I’ve had the car 2 years , never figured out the ‘auto’ button on the climate buttons!! Yes I should look up the handbook but other drivers tips and knowledge is better. Heavy rain here today so fogging up really quick. The max buttons great but a little bit too much sometimes. I’m assuming the auto button is for presetting the climate set up ? With 3 different options? 
Todays trip in the torrential rain has just reinforced my belief in having physical buttons and dials. 

Lol. After struggling with the Mk3 and the Mk4 with fogging up issues I now have the Mk4 set as A/c on Auto selected and on 1 and it has cured the fogging issues.

One of my main gripes with the Mk3 was that the A/c came on automatically once you started the car, now I realise why after all these yrs.

Sometimes but not very often I have to up it to number 2 is mainly down to sudden adverse weather changes like you mention above.

"Auto" just means it tries to manage the air distribution automatically. For de-fogging keep the A/C on. I normally keep the A/C on permanently for that reason; it'll turn itself off if the outside temperature is too low.

The three different levels of auto determine the maximum fan speed. I have it on 2 all the time as I find 3 annoying. 
 

I generally only ever touch the temp dial a few degrees each way and otherwise leave it do it’s own thing unless I’m trying to clear ice/frost off the screen. 

Do the rest of you agree integrating climate and audio controls into sync4 is a mistake? None of us have tried one yet but could potentially be dangerous imo . Also , they’re launching sync4 but iirc ford announced google would be taking control of all Ford infotainment in 2023 (?) I’ve actually got more faith in google than ford . The golf 8 also has very little buttons and a screen that doesn’t work very well. Like most touchscreens. Might be me getting old and very sceptical! 

It might depend on what system is fitted to your car. Mine is fully automatic and I leave it on Auto most of the year.

The only time I change it is if it is cold or wet or I'm wet, that is when I direct the air to the Windscreen/side vents to stop them misting up. I tend to leave it there during the winter months.

I have never bothered with the Max Defrost or other settings because I find the above two settings work ok.

I would not use the Sync screen if I had them, It is safer and easier to use the buttons without taking your eyes off the road.  

The most used button for me is the Air Recirculation one. See smoke ahead, press the button, no smoke smells in car. Once past the smoke press Auto again to get back to normal.

Is the above now buried 5 layers deep in a touch screen menu?

I rarely use the Sync3 as it is tbh other than to cross off the annoying "ok" that appears upon start up and its main purpose for me is the screen being used just for the time. 

Other than that it's generally a blank screen. In other words, switched off.

 

3 hours ago, Tizer said:

It might depend on what system is fitted to your car. Mine is fully automatic and I leave it on Auto most of the year.

Is it a Vignale you have? When I press the auto button i get 3 options…blower low max speed, medium and high . What’s automatic about it? I really need to mess about with it some more! 

1 minute ago, Alex.S said:

Is it a Vignale you have? When I press the auto button i get 3 options…blower low max speed, medium and high . What’s automatic about it? I really need to mess about with it some more! 

No, mine is just a Titanium. I always switch off the Aircon a few minutes before the end of a journey, then switch the whole system off before switching the car off.

At the next restart I just press the Auto button after the car has started and my pre flight checks are done and it flashes up a message that says something like fan speed medium. I just leave it like that and it seems to look after itself.

I could vary the fan speed up or down by using the speed control, and maybe by pressing the Auto button again but I don't bother.

Because it has been raining all day here, tomorrow morning I will press the button that directs the air to the Windscreen instead of Auto and will probably leave it there until the next restart.

I don't know if there is more insulation in the Titanium or not but I must say that this is the first car I have owned that never feels too cold or hot when I get into it, so much so that I sometimes forget to switch the climate control on and have never used the Heated seats.

So pressing    ‘ auto’  turns the AC on. Also the lights for blowers etc off ?!? .  Do all of you have the air con on all of the time? 
I have realised today leaving the climate control on auto I’ve not had to adjust the blowers at all even though it’s another rainy day. 

8 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

So pressing    ‘ auto’  turns the AC on. Also the lights for blowers etc off ?!? .  Do all of you have the air con on all of the time? 
I have realised today leaving the climate control on auto I’ve not had to adjust the blowers at all even though it’s another rainy day. 

The A/C light being on just means it "can" be on, it doesn't mean it is running all the time. It will cycle on and off as needed.

Auto lets the car manage the A/C, vents, recirc and fans automatically to meet your temp target. It will do different things for different temps and humdities. On older models auto had only one level and you'd often be annoyingly blasted when first starting the car, now you can limit the fan speed. As I say I use 2, that lets it ramp up a bit when needed, but it doesn't really blast.

When the outside temp is cold it will direct more air to the windscreen and front windows. If it's really hot, it will use recirc initially to bring the temp down quicker and direct more to feet and front facing vents.

I find it works really well, so just adjust temp a few degrees as needed.

Despite being something of a technophobe I love the "auto" button. Whenever I get a new car with climate I just set my preferred temperature, press "auto" and never touch the hvac controls again.

I find that when set to Windscreen (not max button), like this morning because it has rained for 24 hours here, the Aircon Compressor may have stayed on more than if it was on Auto, difficult to say really because it was still raining. It may be clever enough to keep the Compressor on more when it is actively raining as well in Auto. 

These answers , and the proofs been in the pudding this morning, have made the prospect of all touchscreen controls less of an issue. I should’ve asked this question 2 years ago!! 

Touch screens will be the future due to costs in developing and testing a mechanical switch.

It will allow manufacturers to simplify dash's and allow more storage options and cup holders!!! We all love cup holders!!!

20 minutes ago, VFR800 said:

Touch screens will be the future due to costs in developing and testing a mechanical switch.

It will allow manufacturers to simplify dash's and allow more storage options and cup holders!!! We all love cup holders!!!

Touchscreens are easier to clean after you spill your coffee on them as well...  

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Touchscreens are easier to clean after you spill your coffee on them as well...  

No food or drink allowed inside the car apart from the shopping in the boot.

3 minutes ago, Wino said:

No food or drink allowed inside the car apart from the shopping in the boot.

Well that makes the extra cupholders a little redundant!

 

 

 

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

Well that makes the extra cupholders a little redundant!

 

 

 

Yes. I suppose it does but our cupholders are pushed to the front and rear of the centre console for better storage 👍