Temperature display on the HVAC module

[Rolfe]

I mentioned this in another thread but nobody came back to me on it, so I thought I'd start a new thread.

Lots of people (including some MG4 online reviews) have mentioned that you have to crank the temperature way up to get decent heating from the car. Certainly mine is like that. I have however seen one or two people claim that this is not the case with their car.

The temperature range on the system starts at LO and ends at HI, obviously. This part is normal. It's the numbers in between that are peculiar. In my car the first number as you go up from LO is 18C. The last number before you reach HI is 32C.

This is what I think is wrong. In my Golf the last number before you hit HI was 26C, and although I can't remember exactly what the first number up from LO was, I'm damn sure it was less than 18C. Nobody in their right mind wants to heat a car interior up to 32C, never mind more than that, but wanting it chilled down below 18C doesn't seem at all unreasonable.

I think the offset is 5 degrees, because I get the same level of comfort at 28C in my MG4 as I did at 23C in my Golf. Others have guessed the same. I don't see this as a calibration issue, I see it as a labelling issue. It's as if someone had taken the physical dial on my Golf and stuck new numbers over the existing ones, each number five higher than the real one. Obviously we can't relabel the MG4's readout to the correct numbers because it's on a screen and not a physical dial, but I'm convinced this is all it is. What a daft bug!

What I want to know, what is the temperature range available on the system for those people who believe they don't have this issue? Does everyone's range go from 18C to 32C, or are some correctly labelled and show 13C to 27C?

 

[siteguru]

FWIW I set my AC to 23C and auto fan, and find that OK. In my previous Insignia I used to set 22C auto, but that had proper climate control with 2 front zones, so the reaction was a little different.

 

[Rolfe]

So what are the minimum and maximum temperatures your system will display (between LO and HI)?

 

[siteguru]

Same as yours (from memory - I know the highest is 32C then HI; I've not tried setting low temperatures).

 

[Rolfe]

Well, there goes a perfectly good theory, in that case.

 

[siteguru]

No - I think there's something your theory. It's just the thermal profiles of the differing cars, and my belief that I think the offset is more like 3C rather than 5C.

 

[DB Go Rex]

I mentioned this in another thread but nobody came back to me on it, so I thought I'd start a new thread.

Lots of people (including some MG4 online reviews) have mentioned that you have to crank the temperature way up to get decent heating from the car. Certainly mine is like that. I have however seen one or two people claim that this is not the case with their car.

The temperature range on the system starts at LO and ends at HI, obviously. This part is normal. It's the numbers in between that are peculiar. In my car the first number as you go up from LO is 18C. The last number before you reach HI is 32C.

This is what I think is wrong. In my Golf the last number before you hit HI was 26C, and although I can't remember exactly what the first number up from LO was, I'm damn sure it was less than 18C. Nobody in their right mind wants to heat a car interior up to 32C, never mind more than that, but wanting it chilled down below 18C doesn't seem at all unreasonable.

I think the offset is 5 degrees, because I get the same level of comfort at 28C in my MG4 as I did at 23C in my Golf. Others have guessed the same. I don't see this as a calibration issue, I see it as a labelling issue. It's as if someone had taken the physical dial on my Golf and stuck new numbers over the existing ones, each number five higher than the real one. Obviously we can't relabel the MG4's readout to the correct numbers because it's on a screen and not a physical dial, but I'm convinced this is all it is. What a daft bug!

What I want to know, what is the temperature range available on the system for those people who believe they don't have this issue? Does everyone's range go from 18C to 32C, or are some correctly labelled and show 13C to 27C?

I read this thinking "It's May, and it's been almost 20C today, is this another poster from the Australian winter?", and then I saw "Location: Scotland" ?

 

[raph]

I like your theory, the temperature being off by about 4-5°C seems right to me, my default Temperature (in any other car) is 21°C, in the MG4 it's 26°C.

 

[Rolfe]

What is actually intriguing me is the possibility that it's not really an offset but simply a problem of labelling. If this was a physical dial I'd simply get some sticky labels with 13 to 27 on them and stick them over the numbers 18 to 32, and it would be fine and dandy. But I can't do that with a touchscreen!

Anyway, Siteguru's car seems to be arguing against that theory.

I read this thinking "It's May, and it's been almost 20C today, is this another poster from the Australian winter?", and then I saw "Location: Scotland" ?

We were up at 16C today, even where I am (800 feet elevation) but it does get cooler in the evenings. Also, I've been fiddling with this more or less since I got the car in the middle of April when it was a lot colder.

