vents pointed directly at me, so I could feel the change in air temperature each time the system needed to maintain the setting. Today, I pointed the vents more toward the ceiling. The inside temperature seemed to be constant and I didn't notice the system changing the air temperature or fan speed. I realize changing the direction of the air flow hasn't changed the performance of the AC, but I am a lot happier because I don't actually feel the constant change in air temperature and fan speed.