Anyone else noticed that the lights on the heating controls are not very bright? The 'dots' around the fan speed control are OK but the rest are not really up to being seen in daylight, especially now we're getting some decent sunshine. Since all the HVAC controls are mounted low in the panel I find this a bit of a nuisance.

Also, anyone experminented with the full & economy settings for air con? I'm going to guess that the 'econ' setting does not give any aircon, it's like a non-a/c car where its effectivness at cooling is a function of the outside temp. When you go for full a/c it does the job but I'm not convinced how it will deal with the warmer climates,. I'm known for keeping my car very cool!

Not had a problem with seeing the lights in the heater panel. They are all the same brightness.

I've only had the air con running on fully cold once - it turned the car into a fridge!

Hi Avtur,
I feel that the ventilation system lights are just fine.

Yes ECON is aircon off. As the manual states, it provides the lowest temp possible regarding the outside temp. Here, in Greece, temp has reached 27 deg C today, and my auto climate control system behaved just great, set at 21 deg. My only problem is that the central vent pops the air just on my hand or face which could easily give you an aircon cold! I tried setting the temp to 17 a few days ago and I must tell you the system is 'freezing'! Great car, great air conditioning.
Will let you know about warmer days (will possibly get 40 deg in August)

Okay, let me deal with the HVAC illumination first. Are you saying that the background illumination is too low or the tell-tale LED's that show button status? In either case, the illumination is controlled via the variable dimming switch. What setting do you have it on?
As for ECON, yes this is the opposite to having a button called 'A/C', so if it's enabled, the A/C compressor is switched off. The minimum temperature that the system will ever blow from the vents are ambient air temperature + any heat pickup through the HVAC unit (minimal effect).
I question the logic in ever going to ECON. The compressor's fitted to both engine types have a variable displacement. This means in lower ambients the force required to pump the gas is lower, leading to lower fuel consumption compared to high ambients. This leads onto the last point of you not being convinced that the system will 'do the job' in high ambients - I would like to hear how you came to this conclusion based on the fact that the highest ambients seen this year in the UK are in the low 20's.

HC001 wrote:

Okay, let me deal with the HVAC illumination first. Are you saying that the background illumination is too low or the tell-tale LED's that show button status? In either case, the illumination is controlled via the variable dimming switch. What setting do you have it on?
As for ECON, yes this is the opposite to having a button called 'A/C', so if it's enabled, the A/C compressor is switched off. The minimum temperature that the system will ever blow from the vents are ambient air temperature + any heat pickup through the HVAC unit (minimal effect).
I question the logic in ever going to ECON. The compressor's fitted to both engine types have a variable displacement. This means in lower ambients the force required to pump the gas is lower, leading to lower fuel consumption compared to high ambients. This leads onto the last point of you not being convinced that the system will 'do the job' in high ambients - I would like to hear how you came to this conclusion based on the fact that the highest ambients seen this year in the UK are in the low 20's.

If its any help it may be worth going to your delear and checking the lamps on another vehicle, i did the same and found that my information display was faulty. These are the first production runs and there may be some faulty components....might also be worth checking the air con on another.

Just lamps and air con seem fine on mine.

Find lights OK on my GS.

Also the A/C can go really cold.

The other day with 29 Deg C outside, got into hot car, set dials down at 18 Deg C, and within minutes car was cool as a fridge. Generally leave set at about 20 and then it remains comfy for normal driving.

Just the way I like it!

Maybe your FL2 is low on refrigerant gas. This would cause poor cooling performance.

Mark Freelander 2
TD4 GS
Shiney fantastic Baltic Blue
Detachable Witter Towbar

Find lights OK on my GS.

Also the A/C can go really cold.

The other day with 29 Deg C outside, got into hot car, set dials down at 18 Deg C, and within minutes car was cool as a fridge. Generally leave set at about 20 and then it remains comfy for normal driving.

Just the way I like it!

Maybe your FL2 is low on refrigerant gas. This would cause poor cooling performance.

Mark Freelander 2
TD4 GS
Shiney fantastic Baltic Blue
Detachable Witter Towbar

markconnor33 wrote:

The other day with 29 Deg C outside, got into hot car, set dials down at 18 Deg C, and within minutes car was cool as a fridge.
Mark

I`d take this back to the dealer and complain that you set it to 18 deg. and it went to as cool as a fridge! Last time I looked at my fridge thermometer 5 degrees was the norm!
You really would be "cool"  Don`t drive faster than your angel can fly!

Remember during the summer a couple of years back in the UK when we were experiencing temperatures in the 40's, and a bloke in a Jaguar had his a/c cranked to max during a long drive and ended up with frostbite in his foot? Now that's cool........

ok friends, we are expecting 40 deg next Tuesday. I'll try to test the A/C out. It'll either be cool or I'll end up frozen in a hospital with no air conditioning (quite common at the national ones!)

Hi all

I know that this may sound a bit premature for the type of damage you are reporting but do have it checjed for an evaporator failure or a compressor hick-up

Ta leme ...

Ante geia!  FREEL-2-LOOPY