Hey there... Is the passenger side "Auto" button supposed to function exactly like the "Auto" button on the driver's side? When I press the "Auto" button on the driver's side, the text "Auto" appears above both driver and passenger sections, and goes into automatic climate control. When I press the "Auto" button on the passenger side, nothing appears to happen. My dealer said this is normal, but I think he's lying.

 

is "dual" on?

 

I'm 99% sure it is... I'll check this on my drive home...

 

Yes, Dual is on. Auto button does nothing.

 

Also I know that when car is in defrost mode, you can't change passenger setting seperately. Umm other than that it must be broken?


Wait a second, after closely reading your question, what's happening to your car "nothing happens" is perfectly normal.
When you have both driver & psgr on auto already, nothing happens when you press "auto" on psgr side because it is already in auto.

Now note that passenger side control only means changing air direction and temperature, not the amount of air.


:I must be tired. It took me 5 "edits" to correct spelling mistakes:

 

No, it's not in Auto mode when I press Auto on the passenger side. Let's say I do something that forces it out of Auto mode. If I press Auto on the passenger side, it does not go into Auto mode. If I simply press the Auto button on the driver side, it does go into Auto mode.

Hence I think it's broken! Can anyone else confirm this?

 

Pushing the "Mode" button on the passenger side cancels the "Auto" climate control mode. By continuing to push the "Mode" button you can manually direct the air flow independently from the driver's side, i.e. upper air vents, lower air vents (feet), or both. If you wish to go back to the fully automatic mode, push "Auto" and it puts the passenger side back into automatic climate control mode.

In other words, if it's already in "Auto" mode, pushing the "Auto" button does nothing. It only returns the system back to the "Auto" mode from manual settings.

 

Why do I feel like I'm not conveying the problem correctly?

When the system is NOT in Auto mode, pressing Auto on the passenger side does absolutely nothing. If the very next button I press is Auto on the driver side, it goes into Auto mode. Does the Auto button on the passenger side only function (turn Auto mode on) in certain circumstances? Am I missing something here?

 

You are conveying the nature of your problem correctly. My post was the confirmation you asked for regarding how the system is supposed to work. If your passenger side "Auto" button is not working in the manner I described, then it is not working correctly.

Simply take your car into the dealership and show your service advisor how it should work (on a new floor model or demo) and how yours is not working in the same manner.

 

Okay, this is tricky and extremely devious, and I just went out to the car and checked it out. Hope I can explain it so it is not more confusing than it already is.

When you are in full auto mode (both sides say auto) if you press the mode button or the temperature control buttons on the drivers side, the auto comes off on both sides and the passenger auto button won't do anything because the driver is obviously the ruler here.

If you only press the auto button on the passengers side, nothing will change but the green dual light will come on.

If you push the mode button or the temp buttons on the passenger side, that auto light goes off, the driver's auto stays on, and the green light on the dual button lights. This is the only time the passenger auto button will work, so when it is pressed the passenger side will return to auto.

After this is done, the green dual light will still be on and can only be turned off by pressing the dual button.

More explanation will only be more complicated, so go out to the car and experiment with all the possible combinations and you will get a better understanding of how this thing really works.

 

Maybe the easiest solution is just to talk to the car, assuming you have the Navi. The GF always asks me to change her settings for some reason, and I don't like leaning across to hit the buttons on her side, so I always voice-control the passenger settings (and the defrosters, for the same reason).

 

Ron, thanks for investigating this. It sounds like my car is fine. I'll check out your findings on my car tonight after work.

Thanks!!

Cris

 

Ron... Confirmed same results as you had... Thanks a lot for replying!

Over and out...

 

The auto button on the passenger side is overridden by the drivers side so if you have the system on manual and the passenger hits auto only that side is auto but if the driver hits auto it overrides the whole thing and the only thing that you can do is change what position the air is going