Question on Auto Climate Control Reliability and Accuracy

[Jim Rogers]

As I continue my research of the pros and cons of different Mirage model years (see my transmission questions here), I'm thinking about the reliability of the auto climate control system.

Because 14-15 MY Mirages seem plentiful and cheap, I'm interested in them. However, they all came standard with auto climate control, which leads me to wonder how big a negative that is.

I know there is a pretty strong preference in general for the manual climate controls on this forum, but since there is no choice on the 14-15's, here are my questions:

Primary question(s): Is there any major difference in reliability between the auto and manual control systems? I.e., is there any difference such as (for example) the manual system uses actual cables (simple and reliable) to move blend doors, etc., while the auto system uses vacuum servos (complicated and less reliable) to actuate the different modes? Or do both systems use the same mechanism of operation, and just the "head unit" is different? If the head unit is the only difference between the two systems, is the auto head unit relatively reliable?

Secondary question: Regardless of the mechanism of action and how complicated/reliable it is, does the auto system work relatively well to achieve whatever temperature is desired? My wife drives a Honda Civic, and that's the first car I ever had with an auto climate control system. I was skeptical of it, but I'll have to say that it does a pretty good job of quickly getting the temperature to where I want it and then keeping it there. Have people had the same experience with the Mirage auto climate system?

Thanks again!

P.S. I am aware of the right-side heater core clogging issue on the 14-15's and I'm not too worried about it. It seems that people have determined that it is possible to slide the core out of the driver's side with a little creative cutting of the hose extensions. So, I think I can handle that.

[Fummins]

I don’t think I’ve heard of any failures with either type of heater controls. All our work mirages are manual and my previous and current 14 have the electronical kind. My car has over 300k km and they work perfect. I was in the same boat, wanting less things to go wrong but everything works like it should in my fancy spec car. Even the heated seats. Having factory cruise is nice too, especially with the cvt. I found it can be a pita on windy highways trying to keep a constant speed. But maybe that’s just me..

[Jim Rogers]

That's great to hear, Fummins. Glad the various accessories in the Mirage tend to be reliable.

One reason I ask this question is because I'm part of the Dodge Grand Caravan community, and the automatic climate control systems in those vans are terribly unreliable. Seems like there's a post every day with someone having a problem with the tri-zone system not working in one way or another. People continuously lament "why in the name of all that is right and holy didn't they put a simple manual climate control system in these vehicles!?"

Just wondered if there were any similar problems in the Mirage, and glad to hear that there are not.

[Mark]

That's great to hear, Fummins. Glad the various accessories in the Mirage tend to be reliable.

One reason I ask this question is because I'm part of the Dodge Grand Caravan community, and the automatic climate control systems in those vans are terribly unreliable. Seems like there's a post every day with someone having a problem with the tri-zone system not working in one way or another. People continuously lament "why in the name of all that is right and holy didn't they put a simple manual climate control system in these vehicles!?"

Just wondered if there were any similar problems in the Mirage, and glad to hear that there are not.

Auto climate control is standard on all 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022 models in the States. You may already know that I guess. Only the 2017-19 ES & LE would have the manual controls with A/C.

2019 ES manual would be my favorite Mirage, because cruise control became standard in all Mirages that year. Manual transmission, factory cruise control along with manual climate controls would be my favorite combination of features.

I hate auto climate controls in any vehicle, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker in buying one.

[Jim Rogers]

Agree with your analysis, Mark, and basically just said the same thing on my other thread!

[Fummins]

There’s many unreliable things about a grand caravan. My sisters both have one. Ones a 2011 the other a 2012 I believe. And my brother in law has a 2019ish. The two older vans have had just about every blend door replaced, they have the non-auto temp controls but are 3 zone, or at least have rear heat and ac. They’re junk, every deal and gasket leaks under the hood, trans lines leak, struts leak. One had the harmonic balancer replaced cause it was separating. One way bearing in the alternator crapped out too. The things barely have 70,000 miles on them and they’re completely clapped out.

[Jim Rogers]

There’s many unreliable things about a grand caravan. My sisters both have one. Ones a 2011 the other a 2012 I believe. And my brother in law has a 2019ish. The two older vans have had just about every blend door replaced, they have the non-auto temp controls but are 3 zone, or at least have rear heat and ac. They’re junk, every deal and gasket leaks under the hood, trans lines leak, struts leak. One had the harmonic balancer replaced cause it was separating. One way bearing in the alternator crapped out too. The things barely have 70,000 miles on them and they’re completely clapped out.

I think the Grand Caravan is a little like the Mitsubishi Mirage of vans. People tend to hate them and run them down as unreliable. And, just like I'm sure is true with Mirages, there are some bad ones out there.

But lots of people put big miles on GC's with little to no problems. I've had pretty good luck with mine and like them. Most of the problems are real, but also pretty well-known and not bad to fix.

The HVAC systems truly are a bad point on those vans, and I don't know why nothing was done to improve them over the 12-year run of the gen 5's. It's one of the reasons I bought a cargo version-- it has the simplest manual controlled system you can get in those vans.

Most of the other problems are (IMO) analogous to the mis-aligned rear axle problem on the 14-15 Mirages; a real problem but not serious enough to write off the whole vehicle.

All vehicles have their problems-- even Toyota and Honda. Fans of a marque will figure out how to fix or deal with those problems, while the haters will just use the same problems as fuel for their hate.

All true for pretty much every brand out there, so I just gravitate to what piques my interest. I like the Grand Caravans (for numerous reasons), and of late I've become interested in the Mirage as well.

[Wallythacker]

There’s many unreliable things about a grand caravan. My sisters both have one. Ones a 2011 the other a 2012 I believe. And my brother in law has a 2019ish. The two older vans have had just about every blend door replaced, they have the non-auto temp controls but are 3 zone, or at least have rear heat and ac. They’re junk, every deal and gasket leaks under the hood, trans lines leak, struts leak. One had the harmonic balancer replaced cause it was separating. One way bearing in the alternator crapped out too. The things barely have 70,000 miles on them and they’re completely clapped out.

As for Caravan the 2010 I had with the ex was fine climate wise but the key would jam and did so 3 times and it was expensive to fix. The other major issue was tires. Constant flats but no punctures. No idea why.

As for Mirage climate controls, my '14 with 300KM has never had a problem. I have the plugged right side heater core.
My '17 manual climate controls work fine but I'm really unhappy with only 4 fan speeds. It would have Mits peanuts to put in 5/6 fan speeds.

My '14 is amazing, it heats/cools much faster than my '17, the set/forget on the '14 is so convenient. The rear seat of my '14 is much more comfortable. I prefer the auto climate system, hands down.

[Jim Rogers]

Thanks for the input. As I said above, I was skeptical about the auto climate control in my wife's Honda, but, like you, I've actually come to prefer it as it works very well.

So, as long as it's reliable in the Mirage (and it sounds like it is!), I'm going to scratch "auto climate control" off my concern list.

Thanks so much for everyone's input on this!

[Dirk Diggler]

Thanks for the input. As I said above, I was skeptical about the auto climate control in my wife's Honda, but, like you, I've actually come to prefer it as it works very well.

So, as long as it's reliable in the Mirage (and it sounds like it is!), I'm going to scratch "auto climate control" off my concern list.

Thanks so much for everyone's input on this!

Don't overlook the Mirage G4 sedan either if you're expecting grandkids riding in the back. The G4 has more rear passenger legroom than an Altima, a sedan 2 class sizes up from the Mirage!