3 zone climate control?

[trickybuz]

Hey all, I just picked up a Base 2011 Highlander V6 AWD yesterday (I'm loving it so far!) and was wondering how the 3 zone climate control worked for the passengers since the dealer only showed controls for the driver and the back, but not the passenger even though the brochure said it's a 3-zone independent climate control system.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.



P.S. I haven't had the time to look at the owner's manual fully, I'm planning to do that tonight after work.

[joeyo]

The fan speed remains the same in all 3 zones, but the temperature is independently adjustable. The passenger side works exactly the same as the driver's side...use the knob on the passenger side, just opposite the knob to control the driver's side temp.

[trickybuz]

Originally Posted by joeyo

The fan speed remains the same in all 3 zones, but the temperature is independently adjustable. The passenger side works exactly the same as the driver's side...use the knob on the passenger side, just opposite the knob to control the driver's side temp.

But there's only one knob for the temp
Here's how it looks:

Knob closest to driver- Fan speed
Middle Knob- Temp control
Knob closest to passenger- Vent control

[joeyo]

Oh I missed the fact that you have a base Highlander. To the best of my knowledge, only the Limited and Hybrid Limited have the 3 zone climate control.

My interior looks like this:

[trickybuz]

Huh...not quite sure then.
The site even mentions it comes with 3 zone independent, manual climate control http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WWW.woa/26/wo/Home.Vehicles.Go.Highlander-f4kRLob9gK92matRBM1rXw/3.7?v191010e.html#


But the owner's manual doesn't make mention of it either.
Misleading advertisment FTW?

[joeyo]

I don't see how it would be possible with that dash configuration. According to Toyota USA, only the Limited and Hybrid Limited offer true 3 zone automatic climate control. All other models have single zone.

http://www.toyota.com/highlander/features.html

I can't imagine they would offer some kind of true 3 zone climate control system in the Highlander in Canada, and not in the US. I'm wondering if by "manual independent" climate control means you have the ability to turn off the rear vents, and close the driver and passenger vents all separately. Who knows.

[05Moose]

See below.

EDIT:
You know, I take back what I wrote (in case you'd already read it). It's not just in one place where it says manual 3-zone climate control, but it's even in the list for the features where it compares what's standard, not available, or is available as an option. 3-zone manual is standard on both the 4-cyl and V6 models. The Automatic 3-zone climate control that we can only get in the SE, Limited, and Hybrid is an option on the V6 Base model. You've got a lot of options on your base models we don't get here in the US. So, the dealership will have to show you how it works as I have no idea. Unless their idea of a manual 3-zone is that you turn off the window-side vent and point the center one toward the driver or rear seats? If that were the case, I'd call it "Creative Advertising."

Let us know when you find out. I'm really curious what this "Manual 3-zone climate control" is that's standard on all the Canadian Highlanders.

[nickhl]

Originally Posted by joeyo

I don't see how it would be possible with that dash configuration. According to Toyota USA, only the Limited and Hybrid Limited offer true 3 zone automatic climate control. All other models have single zone.

http://www.toyota.com/highlander/features.html

I can't imagine they would offer some kind of true 3 zone climate control system in the Highlander in Canada, and not in the US. I'm wondering if by "manual independent" climate control means you have the ability to turn off the rear vents, and close the driver and passenger vents all separately. Who knows.

2010 SE also comes with 3 zone automatic climate control standard