The automatic climate control system must know what the interior temperature is. I imagine a sensor sucking cabin air into a housing and supplying a voltage signal to the CC control unit. But if the suck is impeded, the control unit can't control. Where is that little sensor? Thanks.

 

If your car has a little round LED-looking thing just above the red ignition toggle switch, located in the middle of the row of buttons for defrost, etc, that little led-looking thing is an IR sensor for automatic climate control temp sensing. Don't know what year they started that feature ot how many models they put it in, but I've got it in my 2017 Clubman.

 

I have it on 2017 4-Door Hardtop as well.