Here's my question of the day


I turned on the climate control this morning when I started the car and tried to change the temperature, then for some reason until the car was warmed up the climate control went to lo and seemed like it was locked there.


Once I the car got warmed up, the climate control worked was normal. It seemed like the increase/decrease controls were locked.


Is this normal at startup?


Thanks.

 

No it is not normal. You can set the temp at any time when the car is on regardless of whether has warmed up or not.

 

Was it set to Auto? What was the outside temperature?

On the hybrid, using Eco mode limits the heater/AC compressor output until the car has warmed up and there's enough battery charge. This stops the engine from running too often. Normal and Sport mode don't have those limits and the engine runs more often to power the climate control system, at the cost of higher fuel consumption.

 

 

ES 300 or ES 350?

 

2013 es300h

 

could it be something as simple as one of the buttons be stuck due to the cold weather? I am taking to the dealer tomorrow morning.

 

I have not experienced that on my 2013 ES300h. I leave it in Auto and just adjust the temperature as needed. On colder mornings I do turn it off until the temp gauge shows in the operating range. I use the heated seats and steering wheel to keep warm for the 6 minutes or so it takes to warm up and then back to Auto mode. There are 3 traffic lights I hit on my commute in the 1st mile and I find the gas engine turns off while sitting in traffic, saving gas. Again, I only do this in the winter on cold mornings.

 

Thank you. I think that the button is stuck until the gas engine kicks in but since I just got the car, I want Lexus to take a look to make sure.

 

You are welcome, yes, that does not sound normal and should be looked at. Keep us posted as to the results.

 

I would not classify 50F as cold. My system had no problems in the winter with temps down to -30 F. Buttons should not "stick in" at 50F or -30F. Obviously it takes a time for heat to build at very cold temperatures, but that is a completely separate issue.

 

Went to the dealer today and they ran a diagnostic. No issues found.

We think that when they detailed the car something stayed wet causing the issue. Hasn't happened again since. I am going to keep an eye on it.