Mar 16, 2022 17:00:00

Ford cuts some air conditioning functions from cars due to lack of chips

It is reported that American car maker

Ford plans to ship the flagship ' Explorer ' without some of the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) chips.

Ford will ship and sell vehicles without chips controlling non-safety critical features | Automotive News
https://www.autonews.com/nada/ford-will-ship-and-sell-vehicles-without-chips-controlling-non-safety-critical-features

Ford ships Explorers without chips for rear-seat HVAC controls | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/03/ford-ships-explorers-missing-chips-for-rear-seat-hvac-controls/

The pandemic of the new coronavirus has caused a serious semiconductor shortage around the world. The impact of this semiconductor shortage has also extended to automakers , with Ford temporarily closing its Chicago auto assembly plant for a week in February 2021 and four weeks in July.

Since the semiconductor shortage will not be resolved by March 2022, Ford will ship without installing the HVAC chip for the rear seats of Explorer. This measure will prevent direct heating and cooling adjustments from the rear seats, but will still allow control from the driver's or passenger seats.

Also, Ford has not completely given up controlling air conditioning from the backseat, and if the customer requests it, the missing tip will be shipped to the dealer within a year, and the tip will be installed by the dealer. Is to be carried out. Ford seems to be considering a partial refund for customers who do not need air conditioning control from the back seats.

Not limited to the Explorer, Ford will sell the '

F-150 ' in 2021 without a chip to control the automatic start / stop function, and other models such as Bronco SUV , Maverick , Mustang will be chipped. We are reducing it because of the shortage.

Manufacturers other than Ford are also suffering from a semiconductor shortage, and BMW announced in 2021 that it will remove touchscreen functionality from its in-vehicle infotainment display on many models such as the 3 Series , 4 Series , Z4 , X5 , X6 and X7 . It was also due to the shortage of semiconductors. In addition, customers who purchased a vehicle equipped with a parking assist function among the above models report that the backup assistant function (a function that records the driver's steering operation and reproduces it when driving back) is not available. BMW has announced that it will accept refunds for problems with the backup assistant function.

In addition, GM has decided to postpone the implementation of the autonomous driving system that was planned to be installed in multiple vehicle models, and has eliminated the radio and air conditioning control functions that are attached to the seats of some trucks and SUVs.

Even Tesla, which is said to have had a minor impact due to a shortage of semiconductors in the automobile industry, is reported to have run out of electronic control units in the steering column of the Model 3 and Model Y made in China. In addition, Tesla has dealt with this by eliminating the electronic control unit of the steering column in some vehicles, and the reason is 'The electronic control unit of the steering column part is a backup when the primary control device fails. Yes, because we have determined that there is no safety problem even if we eliminate this. '

Manufacturers are planning to build a new foundry to deal with the shortage of semiconductors, but it will take time to start manufacturing semiconductors, and the automobile industry will continue to be affected by the shortage of semiconductors for the time being. ..