But on the other hand, the same applies when the aircon is on. With my Golf, once I had the car at a nice temperature on a hot day I tended to run it with A/C on and the temperature at 23C. On Friday afternoon I found myself running the MG4 with A/C on and the temperature at 28C for the same effect. It sounds nuts, but it was fine.

These air vents are lovely, too. I'm not having cold air blasted at me, the temperature just gently drifts to where I want it to be.

 

[Ian Key]

I used to run my Focus's AC at 19 but set the MG4's to 22 or 23.
As they all seem to be the same amount out it's got to be a programming problem which maybe they'll get round to correcting.

 

[Les burrows]

Why ho why does it matter, if the weather is cold crank the thing up, and if it’s hot turn it down until you get where your happy one way or other, just ignore the dam numbers, what does it matter what they say it’s an MG not a VW, ford, Vauxhall, or any other brand they are all different in many ways, if I’m hot I turn down the temp setting and the fan up and if it’s cold I just turn the temp up end off.
Les

 

[NewMG4me]

Why ho why does it matter, if the weather is cold crank the thing up, and if it’s hot turn it down until you get where your happy one way or other, just ignore the dam numbers, what does it matter what they say it’s an MG not a VW, ford, Vauxhall, or any other brand they are all different in many ways, if I’m hot I turn down the temp setting and the fan up and if it’s cold I just turn the temp up end off.
Les

You ok this morning Les ?

 

[Les burrows]

Fine thanks. Looks like another lovely bright and sunny day ahead where I am.

 

[MuzGB1970]

From memory my Ioniq first number was 16 after LOW, I never set it high enough to find out the top value. I think the values in my 4 are out by about 3 degrees also, currently set on 22 for the nice weather we're having and would have been 19 in the Ioniq.

 

[tsedge]

For me the MG4 is +3C to +4C above what I have set on other cars and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I care not about the number but whether it is comfortable, which it is.

 

[jasonh]

Think the range in my previous last 6 or 7 cars, before the MG4.
range between, LO(for AC)16 to 26/28.
Industry standard I would suggest. Such that as the MG falls outside of this standard, the consumer is wary.

The fact that the heating and cooling works, and is controllable in the MG4 is indeed correct.

So rolfe, i think your calibration of 3 to 5 points out, is very close when comparing to most other cars.

 

[Deleted member 9692]

Why ho why does it matter, if the weather is cold crank the thing up, and if it’s hot turn it down until you get where your happy one way or other, just ignore the dam numbers, what does it matter what they say it’s an MG not a VW, ford, Vauxhall, or any other brand they are all different in many ways, if I’m hot I turn down the temp setting and the fan up and if it’s cold I just turn the temp up end off.
Les

If only it were that simple. Driving in this morning and exterior is 12 degrees. Need 26 to get any warmth, at 25 it is freezing cold. Turning off the a/c made little difference, still cold at 25 and sweating at 26. My guess is a faulty temp sensor in the car. Mine goes in for the 11th booking since new on 30th and I hope they will finally sort it. They told me they have fixed on another car so there is finally hope!

 

[Rolfe]

If only it were that simple. Driving in this morning and exterior is 12 degrees. Need 26 to get any warmth, at 25 it is freezing cold. Turning off the a/c made little difference, still cold at 25 and sweating at 26. My guess is a faulty temp sensor in the car. Mine goes in for the 11th booking since new on 30th and I hope they will finally sort it. They told me they have fixed on another car so there is finally hope!

That sounds like a somewhat different issue, and a genuine fault. Please let us know how you get on and whether this fix is successful. Also whether your temperature range still reads 18-32 when you get it back! (A car heater that will crank up to 32 before reaching HI? Has this ever been heard of before?)

In general l agree with Len and Tsedge. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. It just feels very weird driving around with this very visible number in view which is so clearly wrong. Also, because it's so visible, having to explain to every passenger that I'm not actually trying to roast them. I suppose I, and the friends I car-share with regularly, will get used to it.

 

[Deleted member 9692]

That sounds like a somewhat different issue, and a genuine fault

Different how? You also have to set much higher than expected to get heat…..

 

[Rolfe]

You're saying that it's freezing cold at 25 and sweating at 26. That's not just a labelling shift or offset.

I do find myself flipping between 27 and 28 sometimes, because 28 can get too warm but 27 can get too fresh, but that's fairly normal, I used to flip between 22 and 23 on my Golf in just the same way. It's partly to do with the tolerance allowed before the system will try to correct the temperature. There is a graduated range of temperatures, it's just that the numbers are out.

If you're freezing at one temperature and sweating at a nominal one degree higher, there has to be a fault.