Cimate Control Timer- Can't set temperature?

Just got my '13 SL. I set the climate control timer, but couldn't choose the temp to set to. I pulled the Owners Manual, Page 4-19:

"As the temperature is set to the factory default setting, the user cannot adjust the temperature."

As surprising as that may be, at least tell me this: What is this perfect temperature? Will I get 70? 80? I don't even know if it's going to heat or cool.

I would love to be told that I missed something obvious---

If it is like 2011, you get 25C which is 77F.

Gerry

Actually, I think in the 2013 you can set climate timer temperature sseparately from each other. It is set up via the center console. Let me see if I can find it in the manual.

It's somewhere in the settings on the navigation unit, you can set the temperature to whatever you want.

I see this on Page 4-19 of the 2013 manual:

As the temperature is set to the factory default
setting, the user cannot adjust the temperature.

Click to expand...

I wonder if that is still true for the "S" trim level?

Instructions for setting the temperature are on Page 4-25:

Temperature settings
This procedure sets the temperature of Climate
Ctrl. timer and remote climate control.
1. Push the Zero Emission menu button. Touch
“SETTING”.
2. Touch “Timer/Remote – Set Climate Temp”.
3. Set the temperature and the touch “OK”.

Click to expand...

Found it today. I got to be the passenger so I could poke around in the Nav.

Settings -> Timer/Remote Temp setting. It can be change to anything you want there. That info is no where to be found in the manual, though.

Love this car! We drive it everywhere.

Any one know what the "factory default setting" is for us poor S owners? There are no temp settings in the center console.

I have yet to have the climate timer actually work, perhaps because I have only been plugging into 110v so far and I'm not sure it has been "fully charged" at the set time. I set it to 80% charge last night, but still no luck. Maybe when I get the 220v wired up it will do more betternessly. Luckily, I have an 8 year old who LOVEs to push buttons in the new electric car, even if it means going out in -3*F at 7AM to do it. =)

2014 S model, no navigation console....

I have the car plugged into 110V with the OEM trickle charger.

I set the Climate Control Timer to "on" and 15:20 (3:20 pm) using the two buttons to the left of steering wheel and the information display at the center of the dash.

The time is set with the same buttons and info display, the time is displayed in the upper right corner near the outside temp display.
The time on the radio is also set.

The air temp is 82F, the interior temp is closer to 95F

The Climate Control does not turn on prior to me entering the car at about 3:35pm and manually turning it on while unplugging the car...

I know I'm missing a simple step or concept, the manual isn't very clear on it, but the lack of threads asking this question tell me that it's not a common issue.

Dale

Seeley said:

2014 S model, no navigation console....

I have the car plugged into 110V with the OEM trickle charger.

I set the Climate Control Timer to "on" and 15:20 (3:20 pm) using the two buttons to the left of steering wheel and the information display at the center of the dash.

The time is set with the same buttons and info display, the time is displayed in the upper right corner near the outside temp display.
The time on the radio is also set.

The air temp is 82F, the interior temp is closer to 95F

The Climate Control does not turn on prior to me entering the car at about 3:35pm and manually turning it on while unplugging the car...

I know I'm missing a simple step or concept, the manual isn't very clear on it, but the lack of threads asking this question tell me that it's not a common issue.

Dale

Click to expand...

The climate control time is the time you want the car to be warmed up for leaving (end time); it is the time the CC system will turn off. Perhaps the CC did come on but had been off for awhile when you got in the car at 3:35 PM. Would you have noticed?

I believe that the S has no adjustable temperature for preheating/precooling. If so, it may be that the set point is the same 25ºC (77ºF) that the older model LEAFs use.

Nilgiri said:

Any one know what the "factory default setting" is for us poor S owners? There are no temp settings in the center console.

Click to expand...

It may be the same 25ºC (77ºF) that is used for older model LEAFs.

I have yet to have the climate timer actually work, perhaps because I have only been plugging into 110v so far and I'm not sure it has been "fully charged" at the set time. I set it to 80% charge last night, but still no luck. Maybe when I get the 220v wired up it will do more betternessly. Luckily, I have an 8 year old who LOVEs to push buttons in the new electric car, even if it means going out in -3*F at 7AM to do it. =)

Click to expand...

A Level 1 (120 Volt) EVSE does not supply enough power (1.4 kW) to allow for effective heating in a very cold car IME. You will get much better preheating results when using a Level 2 (240 V) EVSE.

I also have the the S model. I thought I read somewhere it was 62F for warming and 77F for cooling and the timer set the "go time" or time it is at that temp and then shuts off. I also thought the most it ran was 30 minutes prior in the S's So if you have it set to warm up and the time is 7:30 am the heater would kick on at 7:00 am, not before and run until 7:30 am and then shut off.

I hope that's really wrong. I also tried using climate control time on the 120 charger with no luck heating.

Does anyone know if being in the eco mode also affects the timer mode? I read it is reduced by about 50% when in eco mode?

dgpcolorado said:

The climate control time is the time you want the car to be warmed up for leaving (end time); it is the time the CC system will turn off. Perhaps the CC did come on but had been off for awhile when you got in the car at 3:35 PM. Would you have noticed?

I believe that the S has no adjustable temperature for preheating/precooling. If so, it may be that the set point is the same 25ºC (77ºF) that the older model LEAFs use.

Click to expand...

Thanks dpgcolorado! I figured I was being a bonehead... I think it did come on and and then shut off 15 minutes before I got out to the car. It wasn't brutally hot inside it today, like it has been in the afternoon, I just attributed it to using the windshield reflective shade for the first time today.

