MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2017 - AUG1

Total Vehicle Climate and Thermal ManagementTM

August 2017

By Paul Weissler - MACS Senior Field Correspondent

TEMPERATURE "TRIM" ADJUSTMENT
had a meeting with just one member of a household
who may be driving the car, not the one complaining. Because Climate Control settings are the most
personal of all, the ones made with the "dealer expert" are rarely going to satisfy everybody. Most
important, how they were made is sure to elude
others, and pretty likely including also the one who
sat with the expert. The settings go beyond Climate
Control into such areas as steering feel, ride quality, heated/cooled seat temperature outputs, and
the power controls for seat, steering wheel position
and mirror adjustments. All these can make a big
difference in customer satisfaction.
In the rare case where both a husband and wife
individually have the dealer make custom settings,
an issue arises when they inadvertently (or advertently if one can't find his/her key fob), switch the
key fobs. Because all the settings are calibrated for a
specific key fob... well, you get the idea. And if the
car is loaned to progeny with any different ideas
about interior comfort (some technically savvy
enough to make changes), the dissatisfaction issues
can really become pronounced.
With Climate Control in the highest-tech cars,
there often is a "trim" adjustment, so that drivers
who feel the "face air" temperature is too cold and
want to warm it a bit (or vice versa), can make the
change in a sub-menu on the control head's display

It's normal is a term we've used in previous MACS
Service Reports to describe conditions that the
shop is told by the motorist is a defect or performance deficiency, but actually is not; that really is
supposed to be that way. The sophistication in the
software is so complex that motorists' complaints
often are nothing you can fix. You might pick up the
owner 's manual (or run the DVD if the "manual" is
in that form) and not find any reference to what the
motorist is complaining about. Or even if there is
some sort of reference, the 1500-page owner 's manual probably is more than you can hope to read and
find it. But you could give it a trial read and maybe
you'll be lucky.
It often comes down to you hearing about a software complexity and then looking for it. The Wall
St. Journal recently ran a Page 1 article on the subject, noting that some dealers (particularly those
who sell the premium models), have one person
in the sales department who is supposed to be the
"dealer expert," able to sort through such issues
and save the service department from dealing with
the customer, and whenever possible, spend as long
as necessary with a car buyer to explain the nuances
of the vehicle.
However, that "dealer expert" typically deals with
a tiny minority of owners, and certainly not with
second owners. And in the best case, the "expert"

ALSO INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
BUYING A RECOVERY/RECYCLE/RECHARGE MACHINE ........................................................................................... 3
THOSE EXTERNAL SOLENOID VALVES ........................................................................................................................ 5
MAYBE, BUT MAYBE NOT .............................................................................................................................................. 6
WIRING ISN'T ALWAYS WELL-PROTECTED .................................................................................................................. 8

MACS Service Reports is the official technical publication of the Mobile Air Conditioning Society Worldwide, Inc., P.O. Box 88, Lansdale, PA 19446. The material published in MACS Service Reports expresses the views of the contributors
and not necessarily that of MACS. Every attempt has been made to ensure

August 2017

the accuracy of the content of MACS Service Reports. MACS, however, will
not be responsible for the accuracy of the information published nor will MACS
Worldwide be liable in any way for injury, labor, parts or other expenses resulting
from the use of information appearing in MACS Service Reports.

MACS Service Reports

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2017