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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 Rant about climate control |
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03-19-2014, 04:28 PM | #1 |
vroom vroom
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Rant about climate control
Is it me or is the "auto" function of the climate control completely useless?? The immediate 2 car's I've had before this one was a Audi A5 and a Maxima, in both cars I had an auto climate button, in both cars it worked the same, you hit auto, you adjust the dial to whatever temp you want, and the climate control heated or cooled based on that temp you chose. So if its 30 outside, I turn the dial to 80, and I get warm/hot air from the vents, the vents that blew the air was determined by "auto".
In this car its useless, if its 30 outside and I want heat, I turn the dial to 80, I have to make sure the center dial is turned to red also, and if the air isn't blowing hard enough I STILL must adjust the air speed. How is that automatic? The temp here in N. FL is all over the damn place, some days like today its 70 and some days its 35 at night, not cold for you northerners but still. So like today if its 70 and I want cool air, I turn the dial to 60, but I still get warm air out of the windshield/side window vents because the center dial is still red, and if I feel like the air is blowing too slow, I gotta turn up the air speed. Whats the point? Am I doing something wrong?? |
03-19-2014, 04:34 PM | #2 |
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I felt the exact same way man. I've since gotten use to it.... but it did seem... odd...
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03-19-2014, 04:48 PM | #4 |
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Don't you guys set the temperature, air intensity level to how much baseline airflow you like, face vent blender to personal temperature preference and just let the system get on with it?
I run at 20-degrees Centigrade and it just does its job without any need to touch, works in the background as climate control is supposed to. I ride with folks who keep changing their climate and the car is never comfortable, or stable in temperature. BMW's systems are perfect for me. HighlandPete |
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03-19-2014, 05:14 PM | #5 |
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If you leave the center dial between blue and red, then it should blow same temp air as else where. I haven't had any issues with fan speed. This adjusts based on ambient, internal, and heater core temperature. If your car is cold, the fan speed will me minimal if you're trying to heat up the car. With a cold heater core, you're more likely to cool down the car when its cold outside than warming it with a high fan speed.
I personally like the option of adjusting the center to make the air blowing on my face cooler or warmer than the rest of the car. |
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03-19-2014, 06:34 PM | #6 | |
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03-19-2014, 06:56 PM | #7 |
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The system works perfectly fine. The dial in the center vent does not alter your temp setting. That only adjusts the temp of the air coming out of those vents. The temperature setting you choose will still be maintained. The fan speed is determined by several factors, heater core temp being one of them. Just try setting the temp you like and set the red/blue dial in the center and leave for a whole day without touching. Report back and let us know if you still feel the same.
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03-19-2014, 08:22 PM | #8 | |
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Depending on the season you may want to adjust the set auto temp up or down a few degrees, but mainly adjust the center vents a bit cooler or warmer. Trying to adjust it manually all the time would be frustrating and a chore |
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03-20-2014, 12:08 AM | #9 | |
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However at no point did the air speed change when I adjusted the temp up or down, and yes I waited a few mins all the way to 60 and 84. Does it work like this: if today it was 20 outside , and I have the temp set to 75, with the center dial set to the middle of blue/red, I'm assuming the air temp would change based on how fast I set the air speed? |
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03-20-2014, 01:00 AM | #10 |
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BMW climate control is crap, I gave up on it. It has to be adjusted with multiple knobs and wheels to get it right. So frustrating.
Don't even get me started about the lack of rear vents temp control... |
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03-20-2014, 05:49 AM | #11 | |
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So in use I'm getting a gentle air flow (low intensity) but the air volume is changing according to need, Even the face blend changes in a subtle way, when cold the air flow is slower and blended to save your face from chilling. Once the cabin is more stable it then builds a little more flow. If the car is cooling the air speeds do automatically speed up on demand and gently subside as I'd expect. Say I get into my car and it is hot I don't mess with the settings, I just hit the MAX button for a few seconds to get a quick burst of cooling and then press again to return to full auto mode. That is really the only time I need to touch the controls or may just change the face blend to cool or heat according to my mood, but even that is rare. The principle of BMW CC in auto mode is to heat as fast as possible, cool as fast as possible, in a comfortable way. If you run higher intensity settings, then air flows are greater and adjusted more automatically according to need. So we have the flexibility to have an air flow range which we prefer. Sounds to me you want/like greater air flows. Do you have your system set to the highest automatic intensity settings? HighlandPete |
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03-20-2014, 05:55 AM | #12 |
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03-20-2014, 06:54 AM | #13 |
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I find it fine for me although when I got teh car there were 2 features I didn't quite get coming from an E39.
