Rear Airconditioner

[bitdist]

Hi Everyone,
Just pondering a D4 purchase, and wondered about some advice on weather rear airconditioning is needed or whether the front air is pretty good. We have kids in the back seats and that has been one of their complaints in the past, where it was OK in the front on hot days but the back was pretty unbearable as by the time any cool air got back there, it wasn't anymore!

cheers

[chuck]

Tim

I have had no complaints however mine is window tinted & silver.

I do not have many peple in seats 6 & 7.

I have been told if you are going to select a sunroof or you regularly carry 7 passengers or animals in back you should opt up rear air.

Regards

Chuck

[bbyer]

If you have the glass roof version, the roll up sunshades only mute the sun a bit.

Also kids grow up quickly; soon they are in the front driving and you are in the back, (but still paying the bills of course). Hence per the previous post, glass roof, yes to AC; tin roof and 7 seats, well probably still yes.

Delete the in flight rear seat entertainment system and use the money for the AC. Get the kids each their own portable whatever game player/viewer - that seems to keep them quiet and is a good all round solution.

[Disco4SE]

Hi Everyone,
Just pondering a D4 purchase, and wondered about some advice on weather rear airconditioning is needed or whether the front air is pretty good. We have kids in the back seats and that has been one of their complaints in the past, where it was OK in the front on hot days but the back was pretty unbearable as by the time any cool air got back there, it wasn't anymore!

cheers
Had the rear air in the D3 and was one of the first add ons for the D4. After having a string of 4WD wagons with no rear air, it is fantastic.
No whinging from the back seat and they can have it set at their own temperature.
There is the old saying...........'you dont miss what you havent got', however after having it, its a must.
Cheers, Craig

[CaverD3]

The normal A/c is pretty good. Not complaints from the dogs in the back either. But on very hot days it takes longer to cool the whole vehicle. With rear air it is very quick.

[trobbo]

having it on my D3 I wouldn't go without it now. Cools and heats the whole car significantly quicker than just the front vents alone.

[DiscoWeb]

having it on my D3 I wouldn't go without it now. Cools and heats the whole car significantly quicker than just the front vents alone.

I have the rear a/c but almost never put it on. There are two vent that run out the back of the centre console which my kids generally have turned off as the normal A/C seems to keep them cool and comfortable enough and I have the glass roof and sunroof and no tinting.

I am assuming that without the rear a/c you would still have those two vents just not the one in the very rear (cargo/3rd row seat) and the control panel above the 2nd row seats.

We do seem to cart a number of kids on occasion, probably because we can with 7 seats and I have not had any complaints.

I think it is a good option but not essential based on my experience.

George

[Ean Austral]

I have the rear a/c but almost never put it on. There are two vent that run out the back of the centre console which my kids generally have turned off as the normal A/C seems to keep them cool and comfortable enough and I have the glass roof and sunroof and no tinting.

I am assuming that without the rear a/c you would still have those two vents just not the one in the very rear (cargo/3rd row seat) and the control panel above the 2nd row seats.

We do seem to cart a number of kids on occasion, probably because we can with 7 seats and I have not had any complaints.

I think it is a good option but not essential based on my experience.

George


What he said


Cheers Ean

[bitdist]

Thanks for your input!
I think we are saying it would be nice to have sometimes but not essential, especially if I get tinting.
If I do something I want to do it this financial year anyway, and there does not seem to be many around with rear air anyway!

cheers

[101RRS]

The only advantage I can see is to be able to select you own temp in the rear. My passengers have all said that the front A/C with the rear vents on is more than adequate. More than enough cool/hot air is delivered to the rear via the outlets in the centre console.

Garry

[Disomania]

It was in my D4 and love the rear air. We hit a small heat wave when we got the car, with a several days above 30 in a row. I played with the rear air, both on and off and was stunned at how fast it cooled the entire car. With other cars, including the D1, we'd be cold in the front for the kids to be OK in the back seat. With the rear air on as well, the car cools 50% faster on a hot day.

[Weird Al]

I was going to get it with my D4. That was untill we took a test drive and the kids (2 boys 7 & 8) spent the entire test drive fighting with each other an arguing about who got to choose the control settings...temp and fan speed.

Combined with the dealer saying he had none with rear a/c on the way and it would need to be ordered from the factory, made the decision easy for me.....no rear a/c.

[Disomania]

There is a switch on the dash that turns it:

1. Off;
2. Auto, based on the front settings; and
3. Maual control from the roof console.

My kids are much older, but the system is set to 'auto' and it works really well.

