Lude Generation

Morning all, I've looked through everything I possibly can but can't seem to figure out what this 'vent' thing is. Can anyone help please? Thanks, Si.

Climate control temp sensor.

simonc wrote:Morning all, I've looked through everything I possibly can but can't seem to figure out what this 'vent' thing is. Can anyone help please? Thanks, Si.

its the in car temp sensor for the climate control I think hopefully I'm right lol

Much obliged @newkid. Does it measure/monitor the temperature inside the car and alters the 'Auto' setting?

If it's kaput then could explain why the 'Auto' setting never changes as it's always on full blast.

simonc wrote:Does it measure/monitor the temperature inside the car and alters the 'Auto' setting?

Yes, but generally all of mine in the past have always blown out on full blast. I think it might just vary the temperature in which it blows out. If you want to adjust the power then you have to manually turn it down each time using the "FAN" button.

Cheers Nathan. Now I understand. Thanks everybody. Eeeh, you learn summat new every day on this forum...

The climate control uses a number of sensors to determine what to do.

• Interior temperature sensor - behind the small panel you highlighted above.
• Sunlight sensor - located on the dashboard at the base of the windscreen.
• Exterior temperature sensor - located in front of the radiator, behind the front bumper.
• Evaporator temperature sensor - located after the evaporator (the a/c 'radiator' inside the car) - ensures that the evaporator is working at ~2-4°C (or ~4-6°C in Eco mode).

The combination of these sensors determine how the A/C system works.

The evaporator temperature sensor is used to engage/disengage the A/C compressor clutch.

The sunlight sensor is used to determine whether the sun is shining on the car, and will compensate for the additional heating properties of the sun.

The exterior temperature sensor is used to determine the difference between inside and outside temperatures. You need less cooling (or heating) if the interior temperature is similar to exterior temperature.

The interior temperature sensor is used modulate the overall output in addition to the above.


The climate control system uses a combination of the A/C (which will only cool/dehumidify the air), and the heater, to module the temperature of the air coming out of the vents. The fan speeds are also adjusted automatically to maintain the temperature. It will ramp up the fans initially if there are large temperature changes required, else it will lower the fan speed when the desired temperature is approached.


To check that the auto function is working correctly, try setting the temperature higher (especially as you're in a very hot country!) - it may just be that it needs to keep the fans on full to maintain/achieve the target temperature?

I'd second what @confused is saying here - it's not that warm in the UK right now but to keep the temp in my van at anything under 21 degrees then the auto climate control is pumping out ice cold air at full blast. Over 21 degrees it starts to back off a bit with the fan setting.

I'm guessing it's a considerable amount warmer in Malaysia, so I'm guessing that the climate control has to run at full chat to stand a chance of keeping the car at the desired temperature. I've just pointed the vents away from me on my van and I let it do its thing, it keeps the cabin a fairly comfortable temperature.

@Confused, very grateful for that concise feedback, many thanks. @jjmartin349571, thanks for your thoughts as well.
Really appreciate everyone's comments - super detailed info to pass on to Jason. Thanks again to you all, Si.