I have a quirk in my climate control- maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Normally it works fine- I usually set it to Auto and 68 degrees. It warms the car up fine and maintains it at a comfortbale level. The temps here have typically been in the 20s and 30s lately. The problem is when it's sunny out [rarely here in the winter but today is one such day]. The car will reach a comfortable temperature then will start blowing cool air out- almost like it's compensating for the heat from the sun.

The thing you know I'll have the chills and my hands will freeze.

I can bump the temp up to 78 or something silly but that just doesn't seem right. Is there something wrong or something I should be doing?

Thanks.

 

I would say that the temp in the car has risen beyond 68 degrees and it blows out cool air until it gets it back down to 68. The auto mode uses both the A/C and the heat to keep the temp constant.

 

That's what I was thinking too but it stays the same if I turn A/C off. It's 30 degrees outside- it's probably bringing in outside air for some reason.

Doesn't seem right- 68 in the car should feel the same no matter what the outside conditions are.

 

Well, if its sunny out, the sun will warm YOU up much more than the air inside the car. I notice the sun sensor thing doing its job, but it does not seem excessive on my car. The problem with automatic climate control is that it is looking at in the car air temps, not what comes out of the vents, so if the air inside the car is warm enough, the system will try to cool it a little and you get cold air out the vents. Your car seems excessive though, maybe get it checked out.

I generaly find auto climate control anoying, there are times, like after exercize, when I feel hot, even though its cold outside, and have to fool with the system to get cold air out the vents, which is impossible if the inside if the car is cold.

Its a lot of complexity and expense, when a manual system gets the job done just the same. I always dislike when control is taken away from me and given to a computer.

Brett

 

I notice the same thing too. I usually leave it at 68F

< 50 F + cloudy = Keeps me comfy at 68 (Easy just blow warm air)
Warm >70 (Sun or clouds) = Usually keeps me cool enough. (Easy, just blow cool air)

Between about 40 and 60 F + Sunny = Car warms up and then blows cool air. Perhaps cycles. This is a pretty tough situation for a system to control. Humans are picky about what temp they are in and the car can't possibly react as fast as our senses can. I find a bump to 70F setting makes all well. I guess if it ramped up the fan and increased the volume of air into the car but then we would complain about fan noise.

Compared to the Auto system in our 01 Odyssey the TL is great. In that car the same conditions (Between about 40 and 60 F + Sunny) cook, roast and sizzle me unless I set the temp as low as it will go. That's with the system checked and a new AC cabin filter too.

Brett raises a good point. Modern technology brings modern issues. Overall I am pretty happy with the TL auto climate compared to others I have seen.

 

I think it has to do with the location of the temperature sensor, down under your right knee. I usually set the mode to floor/defrost and then let it control the temperature and fan speed. This keeps it from switching to vent.

 

Well, I drove it this morning for about 150 miles and I found myself playing with it a lot. It brings it up to temp fine then for some unknown reason it cools it off. I have the A/C off and it's the same.

The only way I kept it comfotable was to put it on fan speed 4 at 80 degrees, dash or bi-lev.

It was 38 degrees and mostly cloudy with a few breaks of sun.

Doesn't seem right, does it?

 

No, it does not.

 

Your comfort settings sound out of norm, in fact pretty extreme, to me. Visit the dealer service department to have it repair your climate control system. Maybe the sensor near the windshield is tweaked.

 

Same thing happens in my TL. I just take it off Auto, turn up the heat, and turn down the fan.

 

Doesn't it seem a bit odd to be driving around with a winter coat on and the heat set at 80? I'm thinking that can't be right.

I liked my old civic better- you just slid the thing to red or blue!

 

I'm with Brett and Will also. Doesn't sound right to me. I'd get it checked.

 

My 05 AT Navi TL did the same thing once or twice since I took delivery in June 2005. One time was at night with the Auto setting at 72 degrees. I cannot remember the outside temperature at the time but it was in the upper 30's or mid 40's.

Seems like a software bug in the Navi TLs due those models have the 3-D Solar Sensors.

Whatever it is, I cannot consistently reproduce the problem in order to take it to the dealer. If you can, please post back the repair performed on your TL.

Thanks