[jonesfam]

We have it in the D3 & we carry 5 kids in the back. In summer with the ambient over 40 it cools the car incredibly quickly. The car is tinted. On longer drives we actually shut the 2 outlets in the center console off because the 2YO in the middle center gets too cold.
We always keep it on via the front controls (the rear averages the temp of the L/R front controls) & the kids are not allowed to touch the rear controls.
I always find it amazing how fast the whole car cools even with it's black (Land Rover speak = Ebony) interior & our Far North West Qld stupid temps.
Jonesfam

[Narangga]

We have it in the D3 & we carry 5 kids in the back. In summer with the ambient over 40 it cools the car incredibly quickly. The car is tinted. On longer drives we actually shut the 2 outlets in the center console off because the 2YO in the middle center gets too cold.
We always keep it on via the front controls (the rear averages the temp of the L/R front controls) & the kids are not allowed to touch the rear controls.
I always find it amazing how fast the whole car cools even with it's black (Land Rover speak = Ebony) interior & our Far North West Qld stupid temps.
Jonesfam

Thanks for that. It confirms that once I am allowed to go shopping for a D3/4 that the rear air con and NO Ebony interior will form the first two items on the must have list. :)

[steved01]

My 2 kids aged 8 & 10 would say that rear air con is a must - esp in the rear 2 seats - all dark leather (whatever color that is), Buckingham Blue on the outside and tints.

Yeah the 2 little centre vents get closed a lot but after sports they really appreciate the extra air that the high vents give - if they argue over the controls, well, I've got the power to turn it off !

[DI5CO]

How does it work? Does it draw on engine power (ie increase fuel consumption) or is it electrical powered? Is there any loss of power etc?
Dave.

[Disco4SE]

How does it work? Does it draw on engine power (ie increase fuel consumption) or is it electrical powered? Is there any loss of power etc?
Dave.
Interesting question.
Can't say that I have noticed any difference in fuel economy. This also relates to having the airconditioning on or off in general, whether it be both or just the front.
Cheers, Craig

[jonesfam]

From memory when I quizzed the dealer about this (a very knowledgeable bloke), he said:
Both front & rear A/C run off the same engine driven compressor.
The rear A/C has it's own condenser & evaporator.
He cautioned me not to block the small grill at the bottom front side of the rear trim on the passengers side as this was where the rear A/C drew it's intake air from.
Except for an explanation of all the buttons that's most of it.
BTW What is the point of "Econo" mode? It just seems to turn the A/C off, same as the "Off" button. Built-in redundancy?
Jonesfam

[101RRS]

BTW What is the point of "Econo" mode? It just seems to turn the A/C off, same as the "Off" button. Built-in redundancy?
Jonesfam

Off turns the whole system off where Econ turns off the A/C (I guess the compressor) only - all of the other climate control functions work. In theory you should still be able to cool the inside down if the outside temp was low enough.

I have played around with Econ a bit - even with outside temp at 10, climate control on say 16 and inside temp at about 20, climate control does take a long time to pull to temp down (recycle off) so normally the A/c must be used to bring the temp down quickly.

Garry

[bbyer]

How does it work? Does it draw on engine power (ie increase fuel consumption) or is it electrical powered? Is there any loss of power etc? Dave. With the second air conditioner working, in theory there could be increased energy draw on the engine, but for a shorter time so to speak.
Even that explanation is too simple as the single AC compressor that is common to both coolers can only make so much "cold". Also the flow of "cold" varies with the amount of interior cooling the 3 thinks is required. Hence the compressor rarely works full out once the interior is at temperature, and as such, the engine rarely sees full load demands from the AC compressor, regardless of if the rear system is installed or not.

The ECONO switch is as close to an AC off switch that you have. Given that the compressor does not have an electric clutch on the pulley per older designs, it is not possible to disengage the compressor as in the past. Also, temperature is regulated by restricting the flow of the refrigerant travelling thru the evaporator located in the heater box under the dash; also to the rear evaporator when installed. When the ECONO light is on, flow of refrigerant is even more restricted by those valves to the minimum required to lubricate the compressor and that is effectively so little that the AC appears to be off and the compressor loading is at a minimum.

What this means is the the AC compressor is always drawing a bit of power from the engine, but not much when the ECONO button is illuminated. I run with the ECONO button illuminated most of the year. That is easy however as 10 months of the year, the bonger from the under +4C outside temperature is annoying me, (as it still is doing most mornings here in June.)