I don't think anything is wrong, but wanted to ask.

In my old 02 BMW, when it's cold outside and I have auto temp 72 degrees, it blows out warm air.

On my TL, 72 is blowing out cool air. I'm sure my heat works because if I go "max heat", it gets hot. Is typical settings to get actual heat to blow out in the 75-76 range? Or is there a better setting, say manual, no A/C, 72?

Just wanting to make sure nothing is wrong with the new ride.

 

It all depends on your cabin temp, if the temp in the cabin is warmer than 72, then cold air will blow out, but if the cabin is cooler than 72, then warm air will blow out. Hope that helps.

 

I would think if it's in the 50s outside, cabin temp would be below 72. But it is still cool air. Hmmmm??? If it would "cool" off down here in the south (to the 30's like a couple of weeks ago) I'd be able to verify for sure if it blew out warmer air at 72.

 

You know, it seems to me that I have to set the temperature in my TL on auto much higher and lower than I would in the house or other cars.

In the winter I set it to 75 or 76 and the summer to around 68.

At first I thought in might be a problem but after 8 months or so I have just chalked it up to being part of the car. I wouldn't think it is necessarily an issue unless it changes from day to day, it's probably just in the design of the hvac system.

 

I agree, you need to set the thermostat pretty high. In my Audi A4 I would have the temp set at 64 usually and would be quite comfortable in the winter. Yesterday (day 3 with my '07 TL) I had to set the temp to 75 in the TL to get any kind of warmth out of the system.

 

I have never liked the automatic temp feature so I always set mine up manually. When it is cool outside, I hit the AC button so it reads "AC Off". Then I set the temp and mode to where I like it. I can't see the use of running AC when it is already cool; it wastes gas and puts wear and tear on the AC pump. In really cold weather, you may need the AC to help defrost the glass, but that is usually only for a few minutes.

Due to the large heat loss in any vehicle, you will have to set the temp higher than your house. Our doors, roofs and windows offer little insulation value. It is hard to believe but a car heater has the capacity to heat a small, well insulated house. At least in a car, you can consider the heat, at any temp, to be free heat so go ahead and dial it up to wherever you feel comfortable.

 

I sorta with the auto temp would work better. Right now the weather is avg in the 43ish +/- 5 degrees and when you have the auto temp at 75 it blows cold air then to slightly warmer air. It never gets hot even tho the temp on the MID says 38 outside temp. I thought on auto the car should blow hot and slowly dial it self down to 75 degrees. So you end up sitting in the car for 5 mins and still freezing. So I manualy dial it up to max to get the hot air blowing then after a while dial it back down to 75 again. Just wondering if anyone else cam across this.

 

The A/C in the summer does the same thing. You will shortly figure out how to set it to be comfortable. It's anoying in the beginning but not that big of a deal once you figure it all out. IMO, it's definitely a flaw.

 

Yes, I experience that as well. The A/C will cool the air unless it is turned off.
As XS2K says, turning the A/C to "off" works best for me in the "cold" weather we are experiencing in SoCal. 1) turn on seat warmer(s) if desired 2) turn on climate control to auto 3) push A/C to "off" 4) set temperature to whatever is comfy for you 5) set vents with "mode" if you want heat from floor instead of split between windshield and floor vents.
I found that 66-68*F with A/C off will get cabin comfortably warm quickly once the heater starts working (about 1-2 minutes after car is started).
The "auto" position works great on warm or hot days without adjustment.

 

I remember reading a thread similar to this couple of years ago. Around 55 degrees outside temperature, TL blows cool air, for some strange reason, when set to Auto temperature. This has happed to me as well.

 

Thanks, good info will try this tomarrow morning. MID read about 37 degrees this morning and 27 while I was driving. Had to do the Max temp / turn back down to 74 degrees combo again.

 

Let us know how that worked Bob?

I'm assuming best vent for "once blowing out hot air" would be upper vents blowing onto drivers/passengers instead of windshield and floor?