Cold weather - climate control not great

[macdian]

Hi all,

Got delivery of my Platinum on Thursday. It's currently -15C here where I live.

I've noticed 2 things 1) not great range (fine, whatever), but 2) the climate control can't seem to keep the windows unfogged unless I have it on max defrost pretty much the whole time.

Anyone else noticed these issues? Perhaps I'm one of the farthest north owners at this point at 54 degrees

Thanks!

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[RickKeen]

How many people did you have in the car?
Drove my new Lightning across WI the other weekend in temps down around 15F, without any issues, but have yet to drive it down in the single digits F (-15C = 5 F).

 

[macdian]

That’s what’s sort of shocking. Just me in there.

 

[lightspeed]

You might just have to take manual control. Turn on recirculate, turn off 'driver focused,' and turn on AC, select the window vents and turn the fan up.

I've noticed that the AUTO setting just tries to keep the temp you set with the absolute minimum fan setting which might not be enough to defrost.

In general, the AUTO setting seems pretty dumb to me, but you can override everything. Like, why does AUTO ONLY use the window vents and never the upper forward vents? Basically, people sitting in the back never get heat when using AUTO because their vents are tied to the front vents which AUTO never seems to select.

 

[macdian]

You might just have to take manual control. Turn on recirculate, turn off 'driver focused,' and turn on AC, select the window vents and turn the fan up.

I've noticed that the AUTO setting just tries to keep the temp you set with the absolute minimum fan setting which might not be enough to defrost.

In general, the AUTO setting seems pretty dumb to me, but you can override everything. Like, why does AUTO ONLY use the window vents and never the upper forward vents? Basically, people sitting in the back never get heat when using AUTO because their vents are tied to the front vents which AUTO never seems to select.

yeah, that’s what I’ve started doing. Still almost doesn’t seem like enough. Hoping now that Canada will have enough of these that Ford will get some feedback to update the software. Seems like too much of a focus on saving battery for us northerners

 

[Pioneer74]

yeah, that’s what I’ve started doing. Still almost doesn’t seem like enough. Hoping now that Canada will have enough of these that Ford will get some feedback to update the software. Seems like too much of a focus on saving battery for us northerners

There is no update to make the heater put out more heat. The heating element is only so big.

 

[GarageMahal]

There is no update to make the heater put out more heat. The heating element is only so big.

I find that the heater can produce plenty of heat but that none of the automatic settings (other than max defrost) put out enough heat. I find that setting to defrost and floor with manual fan to 5 does an OK job but I do still have to kick on max defrost every so often. The good news is that it reverts my manual settings when turning max defrost off by hitting the button again.

 

[Pioneer74]

I find that the heater can produce plenty of heat but that none of the automatic settings (other than max defrost) put out enough heat. I find that setting to defrost and floor with manual fan to 5 does an OK job but I do still have to kick on max defrost every so often. The good news is that it reverts my manual settings when turning max defrost off by hitting the button again.

What is the coldest temperature you've experienced?

I've seen a few posts on the Mach-E forum about winter temps in northern Canada and the car not being able to handle keeping the windows defrosted at speed. The Lightning shares the same sized heater and has a larger windshield. At -15, there is no more heat to be had.

 

[GarageMahal]

What is the coldest temperature you've experienced?

I've seen a few posts on the Mach-E forum about winter temps in northern Canada and the car not being able to handle keeping the windows defrosted at speed. The Lightning shares the same sized heater and has a larger windshield. At -15, there is no more heat to be had.

That is a good point. We had several days where the temp stayed between 10 and 15F but that is not anywhere near the low temps I can expect to see in January. Fortunately I have a short commute and can precondition in the mornings when it matters most. I sure hope it can keep up on the really cold days here.

 

[Bandit216]

Anyone else noticed these issues? Perhaps I'm one of the farthest north owners at this point at 54 degrees

Thanks!

I'm in Fairbanks at 65N and have actually found my Lightning to be better at cold temps (so far) than my Mach E, which I've driven for 2 winters down to -40. I saw someone mention the Mach E and Lightning have the same size heater. Maybe, but according to my Forscan app, I've seen the Lightning inline heater routinely outputting 8-10kWh of heat while the Mach E typically puts out 4-6kWh. Maybe the larger battery is the reason, but I have definitely perceived the Lightning to be much toastier in cold wx than the Mach E. I appreciate that some drivers swear by Ford's auto settings. That may be fine for some semi-northerners, but not for this arctic warrior.

There have been a couple of HVAC updates to the Lightning which I have installed thru FDRS. Maybe that is the difference. I know there was\is a very recent update that is designed for temps below -15F.

Another reason that might make a difference: I manually control the heating by selecting the fan speed to one of the three lowest speeds, the temp to 72-75F, and I select the vent output to windscreen and feet. Of course I use seat and steering wheel heat. I do hate the auto-on defrost and will immediately deselect it when it comes on. If I see some fog start to build up inside the windscreen, I will manually turn on the defrost for 10-15 secs then deselect it. About the only time I see a bit of unexpected window fogging is when I start driving to soon after a shower when my hair is still a bit wet.

Of course, if parked outside in the cold, set a departure time or remote start the car 5-10 minutes prior to driving.

 

[Drayday55]

The only issue I found with the HVAC system is that even with manual adjustment the numbers don't mean anything. Sometimes 70 degrees is super hot and sometimes it's ice cold. Same goes for the upper range of the scale. It's hard to explain but it's like I have to go to the opposite end of the scale and back to get it to put out what's being displayed on the temp scale.

 

[macdian]

Very helpful on the above. Having only had the truck for a couple of days, we will see what “real” cold brings in the future. Tuesday was -40. We will see that again soon I’m sure.

I bet tomorrow when I drive it to my indoor parkade downtown and have it there for the day it will potentially improve.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The cost @27/c-kwh to pre condition the truck this morning

Energy draw by the minute this morning 7:27 to 8:06, departure is at 8:15am

By the day

 

[Maquis]

Turning recirculate on will make fogging worse, not better.

 

[macdian]

Turning recirculate on will make fogging worse, not better.

I'm not sure this is true if you've got AC on?

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