The center vent (blue red) setting is not automatic so you have to manually choose what temperature you want that. as a rule of thumb in winter I leave that halfway between red and blue and in the summer, I leave it at blue. The otehr oddity is the fan speed. In the E39, you set auto and the car would look after fan speed (you'd see it change as required) On the F10 this is the setting for generally how strong you want the air to blow. I agree its not obvious, I've set it to the middle setting and left it as that. Otehr than minor changes to the temperature dial and the central vent blue / red thing, its left to its own devices and works fine for me. |
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03-20-2014, 07:01 AM | #14 |
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Sounds like the panel in the dash is faulty, I had this on my E60, new panel ( at £1k on warranty) fixed it perfectly.
You should hit the auto button, and set temp - job done. So yes yours is broken
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03-20-2014, 07:14 AM | #15 | |
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At least in the F10/11 we have the intensity control on the climate control panel, so easy to set and visually see where it's set. HighlandPete |
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03-20-2014, 09:47 AM | #17 | |
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03-20-2014, 10:02 AM | #18 |
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From what I understand, the AUTO function is used for condensation on the windows. I use it primarily for that function and it works perfectly.
Copied and pasted from 2011 BMW 535i manual: "If the windows are fogged over, press the AUTO button on the driver's side to utilize the condensation sensor. AUTO program Press the button. Air volume, air distribution, and temperature are controlled automatically. Depending on the selected temperature, AUTO intensity, and outside influences, the air is directed to the windshield, side windows, upper body, and into the footwell. The cooling function, refer to page 128, is switched on automatically with the AUTO program. At the same time, a condensation sensor controls the program so as to prevent window condensation as much as possible. Intensity of the AUTO program With the AUTO program switched on, automatic control of the air volume and air distribution can be adjusted. Press the left or right side of the button: decrease or increase the intensity. The selected intensity is shown on the display of the automatic climate control." Someone correct me if I'm wrong. |
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03-20-2014, 10:42 AM | #19 | |
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Auto is just that... it does it all automatically, anti fogging, solar influence control, adjusting and directing airflows according to demand for heat and cooling, auto recirculation for preventing pollutants entering the cabin, dumping damp air to the floor level on start up, etc., etc. For sure, it is a complex bit of design and has lots of user tuneable variations. Clearly designed to be left in Auto mode for user comfort and true climate control. I sense some users prefer the more simple A/C designs, just temperature and fan speed knobs, to continuously switch up and down on personal demand. I sat with a guy the other day who was delivering me a hire car. He was fiddling with the A/C as we went along, from no air flow and misted up windows, to it being on full heat, then like an arctic gale, all within a 12 mile run. What is that all about? When I took over the car, I set the controls as I would my BMW and never adjusted them in the three days I had the car. Worked perfectly. HighlandPete |
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03-20-2014, 10:48 AM | #20 | |
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03-20-2014, 11:30 AM | #21 | |
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One think I find peculiar in my car though: If I set the temp to 22C and press the "Auto" button and leave the fan speed at the max under hat setting (Auto), the fan ill gradually ramp up to full speed, but then after driving, the fan speed will reduce. When the car is shut off and left to cool and you get back into the car to start it, the fan speed never goes back to a higher setting than it was at when you shut the car off. You have to press the auto button off and then on again to get it to ramp up to the maximum speed based on engine temp and the interior temp. Confused? Me too.
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03-20-2014, 11:47 AM | #22 | |
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If untouched, don't understand why it doesn't hold the intensity setting in memory. Never had mine change on its own. But if you have modified some function after your auto setting, I see why it may default to an auto mode at the next start. HighlandPete |
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