northbenz

My dealer suggested that some customers have been disappointed with the 4-way climate control as it really does not allow the driver to have cool air to keep him awake while the rear seat passenger can sleep with warm air. Instead it apparently only allows a variation of temperature by a few degrees. What is the experience of those of you who have had this feature? Does it work better on the newer designed E Class than it did on the S Class? Is it an option that is worth the extra 500 dollars on the E320?

psyrtash

In Canada 4-way climate control is standard equipment in the `03 320/500 E`s. The air/heat distribution is great. The problem is that since there is only one compressor (unlike the S series with 2 compressors) the rear seat passenger can not have it cooler than the front driver setting. Conversely the rear seat passenger
can not make it warmer than the front driver setting.

nyca

I notice from the photos posted that alot of 320 buyers do not get this option. I had always thought that I would get it because it is an inexpensive option, but now I am not so sure. Is the standard HVAC control in the 320 good enough?

akmal31

you say that the rear passengers dont get the same heat as the front passengers.......is that the same with the cold air????

KevinR

Are you sure? my manuel says something else.

jim256

All multi-zone systems typically cool the air first with the compressor, then re-heat if the demand is there from a zone. I'd be surprised if this is not the case on both 2 and 4 zone W211's. Granted, if it's very hot and the system is working hard to get to 70, then the rear passenger can't demand 60 and get it. Otherwise, you should be able to have the registers produce differing air temps. This diagram appears to confirm that:

http://www.mbusalearning.com/w211ele...ntrol/pg26.htm

I'm not one to ask for advice on 4 vs. 2--I leave the front on 72 each side on my 2-zone, and nobody rides in the back. I expect most 320's have the 2 zone because they are ordered by the dealer for stock at a price point and most people accept it that way.

psyrtash

What does YOUR manual say about 4 way ventillation?

mbprince

a few weeks ago, I had the a/c on (73) and for some reason, my daughter was cold so she set her rear control to 'High'. The air she was getting was 'hot'. I was shocked when I put my arm on the center console, my elbow sticking out just slightly over the rear air vents and felt this unexpected hot air!!!

marksatex

MY experiance has been like mbprince's.

Otto

as mbprince described -- it is useful if you do have passangers in rear.

my wife does not like "cold" air and she usually sits rear with my 3 years old son while I drive. because of 4 zone, she can has her warm air while I enjoy my cold air.

MB fan2

The problem with 4 zone system that I find is that there is no separate blower botton for rear, like in ML. The "rear control botton" in the main climate cluster controls only rear tempreture, not the speed. So the fact that the rear passangers can change their own setting (good thing) is not really useful, in my experience, as the blower, at least in my E500, is Very weak in rear compared to the front (bad thing).

IMO, it is not working as advertised - in order to get comfortable with proper blower speed in the rear, I in the front get a lot of air blown in my face.

MB-JIM

Even the C 320 has a separate blower in the rear that was added beginning with the 2002 Models.

bmms8

its not the same system. the E500 has a 4 zone climate system, the rear occupants can set thier own temperature. it also has vents on the B-pillars(if thats what they are called)

nyca

well, based on that comparison chart, it looks like its worth getting the 4 zone upgrade, the better sensors alone seem worth it.

jim256

MB-JIM: I don't think there's any separate rear blower, check this schematic:

http://www.mbusalearning.com/w211ele...ntrol/pg25.htm


In fact, as pointed out above, neither does the 4-zone.

MB-JIM

I can positively guarantee that the 2002 C320 has the power blower for the rear air distribution. It is only on the cars with seat memory. The 2001 models did not have the blower. For 2002 they took almost the entire lower portion of the center storage to install the blower. I had a 2001 C320 without the blower and the airflow wasn't very good for the rear seat passengers. It works fine now even here ion Arizona. You can easily hear the blower when you turn it on.

abhansali

I think MB-JIM is right, because at the dealership, I had also test driven a c-class, and I recall there being almost no room in the center console, which the salesman said was due to the blower for the rear A/C.

jim256

My error MB-JIM, I missed that you were talking about a C320, just assumed we were staying within W211 on the discussion. The W211 has no rear blower.

Barney

I think the system works as promised but could be better. I often find the fan blowing too hard (say it is set for 73 and outside it is 80) such that I get too cold and have to turn the blower down. Unfortunately, that take it off of automatic mode and then about 20 minutes later I find I'm either too hot or too cold and realize I need to re-engage the auto function.

Keep in mind that for the rear (which does adjust temp separately) this is only for the CENTER vents. The vents in the B-pillar are NOT affected by the rear temp settings. So if you want it cold up front and warm in the rear, probably best to close the B-pillar vents as they will still be sending out cold air.