Heating Up A Class

[Beela]

Hi Everyone,

I went out this morning and it was bitterly cold, i put the heating on in the car - and it was only blowing from the right and the left seats, not the middle (where the 3 ventilators are in the a class)
The middle ventilators didn’t seem to be heating up at all.

What is the quickest way to heat up the vehicle please?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, Thankyou.

 

[Mr Greedy]

Hi,

can you please help my understanding.

Do you mean no air was coming out of the middle (centre console) vents, or that there was air coming out of the middle, but the middle was cold and stayed cold?

And was this the case for the whole journey? (I ask this second part because on my E class, there must be some additional heater in the dash because it provides warm air almost immediately even before the engine is warm).

 

[Beela]

Hi mr greedy,

Sorry, I should have been clearer. The centre console was not distributing anything.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Possibly a control panel fault not moving the arms on the heater box.

I would contact a Mercedes Specialst to get a check done on the panel. Where in the UK are you based? Perhaps we could recommend a good Indy close to you.

 

[mioba]

Hi mr greedy,

Sorry, I should have been clearer. The centre console was not distributing anything.

You don’t have it switched off/closed by any chance

 

[Beela]

 

[Beela]

The middle icon is greyed out…

 

[mioba]

no sure which middle icon you refer to in the pic. That’s just showing the fan speed and nothing to do with the middle vents - if you refer to the middle image.

 

[Beela]

Apologies, it is now circled in yellow.

 

[rorywquin]

1) Have you physically (if possible) opened the middle vents, on some cars they have to be turned (or lever moved or something) to actually open them......

2) Is the a/c set to on. You should leave it permanently on.

3) Have you looked at your owners manual, looking at your pictures, I expect that it may be in the car electronically or you can get them through the Mercedes apps. There is one called “Guides”.

 

[Beela]

I know this is going to sound silly but how do I know if they’re opened or not?

Haven’t looked at the manual as yet because I thought it would rectify itself but doesn’t look like it as this has happened on a few occasions?

 

[rorywquin]

I know this is going to sound silly but how do I know if they’re opened or not?

Haven’t looked at the manual as yet because I thought it would rectify itself but doesn’t look like it as this has happened on a few occasions?

My car (and my wife’s B class) has circular vents, I have to turn them to open / close them. Your's might be more fancy and controlled by the system. Might be best to take a look at your owners manual....all will be revealed.

 

[Botus]

Your car looks to have pretty sophisticated heater controls... often setting to Auto (where it controls air flow to best distribute heat or ventilation to give the best overall comfort) works well. This way multiple sensors and all the work they did designing the car are supposed to come together in on holistic set up

Looking as the panel at the bottom of your pictures it doesn't look like its on AUTO, give that a whirl and see how you get on ?
Really all you play with then - is the temp set point that you feel comfortable with.

Note going above 25C shouldn't help it get hotter any faster - the heat load available to warm the car is engine temp dependent - and if its not there asking for 28C can't make anything any warmer or respond any faster... the advantage of the position shown in your pictures is it align both sides of the car .. so can drag a low passenger set point up without fiddling on their side or forgetting what they had

NOTE engine stop start (cutting out at junctions and lights) will mean it takes longer to warm through and this might be part of the issue (should have a button to turn it off - resets to on each trip)... And if you have heated seats these are via separate buttons and often take the chill off before the heater makes a serious contribution

 

[Blobcat]

I know this is going to sound silly but how do I know if they’re opened or not?

Haven’t looked at the manual as yet because I thought it would rectify itself but doesn’t look like it as this has happened on a few occasions?

The middle of the vent turns 90’ - one way is closed the other is open

 

[Botus]

Your car looks to have pretty sophisticated heater controls... often setting to Auto (where it controls air flow to best distribute heat or ventilation to give the best overall comfort) works well. This way multiple sensors and all the work they did designing the car are supposed to come together in on holistic set up

Looking as the panel at the bottom of your pictures it doesn't look like its on AUTO, give that a whirl and see how you get on ?
Really all you play with then - is the temp set point that you feel comfortable with.

Note going above 25C shouldn't help it get hotter any faster - the heat load available to warm the car is engine temp dependent - and if its not there asking for 28C can't make anything any warmer or respond any faster... the advantage of the position shown in your pictures is it align both sides of the car .. so can drag a low passenger set point up without fiddling on their side or forgetting what they had

NOTE engine stop start (cutting out at junctions and lights) will mean it takes longer to warm through and this might be part of the issue (should have a button to turn it off - resets to on each trip)... And if you have heated seats these are via separate buttons and often take the chill off before the heater makes a serious contribution

Without wanting to make my points above any more complicated than needed...

The center vents whilst can do hot or cold, are mostly for big volumes of fresh air in the summer... in the depth of winter the amount of cold air these can give is so much you may get too cold before the heat cuts in. It can easily take 2 miles / 10 mins, before the heater has much hope of warming you up. So many manually close the vents so nothing will come out regardless of the heater control set up.

In fact the world has gone so far down this path, often there isn't a position to allow for the sensible air flow from all three major vents. (Screen, Face, Feet)
Its mostly Screen and Feet or Face and Feet... Neither of which is suitable - especially if you come from a biking background and like breathing, (or indeed want your hands warm enough you can hold the wheel, whilst the screen remains clear and your feet don't get frost bite)...

The last point on how car heating systems behave, worth noting - when its properly cold the outside air is supposed to be dry - as its all frozen or its already found a home to condense on... So when its all misted up in the car - as the AC has turned off below 3C - 1) coz its supposed to be dry air and 2) because the evaporator at the front of the car can freeze due to wind chill. Turning on the screen defrost button can pull fresh air from outside to try and remove the misting... and it should override the recycle switch (as that would make it mist up inside more). But of course that's now pulling whatever temp is going on outside in large volumes. So whilst you may see where you are going, you may be cold...

All these nuances can, where done well, be somewhat optimised by the Auto button - but the fan speed may rev up and down irritatingly (which is why I never use it)