Add physical HVAC control unit alongside 15"

[4thedawgz]

I saw some similar threads about trying to swap the existing HVAC dash unit with one that has the LED display on the knobs (Lightning with 12" screen). What I'm looking to do is add a HVAC dash unit to my 2022 Lightning Lariat with a 15" display.

I unreasonably despise having to operate climate controls through the touchscreen. I don't want to have to touch a touchscreen even once to make climate control changes. I want to operate physical knobs and buttons without even looking away from the road.

I'd like to buy an HVAC dash unit that is paired with the 12" screen and connect it to my Lightning that has a 15" screen. I'll figure something out to mount/trim it, I am just curious how compatible the unit will be from a wiring and operability standpoint (assuming Forscan use).

I'll bolt this thing on top of the dashboard, I don't care, just want physical controls!

Sponsored

 

[TaxmanHog]

Merge clean up completed

 

[Heliian]

Trade it in for an xlt.

 

[chl]

I like my 2023 Lightning Pro with climate knobs and radio/audio knobs - no need to look away from the road to adjust those things, a safety concern imho.

 

[Whammy Bar]

I'm in a 24 FX4 loaner. The infotainment and buttons are so much better than my Lariat. I think the leather might be nicer too.

 

[Zlow28]

This is also my least favorite thing about the large screen. I can't provide any help, but I'll let you know if I find a solution.

 

[Ragman]

I see two options - find a wrecked XLT and swap the dash (assuming there is any chance the computer and harness is that easy…) or get a 23 XLT ER.

I completely agree on the controls having both models the XLT controls win hands down. The XLT seats also win comfort wise…. Unless you really love the Sun roof the 22-23 XLT er is best of the model years so far (when our Pro shows up in two weeks I can compare it as well).

As to the Flash…

 

[Henry Ford]

I also hate touching one of two finger sized spots on the screen depending if I'm hot or cold. I'm also pretty sure there is a pea under the driver's seat in my truck. It is so uncomfortable I can hardly stand it.

 

[scoobybri]

As someone who studied human interaction with interfaces in grad school, it really goes against proper design to put critical controls on a surface that has zero haptic feedback, e.g. a screen. You absolutely cannot tell if you are touching the screen in the correct place without having have your attention focused on the the screen in order to see if your finger is activating the functionality. With a physical knob or button, the motion is on fixed axis or at a fixed location that provides tactile feedback when you use it. In other words, you feel it...your fingers feel when you interacting with it. You don't need visual confirmation of the knob or button's location, and you feel the physical movement when you interact with it. Using a screen sitting on a couch is completely different than flying down the highway at 75mph. My daily driver for 3 years was a Tesla Model Y. Yes, you get used to using a screen for almost everything but that does not mean that it is better than physical controls. Coming into a 23 XLT ER, I realized how much I missed knobs and buttons for HVAC and radio controls. A fully loaded XLT is the sweet spot for me. All of the tech without a gigantic screen and with cloth seats.

 

[JRT]

I learned this with my 21 Mach-e, went XLT ER specifically to avoid the poor Human Factors of the large screen. Wait till it starts flacking out and you can control anything, dealership never solved it either.

 

[Firn]

I would have to imagine that the screen and the physical controls are just sending CANBUS messages.

It should be possible to emulate the messages sent with another piece of hardware. It won't be the "Ford" controls, but i would think some twisty knobs and some push buttons would be fairly simple

 

[bmwhitetx]

I would have to imagine that the screen and the physical controls are just sending CANBUS messages.

It should be possible to emulate the messages sent with another piece of hardware. It won't be the "Ford" controls, but i would think some twisty knobs and some push buttons would be fairly simple

I did this on my 2010 F150. Hooked into MS bus with Arduino and CANBUS adapter. Able to read tire pressure, rpm, etc and send those values to the fluorescent display.

But I understand recently Ford began encrypting bus messages making this much harder.

 

[Scorpio3d]

Just a thought I haven’t really tried it…
You should be able to use the voice commands to adjust anything you want I would think.

 

[RickLightning]

Just a thought I haven’t really tried it…
You should be able to use the voice commands to adjust anything you want I would think.

This ^^^

 

[4thedawgz]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. One of my other main gripes is how slow the Infotainment system is. It takes 20 or seconds to become usable after booting up, so when it's freezing cold or scorching hot and you're dying to interact with the HVAC... you gotta wait for this dumb system to boot up. And if I'm using wireless Android auto, it adds probably another 15 seconds and the commands will be all glitchy until everything is fully booted up. The Ford mobile app to change climate settings is painfully slower though - I gave up on it.

If anybody comes up with a solution to add some sort of physical knobs/buttons, or how to re-map the few existing buttons we have, please let me know!

Sponsored