Climate control?
 

I picked up my new baby about three days ago and already I can't help but notice that the climate control seems to be exceptionally retarded. I don't see any other posts on this topic so I'm wondering if it's just me?

Details: Base model. Temperature knob can be turned anywhere from ~70 to ~85 and it blows the same temperature air, a neutral 70-ish temp. Only with the temp knob within the last 5 or so clicks of 90*F (the extreme end of the dial) does it start blowing warm air. This is true in both auto and manual fan speed.

Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just my car?

It's an intelligent system, it has a sensor for the cabin air temp and will vary air delivery based on the difference between cabin temp and dial setting. However you wont get cold air unless A/C is also engaged and you wont get really hot air unless A/C is off.

So far I've only had the climate at either 65 or 90 and I just turn it off once I'm comfortable. :<

The AUTO function on the first knob nearest the driver automatically controls both heat and A/C. For A/C push the button to turn the light on and adjust your temp via the middle knob. For Heating leave it on AUTO, but make sure A/C is off (no light) and adjust the middle knob.

I just leave everything set to Auto (both outer dials have an Auto setting btw) and leave the temp dial at about 77 and it seems to do its job well enough on its own. Then again, I also only really use it at highway speeds. Down on the little streets, I prefer to roll down the windows a bit and turn the A/C off, at least in the currently-nice weather.

I'll be leaving it on Auto for the next few days to see if things fare better than the manual settings. Maybe I just need to get used to how this auto climate control system works vs. my last car's auto climate control system.

Thanks for the tips all.

Yeah, that's the thing. I know it has two sensors and it's supposed to be intelligent, but it seems to have received a lobotomy at some point in time. For example, the other day I was driving around with the windows down and it was about 60 out (cold down here in the south) with lots of air circulation/turbulence. I set the temp dial to about 80-85*f and it was NOT blowing warm air...it was probably blowing around 70ish. But crank it the extra 5 degrees to 90 and it blows super hot.

Just have to learn the quirks it seems. It's like getting a new girlfriend... :driving:

You have to remember that with A/C, the air coming through the coils doesn't get set to your preset temperature. The A/C's goal is to bring your cabin temperature to the setting you desire, not to blow air out the vents at the setting you desire. These are very different things. If you just set the temperature you actually want the cabin to feel like (without relying on the actual direct airflow being pointed at your face/arms), and roll the windows up, it will get the cabin to that temperature pretty efficiently.

Yes, but it's not very smart about it. My other car's climate control system (Mercedes E320) does a hell of a lot better job. If it's 60 in the cabin and I set it to a cabin temp of 80, it starts blowing air that's 90+ and increases the fan speed to get the cabin temps up to the target temperature as quickly as possible, which is what you would expect.

The Z just seems to be very lazy about getting the temp to where you set it.. If it's 60 in the cabin and I set the temp to 80, if it is doing anything other than blowing a**-hot air, at or near full speed, whoever wrote the program for the control microchip is a serious no-go.

Plus, if it's 60 in the cabin, why does it make a difference if I set it to 80 or 90? Either way it's 20+ degrees (!!) off the target temp and the control program's logic should tell it that it needs to get its butt in gear with the heat. Yet that small bit on the end of the dial makes a huge difference in what actually comes out of the vents.

Anyhow...minor gripe in a car that is overall very fun to drive.

The opposite
 

I am having the opposite problem after getting my car serviced. On auto mode it's blow hot air at full blast no matter what i set it to. If i set it to 60 it blows lukewarm arm. But always at full fan speed. It never used to do that. Any ideas?

Always look for the most likely causal event. As you mentioned in your post, your car was just in some shop for service, and the problem started right after. Go back to them and tell them to fix whatever they screwed up.

This sounds like what happened to my BMW. Common problem on them. Blown final stage resistor. Not cheap. Of course, nothing was cheap to fix on that car. $400 for a thermostat.

Turns out they didn't hook up my temp sensor.

I just run a wood stove in mine, it's cold up here in Canada. lol