| bebfoo |
I've had my 2009 Pilot for a few weeks now, and am getting to know all the controls, etc.
One thing we were looking forward to is the separate driver and passenger climate controls. However, it doesn't actually worth a crap from our tests so far. I am usually driving, and don't like the A/C as cold as my wife does, so I'll have my controls set on 76F or so, and she'll have hers set on 70 or lower, sometimes even "Low", but the temperature coming out of the passenger vents does not seem to change no matter what the passenger setting is. If I lower the driver side controls, both sides will get colder.
I tested this with a very accurate instant-read digital thermometer, and I was unable to get a temperature differential of more than 1-2 degrees F.
Is this just bad design, or is there something wrong with my Pilot? |
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| N_Jay |
I would not expect a difference in vent temperature, just a difference in flow.
I would avoid "low" as I think it may bypass some of the temperature control. |
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| ColonelJoe |
| Good question. When I realized the fan speed seemed to be the same on both sides (driver and passenger), I wondered how the Pilot varies the temperature. We haven't had ours on a good trip to test it yet. Our complaint in our old car without dual controls is that the sunny side is too warm. It will be interesting to see what happens with the "dual control" pilot. |
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| youbetcha |
Next time you take your Pilot in, ask the dealer if you can sit in a new Pilot and compare it's output to yours, to see if it is similar.
I'm sure every climate control system is different, but I've had dual climate controls in other cars before, there was a definite temp difference, but no fan difference, between driver and passenger. So I would have expected the Pilot's to be similar. It was somewhat limited, though, the passenger wasn't able to get heat if the driver was getting A/C. I think it varied how much outside air was mixed in on each side. |
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| bebfoo |
There is definitely no difference in fan speed on the 2009 Pilot. The ideal dual-control system would have this as well as difference in air temp. Maybe some high-end cars have this.
I had assumed that the Pilot's system must just mix in more warm outside air (in summer w/ A/C on) to vary the temperature as needed to each side, but the driver's side seems to override the passenger's, effectively making the dual controls worthless.
I'll see if I can try this in another new 09 Pilot, but if someone else here can try it on theirs that would help too.
This may just be an issue of bad design... |
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| N_Jay |
I have not looked but I would think the amount of air intake and fan speed are common, and that the system would just direct the output to adjust temperature.
That would be the simplest and most in common with the pre-driver/passenger control system. |
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| bdac2k |
I just went outside to test this theory.
I cranked down the driver side temp to about 55F and the passenger side to HI and pressed auto.
There was a noticeable difference. Although the fan intensity appeared identical on both sides, the "modes" (airflow) were indeed different. The heat on the passenger side was directed more towards the feet while the a/c of the driverside was directed towards the head. |
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| arbriscoe |
quote:
Originally posted by bdac2k
I just went outside to test this theory.
I cranked down the driver side temp to about 55F and the passenger side to HI and pressed auto.
There was a noticeable difference. Although the fan intensity appeared identical on both sides, the "modes" (airflow) were indeed different. The heat on the passenger side was directed more towards the feet while the a/c of the driverside was directed towards the head.
On mine there is only one fax control while there are three temp controls so I think the fan will be the same in all areas. We have not noticed any problems yet with temperature and my wife has changed it quite a bit on the passenger side. |
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| mmike87 |
I get different temps but the fans speeds to seem the same.
I try and keep my expectations reasonable too - you're sitting 12" farther away from the other set of vents. It's unlikely that person A will be warm and toasty and person b be shoveling snow from their floorboards when you're sittng right next to each other. |
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