Automatic Temperature Control

[regztfen]

I have owned Buicks all my life with ATC. Set it at one temperature year round and forget it. However with my new TCH I am having a problem. When it is warm outside I set it at 71 and the A/C is fine. The next morning when it is cold outside it gets so hot inside the car I have to turn it down to 68 or 69 so it won't be roasting inside. Why can't you set the temperature and it stay the same whether the A/C is on or Heat?

[GvilleTCH]

No direct answer , but I know your pain. The TCH ATC does require a learning curve. Thankfully we have the steering wheel temp controls. I also don't know if there is any difference between the two ATC's : NAVI with ATC verses the non-NAVI ATC.

The concept I have finally resolved was that I could not prevent air from coming inside via vents. The example : The ATC is in auto and recirc , you turn off the recirc button and it cools outside air. So far so good - then you want to turn off the air - so you push OFF . Compressor turns off but the fan remains on . You can change the mode to direct the air to floor or windshield but the fan is providing air to the interior with the ATC off...

My solution (I'm open to a better one...) is to press the windshield defroster ON (the mini-jet sound appears ) and then press the windshield defroster again to turn it off - the light remains but the input of outside air stops. If you press OFF from the ws Defroster mode it returns to fan mode (as usual ) and all lights are out...

While the ATC has some querks , I do like the system in general and in my neck of the woods I love the quick COLD air it produces...

[ekpolk]

I drive an 09 non-Nav TCH. Years ago, I owned a 98 Buick Regal GS (seduced by the SC option). In my former Buick, I found I had to tweak the auto temp from time to time. I find the same in the Camry. There are undoubtedly some differences in how the systems in the two cars are programmed to behave. Whether one is "better" than the other is probably like trying to decide if strawberry ice cream is "better" than chocolate. Of course, none of the Toyotas I've owned have had a total failure of the climate control display as my Buick did (shortly after the wty had expired, of course...). No car is perfect, not even a Toyota. I'm not casting aspersions upon your preferences (to which you are absolutely entitled), but I'd recommend just working with it and not sweating it (pun sort of intended). There's so much good in this car (who can argue with almost 40 mpg in a car this size) that I don't see a slightly imperfect auto climate control as something that I'd object to.

[GvilleTCH]

Oops , my thread #2 above description of how to turn off the vent function of the Plasmacluster is reversed. To turn off vent function completely , press windshield defroster and then press OFF: venting is off but front ws button remains lit. If you press the ws defrost button again (instead of off) the ws defrost stops but you go back to venting and the mode control of venting...