HVAC vent temp not matching setting - is this normal?

[alrashid2]

Hey guys. I'm not used to this fancy new Ranger and the HVAC is really confusing me.

Noticed on my first road trip today that, despite setting the HVAC temp to 75F-78F, the vents were still blowing cold air.
I also noticed id finally find a setting that felt comfortable, and the air blowing felt like "room temp" air, only for 10 minutes later the temperature of the air dropped to ice cold despite the HVAC setting staying the same...

I got home and did an experiment. At 75F setting, the vent was blowing 61F. Lowering the setting to 72F, vent temp dropped to 53F...

Is that normal? I'm used to my previous cars where setting the temp to 72F would blow air about 72F. My wife's 2020 Mazda is like that too.

Does the Ranger treat the temp more as a thermostat? Are there sensors for it to know the cab temperature?

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[pablo94sc]

It's trying to get the cabin to that temp, like your home thermostat.

 

[surfstar]

^that, and if it senses "humidity" the AC will turn on by itself and you'll get colder air without changing the setting (AC could be off and you could be asking for heat on a winter's day). You can code that out with FORScan.

 

[ChasVSRaptor]

Hey guys. I'm not used to this fancy new Ranger and the HVAC is really confusing me.

Noticed on my first road trip today that, despite setting the HVAC temp to 75F-78F, the vents were still blowing cold air.
I also noticed id finally find a setting that felt comfortable, and the air blowing felt like "room temp" air, only for 10 minutes later the temperature of the air dropped to ice cold despite the HVAC setting staying the same...

I got home and did an experiment. At 75F setting, the vent was blowing 61F. Lowering the setting to 72F, vent temp dropped to 53F...

Is that normal? I'm used to my previous cars where setting the temp to 72F would blow air about 72F. My wife's 2020 Mazda is like that too.

Does the Ranger treat the temp more as a thermostat? Are there sensors for it to know the cab temperature?

The AC doesn’t blow air at the temp you set. It has to be colder to lower the temp in the car.
Your old vehicle was just low on Freon and couldn’t produce any air colder than that.
The AC fan will slow down and stop when the vehicle reaches set temp if it’s working properly. The Temp of the air coming out of the AC vent doesn’t (or shouldn’t) change.

 

[alrashid2]

The AC doesn’t blow air at the temp you set. It has to be colder to lower the temp in the car.
Your old vehicle was just low on Freon and couldn’t produce any air colder than that.
The AC fan will slow down and stop when the vehicle reaches set temp if it’s working properly. The Temp of the air coming out of the AC vent doesn’t (or shouldn’t) change.

Thanks all for the replies. I guess that all makes sense to me, amazing I went this far in life without realizing haha...

So I suppose then it is normal for the vents to go warm and cold over time? During my roadtrip, after 10 min or so the vents would go from blowing "room temp" air (maybe 65-70F?) to blowing ice cold. Never noticed anything like that in a car before. I guess the truck was trying to stay at the set point temp?

@ChasVSRaptor youre saying the air vent speed will slow down as it gets to temp? I'm not used to that...

 

[ChronciallyChronic]

Hey guys. I'm not used to this fancy new Ranger and the HVAC is really confusing me.

Noticed on my first road trip today that, despite setting the HVAC temp to 75F-78F, the vents were still blowing cold air.
I also noticed id finally find a setting that felt comfortable, and the air blowing felt like "room temp" air, only for 10 minutes later the temperature of the air dropped to ice cold despite the HVAC setting staying the same...

I got home and did an experiment. At 75F setting, the vent was blowing 61F. Lowering the setting to 72F, vent temp dropped to 53F...

Is that normal? I'm used to my previous cars where setting the temp to 72F would blow air about 72F. My wife's 2020 Mazda is like that too.

Does the Ranger treat the temp more as a thermostat? Are there sensors for it to know the cab temperature?

If you're AC is running properly, it should blow 15-20 degrees cooler than your ambient in cabin temp. Ever notice the cooler you cab temp the colder the vent air seems to be?

 

[Jason B]

That's the feature of Auto climate control. The system regulates AC and heater to get the cabin to desired temperature. Older vehicles didn't sense air temp, it was either on or off, and you regulated AC/heater to get to desired temp.
Also to be aware. If it's set to AUTO, it will also adjust fan speeds.

 

[alrashid2]

That's the feature of Auto climate control. The system regulates AC and heater to get the cabin to desired temperature. Older vehicles didn't sense air temp, it was either on or off, and you regulated AC/heater to get to desired temp.
Also to be aware. If it's set to AUTO, it will also adjust fan speeds.

OK I think this sums it up. So even if AUTO is off, the Ranger still uses sensors to regulate cabin air temp? AUTO only adds the fan speed?

That is good to know! I was thinking AUTO On regulated air speed and air temp, and if AUTO was Off, then it was like an old school car where you self regulate the hvac controls.

I guess that makes sense since the Ranger shows a specific temperature when changing temp, versus my other vehicles that just have a knob ranging from Blue to Red haha

 

[bigb]

I've noticed it does indeed put out air at different temps according to the set point, contrary to most systems I am used to. I can feel the temp difference immediately if I change the setpoint even 1 degree. I almost always use 75,76 and 77 and I am now to the point that I can tell which number it's on without even looking. I believe on newer vehicles the compressor cycling is all computer controlled. They can even detect which side of the vehicle is in the sun and adjust accordingly, although I don't know if the Ranger does that but is has been pretty common for a number of years now.

FWIW I am never on AUTO since I like a lot of airflow and I always kick the fan up to 6 or 7.

 

[MJ12]

You have it set on Auto. Turn off auto to make it blow a constant temp.

 

[alrashid2]

You have it set on Auto. Turn off auto to make it blow a constant temp.

False. I don't use AUTO. Air vent temp still fluctuates

 

[MJ12]

False. I don't use AUTO. Air vent temp still fluctuates

Ok, simple... its broken. Take it in.

 

[alrashid2]

I'm getting conflicting info. Some are saying it's designed to do that. That's what I'm trying to confirm before dealing with dealer

 

[MJ12]

I've never felt this on my 2024, and I live in the the desert where it is consistently 100+ all summer. The AC has actually been very impressive IMO, and I think it has been the best AC I've had, it actually has to get turned down after a lil while even when its 108. If mine were fluctuating temps I would take it in.

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