Question on the SR5 and TRD Climate Controls

[arouth]

Hi,

I’m researching the various 4Runner models before purchasing one and have a question on the manual climate controls in the SR5 and TRD models. There are several threads on here, so this question is very specific after reading through them.

Is not having automatic climate controls something that SR5 and TRD owners miss or is it not a big deal? It’s been a while since I’ve owned a vehicle without automatic climate controls but in my experience they kind of operated the same way. Whether it was automatic climate or manual climate controls I’d just turn the temperate up or down slightly when I got hot or cold. This includes the 2004 4Runner Sport I used to own where I found the climate controls to be strange and pretty much treated them like manual climate controls.

Thanks

 

[Jpilot]

I much prefer the manual controls. I’ve had auto systems on BMW, AUDI, Volkswagon, etc, and it seems like I was always adjusting. With a manual system I know I want hot or cold, and usually don’t want the fan cranking at full tilt trying to get me there.
My $.02

 

[euser]

You live in Nevada. There’s only 3 settings you need. Full cold, full heat (to warm up quick), and 12 o’clock position to stay comfortably warm on those winter nights.

No, I don’t miss the auto climate control on my limited at all. I always kept it full cold, hot, or 75 anyways.

 

[rageandlove]

I miss them. I’m constantly having to adjust on road trips to not get too hot or too cold. It’s not the end of the world but it’s something you miss when you’ve had a car with an auto system.

 

[08TxRunner]

I sure miss them. For the life of me I can't figure out why my base 2008 SR5 came with it and my '20 SR5 so-called "Premium" did not. I wasn't aware that any vehicle came without auto climate control nowadays.

 

[peekaboo]

One of the 5 big reasons I ended up with a Pro was because of auto climate control.

 

[Whippersnapper02]

The manual controls work just fine. The Pro Bro isn't worth the extra cost for the auto controls and the Limited doesn't look good unless your eyesight is limited.

 

[patkelly4370]

I went from a 68 F100 to my 17 4runner.
I went from windows down to A/C.
Yes, we have other vehicles. None have automatic climate control. I don't think I'd like it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[mocat16]

i miss setting the a/c to 74 and never touching it on my 2005 (lol) Nissan.

that said, it's not a deal breaker by any means

 

[DEF4Runner]

I sure miss them. For the life of me I can't figure out why my base 2008 SR5 came with it and my '20 SR5 so-called "Premium" did not. I wasn't aware that any vehicle came without auto climate control nowadays.

Agreed. I also had an '08 base level SR5 with auto climate control. Not sure why they took it out. That alone doesn't make the Limited or Pro more appealing.

As for the loss...eh...got used to it. I'll miss it most in the winter I think though, where I set it on 74 and let it work. The A/C was starting to fatigue and had a hard time keeping up in the summer at even a modest temp.

 

[rightyouareken]

Personally, I prefer manual control. I like specifying the temp I want coming out of the vents, rather than trying to guess how to adjust that based on setting the desired temp inside the cabin. I'm someone who tends to like cool air blowing on me unless it's really cold out, and with auto climate control sometimes that's hard to achieve.

 

[RichinRidgewood]

I came from a MB that had automatic climate control with 2 zones. I didn't hardly monkey around with it ever.

My SR5P has manual controls, no zones and I have to adjust it. My wife brings a sweater when we go for a ride. I wish it had automatic and zones but to get it the cost was A LOT more so I'll use what I have and won't complain about it.

The AC on my 4R does work really well.

 

[JLTD]

Having spent a good amount of seat time in vehicles with both manual and auto climate controls, I can say that I much prefer manual controls.

It is annoying to me that the automatic systems blow hot or cold and change the fan speed according to what someone else thinks I want. Having air conditioning at full blast and heat at 1/2 fan speed 5 minutes later is :wacko:

 

[AZ Craig]

One of the 5 big reasons I ended up with a Pro was because of auto climate control.

Same here. I had auto climate back in our 2004 GM trucks (an Envoy and a Silverado). My 2012 Jeep had "auto" controls also, albeit they were rotary and not digital control (and did need to be tweaked a bit more than digital).

I found I had to play around with my manual controls in my 2016 Trail a way lot more than I do on my Pro, plus I always felt like it was hard to keep the vehicle cool enough in the summer months here in Arizona. From what I've seen the Toyota system is pretty good at keeping things where you want in auto (actually better than some of the higher end vehicles I've owned).

I feel like a lot of folks who think manual are better are either convincing themselves they don't need auto controls, or been in vehicles that have rather crappy calibration on their auto systems.

For the record; my Toyota does a better job with auto than my stupid Land Rover .

 

[Crocket]

Hi,

I’m researching the various 4Runner models before purchasing one and have a question on the manual climate controls in the SR5 and TRD models. There are several threads on here, so this question is very specific after reading through them.

Is not having automatic climate controls something that SR5 and TRD owners miss or is it not a big deal? It’s been a while since I’ve owned a vehicle without automatic climate controls but in my experience they kind of operated the same way. Whether it was automatic climate or manual climate controls I’d just turn the temperate up or down slightly when I got hot or cold. This includes the 2004 4Runner Sport I used to own where I found the climate controls to be strange and pretty much treated them like manual climate controls.

Thanks

For me, I like that fact it had big easy to use dials instead of smaller finicky buttons like most vehicles now a days. This is a truck, I kind of want to use it at such. I wanted to be able to adjust the temp without having to look down while driving, or be able to easily adjust with thick gloves on in the winter time etc... . Automatic climate control is kind of cool, but for me I just wanted a back to basics, simple truck driving experience, and this model worked best for me. Good luck with what you decide.

 

[jp.vegas]

Auto dual zone climate control was one of the big selling points for me getting the Pro, having enjoyed it in many other vehicles. My girl can set herself up like she wants and I don’t need to hear the too hot too cold debate. The system in the 4Runner works quite well and is more intelligent about fan speeds and the like than the one in my AMG.

Do you have manual controls in your house? I don’t and don’t want them there or in my car.

 

[SnowYeti]

Really miss it. My wife always runs cold and dual zone made her and me not having to deal with her complaining much happier. Our 4 other cars all have it, including our 2002 Avalanche. Ridiculous that the 4R does not have it.

At least you can turn off climate control if you don’t like it. Not like we can add it like changing out the head unit, or adding better headlight bulbs, etc.

That said, one of the reasons I like the 4R is that it has less electronic stuff to go wrong. My last three cars (BMW, BMW, Acura) all ended up having major electronic gremlins that forced me to get rid of them. But I have never had auto climate control gremlins on any car.

 

[blakjack23]

It's one of the reasons I got my limited. I basically change the temp setting twice a year. Once in the summer and once in the winter. It does a great job of keeping it the perfect temp for me.