I know that many people (myself included) were a little underwhelmed by the perceived quality of the rotating knobs for the HVAC system. Many people expressed that they felt cheap or flimsy. I have made an interesting discovery which makes me appreciate them a little more.
When the power is off to the car, the knobs more or less freewheel with little to no resistance. As most of you already know, once the vehicle is powered up, the knobs take on the function of either the seats with a press, the fan with a pull, or default to the temperature. What is impressive is that the ‘clicks’ that you feel when you rotate them aren’t actually physically there but rather are simulated with haptic feedback or some variation of the theme. While in temperature mode, each rotation of the dial yields finely spaced ‘detants’ for half degree control, while when in seat heater mode or fan mode, the detants are spaced farther apart. This allows one control to be programmed to have a different feel depending on it’s intended use. This is some pretty cool technology that I don’t recall seeing on any other vehicle. Maybe there is a technical term for this that others can share.
I am looking at those dials now in a new light.
Tim
When the power is off to the car, the knobs more or less freewheel with little to no resistance. As most of you already know, once the vehicle is powered up, the knobs take on the function of either the seats with a press, the fan with a pull, or default to the temperature. What is impressive is that the ‘clicks’ that you feel when you rotate them aren’t actually physically there but rather are simulated with haptic feedback or some variation of the theme. While in temperature mode, each rotation of the dial yields finely spaced ‘detants’ for half degree control, while when in seat heater mode or fan mode, the detants are spaced farther apart. This allows one control to be programmed to have a different feel depending on it’s intended use. This is some pretty cool technology that I don’t recall seeing on any other vehicle. Maybe there is a technical term for this that others can share.
I am looking at those dials now in a new light.
Tim