oldwino

I have a '17 ES350. The issue I have is with the Auto Climate Control. Was wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue?

It seems to work fine when in AC mode(outside temp higher than inside temp) but doesn't seem to operate properly in heat mode(inside temp higher than outside temp). When the outside temp is below what the inside temp is set to, it blows cold air out the dash vents. On a recent trip after an hour of driving in the early morning(dark outside) the outside temp was 55 and the inside temp was set to 75, I'm getting cold air from the dash vents blowing in my face. If I bump the inside temp up to 80, the air does warm up a bit, but it still blows out the dash vents instead of switching to the floor vents where I feel it should be blowing from. Finally gave up and manually changed it to blow out the floor vents, but still had to have the temp cranked up to 80 to feel comfortable.

Any comments or suggestions appreciated.

Mike728

On my '13 when in "Auto" mode, I only feel air blow out of the upper vents when it's warmer in the car than what the temp is set to. If it cooler inside, I never feel them at all. Are you sure you have "Auto" selected? If you are, then I would take it in and have it checked out by the dealer.

Superman60

Check your coolant level, also make sure you don't have a stuck open thermostat.

BradTank

Could something like the defrost be coming on? What happens if you don't use "auto" and just manually select heat?

If you can't get warm air to come out of the main dash vents, something is definitely wrong and it should still be under warranty. Could be something like a blend door servo inside the dash not working.

lesz

Whether the outside temperature is warmer or colder than the temperature inside the cabin should be largely irrelevant in determining whether warm or cold air is being produced by the climate control system and in determining whether the air is coming from the floor vents or from the dash vents.

What is relevant is, as Mike said, whether the cabin temperature is higher or lower than the temperature at which the system is set. If the cabin temperature is higher than the temperature that is set, cooler air should be coming from the dash vents. If the cabin temperature is lower than the temperature that is set, warmer air should be coming from the floor vents.

That said, it sounds like either your thermostat or blend gates might not be working properly, and, if that is the case, you may need to make a trip to the dealer. If you want to try something else first, you might try disconnecting the negative terminal on the battery and leaving it disconnected for 15-20 minutes to see if re-booting the vehicle's computer might solve the problem. If you do that, however, other vehicle settings will return to defaults, which will require you to take the time to re-set settings to the way that you want them to be.

oldwino

Appreciate the responses. It is definitely in 'AUTO' mode. The car is headed to the dealer tomorrow for the 5000 mile service and to get the HVAC checked. Temps are supposed to be around 40 when I get there, so it should give the service guy a good testing environment. I understand the dynamics of how the 'AUTO' Climate Control works, inside temp sensor, outside temp sensor and sun load sensor. I've got a 16 year old Oldsmobile with dual zone Auto HVAC that functions better than the ES does currently.

lesz

Please report back here to let us know what the dealer says that the problem is.

lesz

When you took the car to the dealer, what did they say/do?

oldwino

So a little better example of the issue I am having, It's a problem that doesn't show up on short drives, the longer you go, the worst it gets. The morning I took the car to the dealer, it's 39 outside and the car was in the garage overnite at 60. I left with the HVAC in Auto and set to 72. It's a 90 minute(100 mi) drive to the dealer and I leave a little after 5am to be there when they open at 7am. 10 minutes into the drive, the engine is fully warm and I can feel a little heat on the floor and no air at all from the center dash vents. About 30 minutes in, I am getting cold air from the center dash vents at a very low fan speed and it gets progressively colder and blowing harder from the center dash vents as time goes on. By about an hour into the drive, it's so cold in the car that I put my gloves on because my hands are cold. It's still in Auto and set for 72 and obviously not maintaining temperature.

I explain all this the the Service Rep and he tells me there's probably nothing wrong with it and I should just turn the temp up. Needless to say we started off on the wrong foot. So I get my loaner, a RX350 and drive an hour back to work. HVAC set to Auto and 72, no problems operating the way I would expect it to operate. About 5 hours later, the service rep calls saying my car is ready and they couldn't find any thing wrong with it. I know they haven't driven it because my Enform Remote app has the same mileage as when I dropped it off. We go round and round for about 5 minutes and I tell him fine, I'll be there before they close to pick it up. After stewing for about 30 minutes, I decided to call and talk to the service manager. Luckily he agreed to talk to me and we had a good 15 minute discussion. So I went thru the symptoms and we discussed how AUTO should operate and I basically told him as i did the service rep before, that if it was operating correctly then it was a **** poor design and it wasn't functioning the same as the loaner I had or any other car I had ever driven with Auto HVAC. He agreed to have them look at it again and to come back in the morning. I told him I would be there at 7.

So when I get there I sat down with the service manager and the technician to discuss the issue in depth, my thoughts on what's wrong and his. My background is electrical and I have experience with process control equipment. It doesn't have to throw a code to not operate as advertised. A sensor input or output control off calibration will cause problems. Again they say they couldn't find anything wrong with it BUT he did re-calibrate the position servo for the fresh air blend door. So the tech and I go for an hour drive and it seemed to at least maintain a steady temperature although the temp in the car is about 5 degrees lower than the actual setting, set for 72 but maintaining 67. Again they tell me that's normal and the difference between the set and actual temperature can vary. I'm fine with that as long as it maintains temperature and doesn't get progressively colder and try to freeze me out. I took my car and went back to work and again it seems to at least maintain a steady temp. I'm not fully convinced that it's fixed but I'll see how it goes. I likely won't be taking any long trips in cold weather until next winter. I still have 30 months and 30k miles left before the warranty is out on it.

Long story, short; there's nothing wrong with it BUT they re-calibrated the position servo for the fresh air blend door. Seems to function better but we'll see.....