I love my 2011 Rubicon, but I'm not too fond of the Automatic Temperature Control feature. I think it's interfering with my ability to set the temperature manually.

Say it's a cold day, and I want to control the cabin temperature manually. I'll set the temperature knob to 86 degrees (one click below the max heat setting), and I'll set the fan speed and duct mode knobs to something other than AUTO. The cabin gets nice and toasty. But about ten minutes later, the blower starts blowing cold air. To get the heat to kick on again, I have to set the temperature to the max setting, which is too hot. As soon as I turn it back to 86, it starts blowing cold air again.

Why doesn't the system respect my temperature setting when it's not in AUTO mode? Is there a way to disable this feature? Can I pull the temperature sensor?

 

Do all 2011's with ATC behave this way when they're not in AUTO mode?

 

I have the automatic controls in my 2011 Sahara Unlimited and they work great!

There are three settings you need to pay attention to:

Fan, Temp and Duct control. If you change the fan off of auto, it will always blow at that specific speed. I've found that unless my window is fogged up, leaving it on auto works the best.

The temp control for me works really well and leaves a consistent temp for the front passengers. If I have a rear passenger, I simply turn up a couple of degrees from where I would normally leave it.

The duct control is the one thing that I do occasionally change. For the most part it's been pretty good, but switching it to defrost -- or even upper vents is really nice at times. Plus sometimes the automatic setting is a bit of a confused setup.. I've had it switch from floor to duct to defrost on me before in a span of about 10 minutes.. but that has rarely occurred... (usually happens when the outside temp is approx what I want for the inside temp and it's very humid and/or sunny.)

So my suggestion -- if you want the fan to blow at a constant rate you can do so, but expect the temp to regulate from warm to cold as the cabin temp changes.. If you want a constant cabin temp, leave the fan on auto.

(BTW I have no complaints, and I really am glad I got auto in mine.)

 

I found with my '11 that one of the five or six (not even being sarcastic) flash updates they did on it actually changed the functionality of the auto air for the better, resolving this bug; if auto is off once the update is done, the temp won't change automatically anymore.

My '12s auto air works phenomenally.

 

Yep, that's exactly what's happening. I guess it's normal. I was hoping there was a way to control everything manually without having the computer override the temperature of the air coming out of the vents. I assume that's how the climate controls work on JK's that don't have the ATC option.

Thanks for the tip! I just got the L35 recall letter, so I have to take the Jeep in anyway to flash the PCM. I'll be sure to check out the climate controls after that!

 

I have a hard time understanding what my Auto Temp Control is doing most of the time. I find that if i use auto-start and leave the controls on auto when i get in the car i see that it turns the AC on regardless of how hot i left the temperature at. If you have a cold start the blower will also not blow air out until it determines that the temperature of the air in the blower is adequite enough to heat the cabin, sometimes this doesnt work and i sit there freezing. When i turn it back to manual the air temp seems more than fine to heat the cabin so maybe the auto mode waits too long. Still trying to figure it out though w/ less than 500 miles on my 2012. Id like to stick with leaving it on auto but so far im not thrilled w/ the way it performs, lots of unnecessary use of AC in cold weather.

 

It wants to use the air conditioner. Cleaner air, controlled air. I would say on warm days to just leave it manual to let the computer decide. You leave the auto on and it would be like the computer and hvac fighting each other.
I used to run a/c time to time with the heater. Quicker acceleration of heat particles.
And in auto climate the a/c is needed to keep everyone happy while driving. Less notice of temp changes.
My gti had dual climate control. Was the coolest effing thing ever.

 

Hey guys... Im glad I found this thread.. Im also having trouble with my 2012 JKU RUBICON and the auto temp control.. I actually took mine to the dealer last week and they were baffled by what was happening. Only when I remote start the vehicle the a/c light comes on as soon as you open up the drivers side door only.. This only happens with Remote Start.. If I unlock and start with the key.. all my HVAC settings remain the same.. its driving me crazy... Auto is not selected on any of the dials.. Fan speed is set to the second selection.. temp is set to 78 and no matter what Duct selection I make.. it comes on. I noticed if I start with the key and the a/c light is off, if I select AUTO on the Duct selection dial it comes on. What is going on????????? Any insight on this

 

Well, the L35 update didn't fix my issue. I kind of expected that though.

I'm going to ask the dealer to check it out. Even the AUTO mode doesn't work well for me. The heat works fine at first. But once the cabin wams up, the upper vents start blowing cold air at any temperature setting except for max heat, which is too hot to keep on all the time. So I can't hold a constant temperature in any mode. Once the cabin gets warm, I have to manually alternate between the 86 degree setting (cold air from the upper vents) and the max heat setting (very hot air from the lower vents). That doesn't seem right.

 

Mine is doing exactly that. When you first get in the keep it's hot and increases in temp until it reaches your setting. Then it continues to get cooler an I have to keep turning the temp up more and more to maintain a decent level. This thing has a mind of its own.