Climate Control Questions

[PDPete]

Driving around here where it's been cold, I've found 65 F is about the highest for my comfort level, but generally keep at 63...this is definitely a lower setting than my previous vehicle, but seems to be fine for me now that I've found the range to get the interior initially heated and a "sweet spot" for travel.

So, I don't know if it's a "problem", or just a case of being oddly calibrated compared to other vehicles I've owned.

Also, yeah, with Toyota, when using ECO mode, A/C is pretty weak.

 

[Dusty1]

My 1958 has similar thing with the temperature "controls". Certainly seems as if things aren't calibrated correctly for the settings shown, or what one is trying to set it to. At this point I am managing fine, but will circle back around at some point while watching the various threads on the problem.

 

[LC_DFW]

I am in Dallas, drive in normal mode and when I left for work in the morning it was around 32 degrees outside. I remote start my car from the app and the AC is already pre-set to 75 degrees. When I get in the car, its feels nice and comfortable but once I start driving, its starts getting really hot inside to the point of being very uncomfortable. I put the temperature down to 70, than 65, 62, and 61 but even at 61 it blows hot air. I put it down to LO (60 degrees) and it starts blowing cold air and gets really cold. I put it up to 62 from 60 and it starts blowing hot air, making me very uncomfortable. It seems like there is no middle ground here. It's either I am setting it on 61/62 degrees and dealing with hot air blowing at me or 60 degrees with cold air blowing at me. Very frustrated with the HVAC system in this car.

 

[dog]

I am in Dallas, drive in normal mode and when I left for work in the morning it was around 32 degrees outside. I remote start my car from the app and the AC is already pre-set to 75 degrees. When I get in the car, its feels nice and comfortable but once I start driving, its starts getting really hot inside to the point of being very uncomfortable. I put the temperature down to 70, than 65, 62, and 61 but even at 61 it blows hot air. I put it down to LO (60 degrees) and it starts blowing cold air and gets really cold. I put it up to 62 from 60 and it starts blowing hot air, making me very uncomfortable. It seems like there is no middle ground here. It's either I am setting it on 61/62 degrees and dealing with hot air blowing at me or 60 degrees with cold air blowing at me. Very frustrated with the HVAC system in this car.

This has been my experience as well, but I haven't messed around with it much.

I can set it to 68 when it's clearly hot inside the car an the hot air will just keep blasting. I have to set it to like 60 to get it down and then it starts shooting cold air.

It also seems like it takes a while to get started blowing hot air too. And almost never blows through the front vents when it's on "Auto" but only through the defrost vents even when defroster isn't on. I assume some of this is user error since I haven't done a deep dive into the manual yet but it's definitely some odd and unintuitive behavior.

 

[dtxlcfe]

I am in Dallas, drive in normal mode and when I left for work in the morning it was around 32 degrees outside. I remote start my car from the app and the AC is already pre-set to 75 degrees. When I get in the car, its feels nice and comfortable but once I start driving, its starts getting really hot inside to the point of being very uncomfortable. I put the temperature down to 70, than 65, 62, and 61 but even at 61 it blows hot air. I put it down to LO (60 degrees) and it starts blowing cold air and gets really cold. I put it up to 62 from 60 and it starts blowing hot air, making me very uncomfortable. It seems like there is no middle ground here. It's either I am setting it on 61/62 degrees and dealing with hot air blowing at me or 60 degrees with cold air blowing at me. Very frustrated with the HVAC system in this car.

Also in Dallas and I relate to this post hard in the past few weeks with our weather. I haven't tested this but just a thought. Has anyone tried turning the "AC" on? perhaps that turns on temperature regulation for hot as well as cold rather than just a fan motor blowing either all the way cold or all the way hot from engine air. may try that out today.

 

[LC_DFW]

Also in Dallas and I relate to this post hard in the past few weeks with our weather. I haven't tested this but just a thought. Has anyone tried turning the "AC" on? perhaps that turns on temperature regulation for hot as well as cold rather than just a fan motor blowing either all the way cold or all the way hot from engine air. may try that out today.

I always have the "AC" on but still get hot air blowing even when its set at 62 degrees.

 

[MSINAL]

I am in Dallas, drive in normal mode and when I left for work in the morning it was around 32 degrees outside. I remote start my car from the app and the AC is already pre-set to 75 degrees. When I get in the car, its feels nice and comfortable but once I start driving, its starts getting really hot inside to the point of being very uncomfortable. I put the temperature down to 70, than 65, 62, and 61 but even at 61 it blows hot air. I put it down to LO (60 degrees) and it starts blowing cold air and gets really cold. I put it up to 62 from 60 and it starts blowing hot air, making me very uncomfortable. It seems like there is no middle ground here. It's either I am setting it on 61/62 degrees and dealing with hot air blowing at me or 60 degrees with cold air blowing at me. Very frustrated with the HVAC system in this car.

