2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI: HVAC By the Numbers

The actual temperature number is useless to me. I don't really care about the number, all I know is it's either too hot or too cold and I have to adjust the temperature knob.

Besides, if you keep it at a prescribed number, and you feel hot or cold, you begin to guilt-trip yourself into thinking that there's something wrong with you for feeling this way since you set your car up to be the perfect environment.

Those digital readouts are spiffy but don't makeup for the various shortcomings of the Triboring

@cx7lover
If you're talking about the outside of my car I agree with you but the inside uses all high quality materials. Too bad you can't say the same for you're Mazda. I was going to get a cx-9 instead of my 2nd tribeca but Mazda's quality just felt cheap.

@cx7lover
Would it be boring if it looked like this??

http://www.tuningnews.net/news/080630/cobra-subaru-tribeca-hr-03.jpg

http://www.autocentre.ua/images/magazines/issues/sn/08/09/images/111/Zv_News_tribe2.jpg

If it's still a Triboring, could you explain to me the short comings of this car. I don't understand why I seem to be the only one that loves my Subaru Tribeca.

The Jetta system is semi-automatic. It automatically regulates temperature hence the numbers. The temp sensor is the lens parked right in the middle of the a/c, rear defrost and recirc buttons.

My Mustang just has the colors that go from blue to red, and our Jeep Grand Cherokee has the dual automatic climate control where you choose your temperature. I actually like the Mustang's system even though the Jeep's is supposed to be the "upgraded" system.

Subaru--I'm also an admirer of the Tribecca's interior. It's daring, different, and interesting to look at.

Yes.. you and the other 10 that bought your Tribeca this year appear to be enthralled with it.

It's cramped - Totally worthless 3rd row that robs space but can't seat anyone over 2 years old
It's woefully bland
It rides poorly
It has sloppy steering
Dismal MPG for it's curb weight, and size
The interior is swoopy and different for all the wrong reasons - Just because

Why didn't you get yourself one of their wagons? Needed that extra third row for whennever?

@altimadude00
'BECCA has a great interior so why does no one like the car itself, it's got a tourquey engine, 0-60 in under 8, 60-0 in 127 feet, less body roll than pilot and highlander, IIHS top safety pick, so why does no one like it??

Subaru123, see it just went from the Triboring to the Tri-ingtoohard in those pictures you posted.

and yes I know "trying" is spelt with a y...

@TheChameleon

If the original is boring and the Cobra edition is trying too hard then WTF do people want from this car?? Someone PLEASE explain!!!

@cx7lover
WHY I bought a Tribeca over the other Subarus

Impreza is cramped.

Legacy and Outback weren't redesigned when I bought it so they were both cramped.

Forester non turbo was slow and turbo used premium gas and had bad interior styling.

Tribeca- LIMO like 2nd row seating, memory seats, heated seats that get too hot, but try telling that to Donna, great interior design, quiter than Lexus RX350 (or what ever it is now), torque that pushes you back into your seat when taking off, no interior panel gaps (except for front doors), an extremely smooth rides or NJ and Boston roads are apparently not bumpy, hydraulic steering that has a nice amount of weight to it and has great on center steer with preise steering (not sloppy, at least not compared to my Prius), CHEVYriffic air conditioning, fold flat seats, great crash tests, puddle lights, and it's NOT a Toyota. BTW mine doesn't have a third row but is loaded with Navigation and everything else.

Inside Line: Add a Tribeca to your fleet, can't you just imagine how interesting the comments will be. Just look how many comments came out by me posting its HVAC controls.

Honestly, I have no problems with the Tribeca, its a perfectly fine crossover. I was just being a smart@$$. :)

You shouldn't worry so much about what others think about your car, aslong as you love it whats it matter what others think?

@TheChameleon

I love my car and everyone said how much my 06 B9 Tribeca sucked, but I loved and got an 09 Tribeca when my lease was up. No matter how many reviews said it sucked I knew that I loved because of all of the things I listed. It just bothers me that no one else loves it. If it was rebadged as the 2011 Toyota Highlander, do you know how many more would be on the road???

Your long term Altima had a digital readout on the dials. It was the best setup I've seen for an automatic climate control as you didn't have to actually pay attention to it if you didn't want to. (Compare that to Ford's tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap system)

Usually my car is either on "fully cold" , "fully hot" , or the closest setting to either that doesn't bug me.

I set my car at 72, and rarely touch it.

My convertible just has a series of LEDs that light up for the fan and the typical red/blue triangles for the temp. Cloth top 'verts don't maintain temps at all, so I just leave it as warm/cool as my hands can take.

