[DavidM17]

I think my automatic climate control has been working ok up to this point since I haven't really noticed anything, but now it seems to not be heating correctly. It seems to slow down on the heating before the cabin reaches the set temp. It'll still be blowing hot air, but at a really slow blower speed. I can manully control the setting and the blower will blow at the set speed so the blower itself seems ok. The other thing is that in auto it only blows out the defrost and floor vents. I don't know if that is normal operation when heating, but unless it needs to defrost I'd think air should be coming out of the dash and floor vents. Again, I can manually control the vents and the air goes to the right place so the vent motors themselves work fine.

I was looking in the infotainment menu to see if I could find what the HVAC system thinks the cabin temp is, but it doesn't seem to show that; only the outside air temp. Anyone know if MES or AlfaOBD can display the cabin air temp? I'm guessing they can, but would be nice to verify. Also, where is the cabin temp sensor?

I've read through a lot of the climate control threads on here and giuliaforms and couldn't really find an answer. Thanks.

 

[Franiacob]

My QV does the same thing. Basically all winter I have it set to 3 blower speed and 78 degrees. When I first start the car and drive off the blower speed is low, super faint, but as I keep driving (31 mile commute), it gets stronger and stronger until the car is up to temp and then it blows at a consistent force the rest of the way; in other words the force of air gets stronger as the car warms up until it kinda "levels off" despite me NOT changing the blower setting ("3"), if that makes sense.

 

[goblue]

I've noticed that the AC is kind of wonky sometimes....

I live in WI, so the 3 times a year where it gets really hot, sometimes the alfa has trouble "recognizing" that it's hot and that it needs to really get serious about blowing cold air. What I do in these cases is turn the temp so that it says LO, make sure driver and passenger are synced, make sure the compressor light is on...then wait for it to blow really cold air and keep it there for a few minutes. Then return it back to a set temp (68 or whatever) and then it will work fine and keep the cabin temp.

 

[drgp31]

My QV does the same thing. Basically all winter I have it set to 3 blower speed and 78 degrees. When I first start the car and drive off the blower speed is low, super faint, but as I keep driving (31 mile commute), it gets stronger and stronger until the car is up to temp and then it blows at a consistent force the rest of the way; in other words the force of air gets stronger as the car warms up until it kinda "levels off" despite me NOT changing the blower setting ("3"), if that makes sense.

Do you want it to blow cold air? It takes a little time for the engine coolant to warm up. No car (not electric ) will blow hot air right away when engine is cold

 

[ChadW]

I don't have the issue mentioned here but mine seems miscalibrated. I usually set my temp to 63 during the winter in my Stelvio whereas my other vehicles I usually have it closer to 68 or 70 for comfort. I wonder if the dealer can calibrate this.

 

[drdon]

Not really the point here, but my Alfa's (Giulia and Stelvio) heater heats up faster than any car I have previously owned. I sometimes wondered if it was electric assisted. Never had a discernible problem with the heater, air conditioning, except, sometimes, to get it to vent the cabin with ambient outside air. Yes I know I can open a window.

 

[AlfaRomeoCares]

Hi David,

We regret to hear that you're running into some issues with the climate control in your vehicle. This certainly sounds frustrating. We do recommend making an appointment with your dealer for diagnosis and repair, if necessary. Should you decide to go this route, please send us a message if you would like an extra layer of support.

Lex
Alfa Romeo Cares

 

[AlfaRomeoCares]

My QV does the same thing. Basically all winter I have it set to 3 blower speed and 78 degrees. When I first start the car and drive off the blower speed is low, super faint, but as I keep driving (31 mile commute), it gets stronger and stronger until the car is up to temp and then it blows at a consistent force the rest of the way; in other words the force of air gets stronger as the car warms up until it kinda "levels off" despite me NOT changing the blower setting ("3"), if that makes sense.

Hi there,

We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing a similar issue. Have you brought this to the attention of your dealer? If not, we recommend doing so. Please send us a private message if decide to make an appointment add you'd like some extra support.

Lex
Alfa Romeo Cares

 

[AlfaRomeoCares]

I don't have the issue mentioned here but mine seems miscalibrated. I usually set my temp to 63 during the winter in my Stelvio whereas my other vehicles I usually have it closer to 68 or 70 for comfort. I wonder if the dealer can calibrate this.

Hello Chad,

If you make an appointment with your dealer to assess this issue, we are happy to offer an extra layer of support. Just send us a private message with your appointment information to get started.

Lex
Alfa Romeo Cares

 

[DavidM17]

Drove it a couple more times and the heat worked better getting the cabin up to temp, but it still only blows out the center defrost vents and the floor vents. Can other people check and see where air is coming out during heat. If other people are getting heat out the dash vents then something is wrong with my auto system. If everyone else only has air out the defrost and floor vents then I guess it's a "feature".