Same issues for me in 2025 LC. Temp of 25*f outside with hvac set to all auto and 60*, it blows warm air non stop for 35 minute trip, and is way too hot in vehicle regardless of all the settings i tried. If i set temp to LO it blows way too hard/loud with very cold air so i have to change temp between LO and 60 constantly for duration of trip. This is with drive mode in Normal only.
This is by far the worst hvac system performance i have experienced in a vehicle during winter. Definitely have to take off jackets and any warm clothing before starting a drive. If it's this bad in the summer as well, i will be trading it in. Unacceptable for a modern vehicle.

 

[dtxlcfe]

Same issues for me in 2025 LC. Temp of 25*f outside with hvac set to all auto and 60*, it blows warm air non stop for 35 minute trip, and is way too hot in vehicle regardless of all the settings i tried. If i set temp to LO it blows way too hard/loud with very cold air so i have to change temp between LO and 60 constantly for duration of trip. This is with drive mode in Normal only.
This is by far the worst hvac system performance i have experienced in a vehicle during winter. Definitely have to take off jackets and any warm clothing before starting a drive. If it's this bad in the summer as well, i will be trading it in. Unacceptable for a modern vehicle.

curious if the GX sees the same issue. If not, then it is probably some sort of issue related to electrifying the AC systems compared to mechanical components which allows the LC to run AC for prolonged periods when the engine is off. My dad is a car collector and I have noticed in his fully electric Lucid Air, the AC absolutely sucks (the LC isnt as bad as that). similar thoughts in a tesla. the all gas cars have never had issues like this.

 

[LC_DFW]

Same issues for me in 2025 LC. Temp of 25*f outside with hvac set to all auto and 60*, it blows warm air non stop for 35 minute trip, and is way too hot in vehicle regardless of all the settings i tried. If i set temp to LO it blows way too hard/loud with very cold air so i have to change temp between LO and 60 constantly for duration of trip. This is with drive mode in Normal only.
This is by far the worst hvac system performance i have experienced in a vehicle during winter. Definitely have to take off jackets and any warm clothing before starting a drive. If it's this bad in the summer as well, i will be trading it in. Unacceptable for a modern vehicle.

Do you still get hot air blowing at you if you turn it off mid way your commute? After 15 mins of running the HVAC system and getting really uncomfortable, I turn off my HVAC but somehow the car is still blowing hot air.

 

[MSINAL]

curious if the GX sees the same issue. If not, then it is probably some sort of issue related to electrifying the AC systems compared to mechanical components which allows the LC to run AC for prolonged periods when the engine is off. My dad is a car collector and I have noticed in his fully electric Lucid Air, the AC absolutely sucks (the LC isnt as bad as that). similar thoughts in a tesla. the all gas cars have never had issues like this.

Interesting and seems counterintuitive, but i don't doubt what you've exerienced. With electric compressor, i would expect that the output of compressor is controlled more precisely since is independent of ICE RPMs (in hybrids anyway)

Maybe when the LC hybrid traction battery is low it shuts off the compressor?

I've no idea how toyota has this designed, but end result is hvac auto (not eco mode) is not comfortable for me. Hopefully is just operator error and I'll find the magic settings to make it work as expected.

 

[MSINAL]

Di toy still get hot air blowing at you if you turn it off mid way your commute? After 15 mins of running the HVAC system and getting really uncomfortable, I turn off my HVAC but somehow the car is still blowing hot air.

Haven't tried this. I will tomorrow morning

 

[dtxlcfe]

Interesting and seems counterintuitive, but i don't doubt what you've exerienced. With electric compressor, i would expect that the output of compressor is controlled more precisely since is independent of ICE RPMs (in hybrids anyway)

Maybe when the LC hybrid traction battery is low it shuts off the compressor?

I've no idea how toyota has this designed, but end result is hvac auto (not eco mode) is not comfortable for me. Hopefully is just operator error and I'll find the magic settings to make it work as expected.

