[Balster]

I have a question on the climate control settings - not extended.

1) Hot day outside.
2) Get in car and I turn the setting on my side down to 16.
3) The car continues to blow out 'normal', non cold air in auto mode.
4) If I turn the air-con button on then the climate control blows out what I would expect from the auto function, yet not to be.
5) Even if I increase the temp to 18, the air con is still throwing out cold air.
Can anyone explain to the simpleton how the climate control works in conjunction with the green button air con?

Cheers.

[Markee]

Basically, the air con provides cold air to the climate control. With AC off, the climate will still work but you will get no cooling (unless the air outside is cooler than the air inside).

The setting on display next to the knobs is the temperature setting you are looking for in the cabin, not the temperature of the air coming out of the nozzles.

Therefore, if it's a hot day outside, the inside of the car could be 25-30'C so whether you have the setting at 16, 18 or 20 it will still blow cold air as the temperature in the cabin is still above the setting on the climate display.

[dippo]

Do you have the rotary dial between the two central vents set to red, or blue? If it's on red, the centre vents will blow out warm air, and if it's set to blue, they blow cold air.

I've asked several BMW dealer staff members to explain how you can have a simple hot or cold option which seems to take precedence over the temperature selected on the climate control panel, and their only response seemed to be to try to set it in a middle position between the red and the blue! I asked BMW UK, and their reply was that the sales staff should have explained it at the handover (no other explanation).

[GMTRB5]

For the auto to work effectively you need to leave the air con button on all the time .. you may need to select a higher temperature than you'd expect to get the temperature you want .. In my current car I have it set to 19 or 19.5, but in my previous car it was 20.5 or 21 .. Once you've found the temp you want just leave it generally after that

I like the dial in the middle of the vents - sometimes you don't want a cold car, but want cold air on you .. I use it as a fine tuning dial

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by GMTRB5

For the auto to work effectively you need to leave the air con button on all the time .. you may need to select a higher temperature than you'd expect to get the temperature you want .. In my current car I have it set to 19 or 19.5, but in my previous car it was 20.5 or 21 .. Once you've found the temp you want just leave it generally after that

I like the dial in the middle of the vents - sometimes you don't want a cold car, but want cold air on you .. I use it as a fine tuning dial

Agree... Leave the A/C on all the time. There is hardly (not noticeable) any fuel consumption penalty for keeping it on. Find a temp (C) setting that works for you; and be a bit patient, the car will eventually cool down or heat up.
Use the blue/red dial for fine tuning how much cold/fresh air you want directed towards you.

PS: In EcoPro mode, the A/C really works at very low levels; so if you want the A/C to act more quickly; turn off the Climate Setting checkbox under Ecopro settings.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Balster

I have a question on the climate control settings - not extended.

1) Hot day outside.
2) Get in car and I turn the setting on my side down to 16.
3) The car continues to blow out 'normal', non cold air in auto mode.
4) If I turn the air-con button on then the climate control blows out what I would expect from the auto function, yet not to be.
5) Even if I increase the temp to 18, the air con is still throwing out cold air.
Can anyone explain to the simpleton how the climate control works in conjunction with the green button air con?

Cheers.

16C is the lowest 'unregulated' temperature, don't use 16C if you want a controlled temperature. Why would you want 16 - 18C, it is a pretty cool temperature to get the cabin down to. It will do it but you will likely get chilled in the process.

You are running too low a temperature for your requirements. As others have said, set to the temperature you want to achieve.

I run 20C never change it, run auto with A/C function on. Regulates "up and down" according to season. That's what climate control is for.

HighlandPete

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by GMTRB5

I like the dial in the middle of the vents - sometimes you don't want a cold car, but want cold air on you .. I use it as a fine tuning dial

Same here, excellent additional feature in the BMW range, allows fine adjustment of face level ventilation.

HighlandPete

[Piers]

This is how it was explained to me.

BMW call it the Y factor apparently, people prefer a controllable face temp separate to the cabin temp.

Put the two green lights on on the panel, bottom middle. Then adjust the temp to say 19/20, find a temp you are comfortable with, and never do anything other than change the temp. Climate will maintain that temp by sensors in the cabin.

Personally, 19 with blue on top vents, sometimes on my face and hands and sometimes just into the cabin is my ideal.

[RandomGuy152]

While recently driving on the warm days, there was an incident where the car (in normal mode) took a good 2-3 minutes before the fan speed, which had stayed at almost zero, picked up and began blowing cold air - this was with AUTO & AC Green-lit for 18C (red/blue rocker was 50/50) ... outside temp was showing as 28C. This happened twice. A short delay of 5-10 seconds is usually the time taken before it kicks in, but never longer than it takes me to move out of a parking space. All was well after that.

If the interior is very warm, cold air will still be thrown at you anywhere between 16 degrees up to the temp of the interior - that's the nature of climate control. If you request a temp lower than the interior, it will continue to blow cold air until the temps are matched.

The AC light must be on to deliver air colder than your surroundings. You can leave the light on. If you request a temp higher than the surroundings, then the AC will automatically be switched off (the light will stay on, but the compressor will disconnect) and heat from the engine will be blown into the cabin instead.

[The Beast]

If you request a temp higher than the surroundings, then the AC will automatically be switched off (the light will stay on, but the compressor will disconnect) and heat from the engine will be blown into the cabin instead.

Not quite right, the AC will still run as it strips the moisture out of the incoming air when heating the vehicle. This is what prevents your vehicle from steaming up on a rainy day.

[The Beast]

Basically you have three variables in auto mode;

1) Temperature selection via dials
2) Temperature selection for face vents
3) Fan speed intensity in auto ranging from very mild (1 bar) to very aggressive (5 bars)

I tend to have temperature on 20, face vents halfway between red/blue and fan intensity on 3 bars. This works 90% of the time. When it's really hot I hit the max ac button for a few minutes when initially starting the car and when it's really cold I turn the temperature dial on the face vents a little further to the red.

[The Beast]

And to clarify the temperature selection on the dials is the desired cabin temperature, the climate control will blow a range of temperatures to achieve and maintain the desired cabin temperature

[Balster]

Brilliant, you guys did a better job than the BMW 'genius'!

[RandomGuy152]

Originally Posted by The Beast

Not quite right, the AC will still run as it strips the moisture out of the incoming air when heating the vehicle. This is what prevents your vehicle from steaming up on a rainy day.

Right you are, my mistake
What is that whirring noise when making a low-high temp change? Was always under the impression that it was the AC unit disconnecting...