Moderator: volvite
I've said that at some point on just about every vehicle I've owned with auto climate. The PF is the worst but my wife's MDX is far from flawless. The sun sensor in the dash seems to be the worst on hers because it can be comfortable one minute and if it gets a little brighter outside the A/C jumps to freeze-ur-ballz-off mode really fast. Other times it's just blowing medium temp air at 70% and drying out my contacts for no reason.DanJetta wrote:Yeah, one of those features where they meant well but didn't quite hit the mark. I'd much rather go back to manual.
Not really. The way the system works is that if 73F is dialed in, it will blast hot/cold air until it reaches that 73F. If the temp inside is 72F & 73F is dialed in, it will not blast when trying to reach 73F-usually the lowest fan setting. I've played with the thing long enough to know exactly what I will get in every situation. Heat doesn't bother me, so I'm never complaining about it being too hot. On the flipside, while driving on the freeway/highway in the hotter months, with the temp set to 68F, the AC gets colder and colder. I typically have to bump the temp into the mid 70s because some part of my exposed skin in the path of one of the vents, be it hands, face, leg, etc., will feel almost hypothermic because of how bloody cold it is. Oftentimes, I will crank the rear heat or AC, which takes a lot of the bite out of the front (front doesn't have to work as hard). I still fully prefer manual, but I doubt I will be able to ever find that in the future. The best heater I had in a car was in my old VW Thing. It consisted of a lever which controlled a flap valve to let in hot air.rmfisher321 wrote:So, it sounds like there's nothing that can be done about it?
Do you know where that's located on the PF? I've never found it.smj999smj wrote:I remember back when I worked for Nissan that sometimes the outside temp sensor would get dirty on some vehicles and might affect the readings. For those, we would take a rag with some white vinegar and clean off the sensor "bulb."
You can give it a shot. There really isn't anything to clean on the outside sensor that would make any difference. If anything, disconnect it from the wired plug and make sure it is clean inside. I had to install one, along with all the wiring, on our Xterra-the sensors are very well sealed. You could always replace it (I think I paid about $30 for mine), but I don't think the external sensor has anything to do with temperature control in the cabin. It's just used for the outside temp display on the mirror and/or those with the LCD head unit.rmfisher321 wrote:Can't hurt to try to clean that, I guess. That and the inside sensor to see if it makes any difference.
Thanks, guys!