I am doing some research on mechanical vs electronic variable displacement compressors which control the amount of refrigerant that goes through the AC system. I cant figure out why the mechanical generally feels better for us but I think most if not all Toyota and Lexus vehicles have electronic nowadays even if they aren't hybrid. You can tell this under the hood because there is no belts Infront of the engine powering things like an alternator and displacement compressor. my hypothesis is that for some reason, electronic displacement compressors tend to either open all the way or close all the way. this could potentially be caused by bad quality or bad location sensors that detect the temps and then tell that compressor how much to open or close the flow of refrigerant combined with hot engine air resulting in a set temperature we set in the cabin.

Looks like all recent Toyotas have a similar design and there are people complaining about it across many different models. Those of you who have always had toyota or lexus might not notice just because this is how its always been idk.

that just my amateur google professional opinion.

 

[ultane]

I agree. I took it to the dealership and they didn't even offer to help.

Find another dealer.

 

[ultane]

I am in Dallas, drive in normal mode and when I left for work in the morning it was around 32 degrees outside. I remote start my car from the app and the AC is already pre-set to 75 degrees. When I get in the car, its feels nice and comfortable but once I start driving, its starts getting really hot inside to the point of being very uncomfortable. I put the temperature down to 70, than 65, 62, and 61 but even at 61 it blows hot air. I put it down to LO (60 degrees) and it starts blowing cold air and gets really cold. I put it up to 62 from 60 and it starts blowing hot air, making me very uncomfortable. It seems like there is no middle ground here. It's either I am setting it on 61/62 degrees and dealing with hot air blowing at me or 60 degrees with cold air blowing at me. Very frustrated with the HVAC system in this car.

Have you tried turning on the AC compressor? That usually helps ‘turn the oven off’ for me.

 

[ultane]

I always have the "AC" on but still get hot air blowing even when it’s set at 62 degrees.

I think it has been posted, or maybe I read it somewhere else (IDK ), that the HVAC system tries to get the interior of the vehicle warm, before it responds to our input. So maybe there is a thermometer somewhere in the interior of the LC’s that must reach a certain temp before the ECU tells itself that the vehicle is warm enough and lets us overcome the brains of the ECU.

 

[dog]

Without using the remote start, how long does it take your LC to start blowing warm air? Seemed like it took longer than my olders cars last time I tried this.

 

[dtxlcfe]

I think it has been posted, or maybe I read it somewhere else (IDK ), that the HVAC system tries to get the interior of the vehicle warm, before it responds to our input. So maybe there is a thermometer somewhere in the interior of the LC’s that must reach a certain temp before the ECU tells itself that the vehicle is warm enough and lets us overcome the brains of the ECU.

I would agree with this assumption. I think the mechanical displacement compressors have much less sensors, really just 1 sensor that adjusts the output temp to whatever you set in the cabin. electric compressors on the other hand have multiple sensors taking into account cabin temp, line pressures and a bunch of other stuff I don't understand, to get the cabin to a set temp in a way the ECU decides. not sure there would ever be a fix for this BUT if there is a certain combination of settings on the AC controls to just tell the ECU to pump out one set temp, that could be the remedy. looks like they overcomplicate it more than they needed to.

If anyone else is like me and has to understand how this stuff works, here is a good YT video on how these variable displacement compressors work and he even talks about how Toyota is different than most with much more sensors, later in the video.

 

[ultane]

Without using the remote start, how long does it take your LC to start blowing warm air? Seemed like it took longer than my olders cars last time I tried this.

I am not sure this question was directed to me or not, but within 2-3 miles, Miss Daisy’s engine operating temp is up to normal, and the vents are blowing ‘warm’ air.

 

[MSINAL]

I think it has been posted, or maybe I read it somewhere else (IDK ), that the HVAC system tries to get the interior of the vehicle warm, before it responds to our input. So maybe there is a thermometer somewhere in the interior of the LC’s that must reach a certain temp before the ECU tells itself that the vehicle is warm enough and lets us overcome the...

This sounds plausible, maybe it is prioritizing heating up the traction battery before it considers passengers might be sweating bullets. MPG at all costs!
I have the rear hvac off, will turn it on to see if that helps. Hopefully that's all it is.

I work in automation controls and i also dislike not knowing what's going on behind the scenes in vehicles.
If only we could see the source code for the hvac system. Meanwhile, this forum is doing a great job of reverse engineering it at least. Love this site!

 

[Dominicancake]

I have the same problem. I received my LandCruiser in October. within 15 days I was at the Service center just to have a "Technician tell me that I was mistaken and that everything was fine. He actually took a ride with me and I set the temperature to 68 degrees with the AC on and closed all the windows. Drove for 10 minutes and the guy was sweating. even after that he said that everything is fine and that there are no codes in the system. the temperature inside the car reached 91 degrees and the guy still said that it was fine.