I'll adjust it to my leave time and see what happens tomorrow.

Next dumb question, does using the climate control (timer) when the car is on the level 1 increase the charging time? My commute to work, then to the mtb park, back home, and then back to work the next day uses just enough power that I can charge at work on the level one and not need to charge at home or on a public charger.

Seeley said:

Thanks dpgcolorado! I figured I was being a bonehead... I think it did come on and and then shut off 15 minutes before I got out to the car. It wasn't brutally hot inside it today, like it has been in the afternoon, I just attributed it to using the windshield reflective shade for the first time today.

I'll adjust it to my leave time and see what happens tomorrow.

Next dumb question, does using the climate control (timer) when the car is on the level 1 increase the charging time? My commute to work, then to the mtb park, back home, and then back to work the next day uses just enough power that I can charge at work on the level one and not need to charge at home or on a public charger.

Click to expand...

Couple of things: Yes, you won't charge as much if some of that time is being used to pre-cool because running the AC takes some of the power. However, the AC on the S should be quite efficient so it won't use much power and ought to cool OK on Level 1. However, I've never tried to pre-cool a car, given where I live, so I have no experience with it.

So, if you are charging just long enough to make your commute, pre-cooling might make a difference and you might need to do some additional charging. On the other hand, if your commute is short enough that you aren't charging for the full time you are at work, then you should have no problems with pre-cooling affecting the charge level of the car. It should be pretty obvious.

BrockWI said:

I also have the the S model. I thought I read somewhere it was 62F for warming and 77F for cooling and the timer set the "go time" or time it is at that temp and then shuts off. I also thought the most it ran was 30 minutes prior in the S's So if you have it set to warm up and the time is 7:30 am the heater would kick on at 7:00 am, not before and run until 7:30 am and then shut off.

Click to expand...

You raise an interesting issue. My recollection is that preheating when the car is unplugged is limited in time (to limit depleting the battery)*. For preheating while plugged-in I believe that it can take well over a half hour in very cold weather; the car decides when to turn on the CC based on the temperature, I think. Preheating on Level 2 works really well. But with a car outside in extremely cold temperatures, say -20ºF, even preheating on Level 2 probably wouldn't get it warmed up to the set point.

* [Since the S model doesn't have Carwings, I don't believe that preheating remotely while unplugged is possible. My recollection is that the CC timer doesn't function while the car is unplugged.]

I hope that's really wrong. I also tried using climate control time on the 120 charger with no luck heating.

Click to expand...

Preheating in very cold weather just doesn't work well at Level 1 (120 Volts) because the EVSE doesn't supply enough power to run the heater well. When it first warms up, the heater can draw 4-5 kW and that is way more than the 1.4 kW maximum supplied by the Level 1 EVSE.

Does anyone know if being in the eco mode also affects the timer mode? I read it is reduced by about 50% when in eco mode?

Click to expand...

No, Eco mode should have no effect at all on preheating while plugged-in. Again, the reason preheating doesn't work well is because a Level 1 EVSE doesn't supply enough power. In your cold winter climate you really need to go with a Level 2 EVSE if you want to preheat.

again, thanks dpcolorado for helping me out! Set the timer for 10 minutes after I expected to get out to the car and the air conditioner was quietly humming away.

It not only took the edge off the heated air, the interior parts must have been cooled as well because it didn't spike back up as soon as I unplugged the car.

Yes, it fell short a couple percent of charge, but it was worth it. On days when I don't need (want actually) the full 10 hour charge, it will top it off at 100% with no problem.

Yes thanks dpcolorado. As soon as I read that I remembered the carwings had a 30 minute time out. I have a 40amp Clipper Creek evse on the way, hopefully it will arrive tomorrow, already have the house side done

Once I have the bigger evse should I set the climate timer and charger timer for the same time? Like right when we leave or should I set the charge timer to be done 30 minutes before? Or will the car just figure it out? Would the same suggestion apply if charging at level 1?

Say we leave at 7:30 am I was thinking have the charge timer done at 7:00 am and the climate timer set for 7:30am (we really leave about 7:20-7:25)?

BrockWI said:

Yes thanks dpcolorado. As soon as I read that I remembered the carwings had a 30 minute time out. I have a 40amp Clipper Creek evse on the way, hopefully it will arrive tomorrow, already have the house side done

Click to expand...

You will be good to go for next winter with the Level 2 EVSE. It will make a huge difference in preheating.

Once I have the bigger evse should I set the climate timer and charger timer for the same time? Like right when we leave or should I set the charge timer to be done 30 minutes before? Or will the car just figure it out? Would the same suggestion apply if charging at level 1? ...

Click to expand...

You can set them for the same time. IME the charge timer is quite conservative in estimating the time to charge, so it usually finishes 30-40 minutes early. And when the CC timer is also set it finishes even earlier (more than an hour). Please understand that this is with my older 2012. It might be different for the newer models; you will need to do the experiment. Regardless, the car should charge and preheat fine with a Level 2 EVSE. You might lose a little charge when the heater first comes on but should gain it back a little later.

As an aside to all the new S model owners, please be sure to verify that you heater works. There have been a number of reports of cars with defective heater elements. If the cabin heater works while driving then that's fine. Assuming that the heater works, poor preheating performance is either having the CC end time set incorrectly or trying to do it on Level 1 (120 Volts) in very cold weather.

For precooling, I've not noticed many reports of problems with the S model AC unit, so problems there are likely due to the timer setting.

FWIW

I put the level 2 charger in this afternoon. Waiting for cheap rates to 9:00 PM, then all weekend, to mess with all sorts of fun stuff.

Thanks!