@ptcdawg
Where you live do you experience the 4 seasons like NJ does or isit around the same temp all year round where you live. I always findself adjusting the temperature. Maybe because in NJ it's anywhere from 0-40 in the winter and 75-100 in the summer.

I love automatic climate control. set it and forget it. on the road i set it colder so i don't get sleepy as quickly.

i also read somewhere that since it is not always blowing the coldest air, it improves fuel economy.

subaru123: i don't mind the tribeca =)

IL should get a long term GTI mkVI !!!!!

pleaseeeeeeeee?????????

I hate auto climate.. it's never at the right setting for me. Audi's old auto climate was the pits. Just terrible operation.

Auto climate is just another thing to go wrong when the car is older. Give me the three classic knobs for Fan, Temp, Vent and they'll last longer than most Autos.

Pretty sure pezzy669 nailed it. Clever, simplistic engineering if you ask me. And it would seem the editors agree, considering how many times we've seen raves about the Jettas' (both of em) controls.

I've always thought the inclusion of numbers on the recent VW Manual HVAC controls was to give the impression it was grander than what it actually is - an air mixing valve. Another nod to the psyche of the potential buyer is the name of the system (Climatic). Its semantics infers the word "automatic" even though there's nothing automatic about it. In my opinion, it would have been more accurate to switch names with VW's true auto climate control system (Climatronic).

Regardless, in my MkV GTI, my "temperature" adjustment never goes beyond 72, at least when my wife isn't in the car...

Not that concerned about the lack of auto climate control, but the lack of dual-zone climate control is most annoying.

Even more annoying is the fact that the 2006 Jetta had both as an option, but VW removed them as a cost-cutting measure a year or two ago.

I usually set mine to 72 and that generally works for me. For those who don't know, this is a climate control system. It just does not have digital control.

fgbrault - Actually, it isn't a climate control system in the sense that you're thinking (keeping a constant temperature in the cabin by adjusting fan speed and the temperature of the air being output). How do I know? Remove the top, center-stack vent (above the Hazard button) and look in. You'll see a spot for a temperature sensor that is noticably vacant in MkV's with the Climatic controls pictured above.

My BMW has automatic climate control with iDrive, so I basically leave it in "intensive" mode with temp set to 68 or 70 degrees. Why the Jetta does not have Auto Climate is beyond me, or why is has temp settings when it is not auto. I believe a vehicle with that cost and engineering behind it should have Auto climate.

Maybe higher trim levels have auto climate control and they find it cheaper to give every car the same dial? Whatever.

@tryan, you are mistaken - it is an automatic climate control system. The temperature sensor is in the center of the three bottons in the middle of the control set (AC/recirc/defrost). I think the empty spot you refer to is the daylight sensor that is used in other (gas) trims for automatic headlights.

The difference between this "climactic" system and the "climatronic" system with digital readouts and cooler knobs is just that this is single-zone (driver-side) and not dual-zone. Looking at the service manual, there is very little difference (one sensor and the simpler controls) between the two systems but there might be more -- this is from memory.

Since I drive solo 95% of the time, a single-zone system is no big loss.

I set it for 72 and rarely have to change it. The car will run full heat in the winter or full AC in the summer until the cabin temp is right. It saves me from leaving the AC running and using fuel unnecessarily.

My only complaint with the system is the fact that the AC recirc button resets to off when the car is parked for more than a few minutes. I wish that would stay on all the time.

While on the topic of the cabin HVAC system, the TDI has a 1200Watt heater to generate near-instant cabin heat in cold weather. This is to compensate for the diesel engine which takes a while to get up to temperature. Nice touch that's not even mentioned in the owner's manual!

Misterwuf you are mistaken. The system in the VW is not an automatic system. For a true auto system the computer needs the daylight sensor to determine the intensity of the sun or solar load the system needs to compensate for. 80 degrees in direct sun is hotter than the same temp at night. Also the absence of an Auto mode is also an indication that it is not an automatic system. Full auto systems can control all aspects of the HVAC system; airflow, fan speed, temperature, and air intake can all be controlled by the computer. At most only the temperature seems to be controlled making this a very simplified semi-automaitc system.

@allthingshonda, I think we're arguing semantics. My point is that the system regulates the temperature of the air it puts out based on the temperature of the cabin. @tryan in particular said that the temperature knob was an air mixing valve and that is simply not true so I wanted to clarify.

The more advanced climatronic system available in some gasser Jettas has a sunlight photosensor and a fresh air intake duct temperature sensor, giving it more information on which to adjust the rate at which it tries to change cabin temp. That said, both systems use the same advanced temperature sensor which, according to VW, measures "surface temperature, unit temperature, and sunlight penetration."

That's more advanced than the thermostat that regulates the temperature in my house and I certainly consider that automatic.