I've started turning off the climate control when I park the car and wait till a few minutes after driving to turn on auto climate. Don't know if that is making a difference, but so far it's heating better.

 

[Malibu]

A lot of HVAC systems will not blow hot air out of the dash vents in "auto" mode in order to avoid making the driver drowsy. Heat is typically distributed via the floor vents (as heat rises) and defrost vents if the system thinks it's necessary. My Cayenne even has separate blower motors for the floor vents which only operate when the system is calling for heat.

Waiting until the coolant is up to temp before turning on the blower when heat is called for is also very typical of most modern HVAC systems in auto mode. Otherwise all it's doing is blowing cold air for the first few minutes.

What does the owner's manual say about it?

 

[dianebrat]

Drove it a couple more times and the heat worked better getting the cabin up to temp, but it still only blows out the center defrost vents and the floor vents. Can other people check and see where air is coming out during heat. If other people are getting heat out the dash vents then something is wrong with my auto system. If everyone else only has air out the defrost and floor vents then I guess it's a "feature".

I've started turning off the climate control when I park the car and wait till a few minutes after driving to turn on auto climate. Don't know if that is making a difference, but so far it's heating better.

That's the way the heat process has worked for decades, heat is a small amount of air to the windshield, and 90% down to the floor, you have to manually select the dash vents. The dash vents are primary for A/C, once again, for decades.

I'm in the Northeast, setting everything to Auto and the temp to 72 works perfectly for me, in the winter it starts with the fan low because the coolant temp isn't up yet, then as the coolant temp normalizes it blasts the heat, and then as heat builds in the car, it swaps to slow fan to bottom and top only. It works the reverse in the summer, once again, exactly as expected.

 

[Huecifer]

No heat out of the middle vents in Auto mode. When I first got the car I used to futz with the HVAC. Now I just leave it set to a temp and the car figures it all out.

 

[DavidM17]

Drove the wife's Mercedes GLA250 this morning and it sends heat out the dash vents in auto. 🤷‍♂️ It's still sending air out the floor and defrost vents, but also out the dash. The defrost is just a small amount of air with more coming out the dash vents. I like this mode a lot better than just blowing out the defrost vents. Heat blowing on you is nice when it's cold. I have the sparcos so no heated seats and having heat out the dash would be good.

There is a lot of air blowing out the defrost. It's not just a little bit. I'd guess it's 50/50 defrost/floor. If it was mostly floor that would be some better. I guess I'll chalk it up to that's how it's supposed to work, but if I take it in for other warranty work I'll get it checked. I think I read about a humidity sensor and maybe that's flakey and causing more air to go out defrost.

 

[Huecifer]

Whenever I turn the car on (including AS/S) below 40 degrees F, the defrost automatically turns on. It's very annoying. The dealership said it's designed that way. I think it probably has to do with making sure stupid people who don't understand how defrosting works don't eff up all the cameras and sensors for Auto Emergency Braking and radar cruise on the windshield in the winter. Basically, Alfa wants the defrost to be on when it's cold enough for better camera and sensor functioning.

Don't forget that you can always set the temp, blower speed, and blower output to the area you want by NOT using the auto function....

 

[dianebrat]

Drove the wife's Mercedes GLA250 this morning and it sends heat out the dash vents in auto. 🤷‍♂️ It's still sending air out the floor and defrost vents, but also out the dash. The defrost is just a small amount of air with more coming out the dash vents. I like this mode a lot better than just blowing out the defrost vents. Heat blowing on you is nice when it's cold. I have the sparcos so no heated seats and having heat out the dash would be good.

The Mercedes is the outlier, not the Alfa, as I explained above.

 

[DavidM17]

Whenever I turn the car on (including AS/S) below 40 degrees F, the defrost automatically turns on. It's very annoying. The dealership said it's designed that way. I think it probably has to do with making sure stupid people who don't understand how defrosting works don't eff up all the cameras and sensors for Auto Emergency Braking and radar cruise on the windshield in the winter. Basically, Alfa wants the defrost to be on when it's cold enough for better camera and sensor functioning.

Don't forget that you can always set the temp, blower speed, and blower output to the area you want by NOT using the auto function....

That makes some sense about wanting the defrost on for the windshield sensors. If it was just a little that would be ok, but it seems like it's directing half the air there.

I think my Aston also sends heat out the dash vents, but I haven't driven it yet since this adventure has begun because the weather has been too cold or crappy. So I'm not sure I go along yet with all cars not sending heat out the dash vents in auto. I'm forever going to be checking which vents heat comes out in every car I get in from now on. LOL