young

what do you think about the dual-temp climate system? i sort of like it except when i am by myself and i have to set both dials. does the digital one have like a 'master' temp control?

newMBz

Young, I liked the idea have a master control which can set the dual temps in one simple touch when I'm driving along.

jkelley

OK, so mine is in a CLK55, not a C class, but I find the dual zones to be an absolute necessity when I'm not alone in the car (nobody else seems to like it as chilly as me - typically set mine at 66-68F).

Enjoy!

KWiK

For me, dual zone doesn't really matter, I always have both sides set to the same temp.

Ethan

I've never noticed a difference even when the temperature dials are at opposite ends. Sure, the air blows cold on one side, warm on the other, but once it gets in the cabin, it mixes and doesn't really change things. I think it's one of those features that's good in theory, but not really practical.

SoCal240/6

I like it. I think most married guys like it, because wimmen always like to have the car 20 degrees hotter than it should be. At least with dual zones, you can fight back a little.

Actually, I like the system on my '86 535 better, though. Besides being a lot simpler, it works better. The way they have it set up is so that only cool air can blow through the center dash vents. Hot air comes through the upper windshield vents and the lower footwell vents only.

They do this because its not good to ever have warm air blowing directly on you. Makes you groggy.

So, when its really cold, you just push the lever to shut off the center vents.

But when one passenger gets to hot, he can just open the center vents and point the cool air at his face! It also is refreshing to sometimes point cool air at your face when you are driving in a heated car.

My biggest complaint about the MB system is that I can't figure out how to get just plain, unmodified outside air flowing through the dash vents. No matter what I do, the air seems processed, usually somewhat humid.

Rick

I'd like it a lot better if it had the electronic display as I've seen in some C Class brochure's. My girlfriend likes it, and LOVES the heated seats.

pixmation

I can only use it in the summer for air conditioning. I cannot use the heater because it blows hot air to my leg and makes my shin and calves extremely dry and itch. and I cannot find to shut the airflow to the floor in auto mode.

revstriker

I was a little skeptical at first, but since my wife likes it a lot warmer than I do (Socal is right on the money), I have found that it works quite well. If she sets her side to 72, and I set mine to 68, we are both comfortable. In her car, I sometimes end up sweating my butt off. I'm interested to see how it works in the heat of the summer though.

Yellow_Fly_Red

Love the climate control....
Never ever had to fool around with adjusting the temp or the Fan speed again..... I set both sides to the same temp.

ALL the girls LOVE the heated seats...

MarkL

I've never known a car where you could "locally" close the floor vents with a mechanical device like the A/C vents. To stop air from flowing from the lower vents during heating mode you'll have to disengage auto mode and use the air flow control knob to redirect the air to other vents.

bagwell

the entire climate control system seems VERY slow to react to my inputs which is weird.

Yes the dual system (digital here) is nice to have, but I think the overall system could function better.

I had an Infiniti I30 (not dual) that if it was 30°F outside and I set the system on 80° - the fan wouldn't even start until it could produce warm air....then it would blast on HIGH. I'm assuming that's how the MB system is SUPPOSED to work, but it doesn't (not mine anyway).

I know there's separate AUTO mode for the temps and fan speed...but the AUTO fan speed doesn't work too well in my opinion.

anybody had better luck ?

MarkL

One of the misconceptions about the use of auto climate control systems is that you have to adjust the temp control to get the right temp of air for the current conditions. Actually, most climate control systems work best when you leave the controls alone. You shouldn't have to move the temp control to 80 to get warm air when it's 30 outside. The system will automatically increase fan speed and air temp as needed when you first start off, then moderate fan speed and air temp as the cabin reaches the selected temperature. Some systems do delay the fan completely until warm air is available, but the MB system seems to start up w/ a low speed fan right away. As the engine warms up, the fan speed will increase to bring the cabin to the selected temp as quickly as possible. I've found that I rarely need to move the temp dials from 72. If I do, I only move it in 1 degree increments. From my experience with many auto systems, I think my C240 is among the best behaved systems.

bagwell

the 80° setting was MY WIFE'S SELECTION...

if it was set on 72 it would do the same thing until the temp inside the car gets close to 72...

I've never seen my C320 AUTO fan speed EVER move or change - and IT SHOULD -- and not take 10 mins to change.


//// BUT I LIKE THE DUAL SYSTEM !! //// Just think it could function a little better

BigBadDad

2 words: Wear pants

I personally think it is a gimmick, one that my wife likes. She sets hers in the red all the time. What they should do is combine the ventilated seats with dual zone. That way the heating and cooling effects would be localized, somewhat.

MarkL

Oh! That's OK, my wife still asks me if we can videotape a show on TV while watching another channel!

tommy

I'd prefer a retrofit of my 12-year-old crx's hvac system. I like the 4-speed fan with different settings.
My preferred setting is to have no heat with a little cool air blowing, which is impossible on this "more advanced" system. Of course, I'm single, so I don't really have to care much about not offending the better half.

I'd really like an override setting to cancel out the temp part of the system, but I'm assuming that now that we're temp and zone based, the easy days are behind us.

revstriker

It's possible then that something is wrong with your climate control. Perhaps the auto fan is not working properly? When I first start my car, the fan comes on at a low speed. As the engine heats up, the fan speed increases (you can see the digital display of the fan increasing.... I can't hear mine over the radio) until the desired temp is reached, and then the fan goes down to a lower setting.

I am very pleased with the way this works, and the car seems to heat up very quickly on those blistering cold 40 degree mornings. Brrrrrrrr. :p

pixmation

I do wear pants during the winter.
In my case, it's not making any difference, pants or shorts.

Only thing to do keep putting lotion on.