[Irish Boy]

Hi All,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I recently got a 2009 BMW 335xi and have an issue with the climate control...hoping someone can help. My car is always hot inside and I can never seem to cool it down. The manual says the best way to cool the car is set it to the Auto setting which is what I do. In addition, I tried the following:

1. I set the auto settings to max power (of the three levels provided)
2. I have turned off the rear vent (since nobody usually is in my backseat) to get more power in front vents
3. I brought the car in to dealer and they tested the a/c levels and said its working fine
4. I keep the moon roof shade closed to reduce sun coming in

...and this still doesn't help. In fact, even when its cool outside (8C or 46F), I am sweating inside the car. It's so weird as I can feel the cold air blowing out of the vents (so they work) but it does not seem to be able to cool the car down. Even opening the windows (when its cool out) doesn't help much.

I usually have to hit max power so the fan is blowing at full speed all the time but that still doesn't make it very comfortable. I still sweat in the car. And, I can't hear the radio since the fan is on so loud.

I live in Toronto so its starting to get hot here and I'm afraid I won't be able to survive the warm summer.

This is not my first BMW and I never had this problem before. It's like the car is cursed or something. I love the look and feel of the car but this cooling system is scaring me. My passengers are always complaining its not comfortable in the car. But, the dealer said its fine...go figure. What do I do?

If anyone has experienced this issue, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate any advice possible. Thanks a million guys!

PS. Oh, and my seat heater is NOT turned on. I know the dealer asked me that the first time...LOL.

[VTECaddict]

How exactly is your climate control set up right now? 46F ambient temp I would be shivering inside the car, not sweating.

[PichaDis11]

Haven't seen any mention of the knurled wheel below the center vents for hot or colder air. Is this not on yours?

[ssmith96]

Make sure this knob is on the blue side, then no matter what it should be putting out cold air. Might want to also hit the snowflake button or A/C button if its changed in LCI.

[Viktimize]

I don't know what the heck the manual is talking about? But the best way to cool the cabin down, is

1.Turn on A/C
2. Turn the temperature knobs down to 16
3. set that useless temp wheel in the dash to the blue side
4. Turn up the fan speed

You won't get the car any colder than that.

[Bleep]

Is it a black car? Get tints.

[NormE91]

Is it even warm enough out for AC? I'm pretty sure the compressor won't come on if the outside temp is only 46f.

[kaede]

Hit Max A/C, recharge your A/C if it is low. I just charged mine and it is better. Our 335i don't have the best a/c system in the world. Also, if window down is your style, tilt/open up your sunroof (tilt is probably better since you don't want sun coming in directly) and open a bit of the passenger side rear window, this creates a suction effect that pulls air in directly above your head from the sunroof which cools your head/neck/upper body pretty nicely! Good Luck!!

[username604]

make sure the AC is on and make sure the temp wheel is on the blue end.
maybe you should just point the vents at your face and not on your feet/windshield since that's the so much of the blood in your body circulates to your face.

if the car isn't physically hot from sitting in the sun, make sure to close all windows including the sunroof. the interior temps will react much more nicely when there's no leak

[Mikey335]

I personally think bmw's AC system sucks in general, as for how cold it gets. I took a road trip of about 400 miles last year, and about 3/4 of the way through my compressor kicked off(I'm guessing from overheat? It was about 90 out). And I had it checked out and they said everything was alright. It just sucks my Honda gets way colder than my bmw ever seems to.

Alpine White with 35% Tint all around

[techietaichi]

If all the above still fails, drive naked.

[46m3csl]

bmw A/C just sucks period I think. Our Camry blows way colder lol

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by Irish Boy

Hi All,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I recently got a 2009 BMW 335xi and have an issue with the climate control...hoping someone can help. My car is always hot inside and I can never seem to cool it down. The manual says the best way to cool the car is set it to the Auto setting which is what I do. In addition, I tried the following:

1. I set the auto settings to max power (of the three levels provided)
2. I have turned off the rear vent (since nobody usually is in my backseat) to get more power in front vents
3. I brought the car in to dealer and they tested the a/c levels and said its working fine
4. I keep the moon roof shade closed to reduce sun coming in

...and this still doesn't help. In fact, even when its cool outside (8C or 46F), I am sweating inside the car. It's so weird as I can feel the cold air blowing out of the vents (so they work) but it does not seem to be able to cool the car down. Even opening the windows (when its cool out) doesn't help much.

I usually have to hit max power so the fan is blowing at full speed all the time but that still doesn't make it very comfortable. I still sweat in the car. And, I can't hear the radio since the fan is on so loud.

I live in Toronto so its starting to get hot here and I'm afraid I won't be able to survive the warm summer.

This is not my first BMW and I never had this problem before. It's like the car is cursed or something. I love the look and feel of the car but this cooling system is scaring me. My passengers are always complaining its not comfortable in the car. But, the dealer said its fine...go figure. What do I do?

If anyone has experienced this issue, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate any advice possible. Thanks a million guys!

PS. Oh, and my seat heater is NOT turned on. I know the dealer asked me that the first time...LOL.

Hey - a bunch of suggestions have been covered here. Some I agree with, some I don't.

I had an E39 for 11 years before I got my E90, and I am also somewhat unimpressed (and hot) in my E90. Fortunately you have the "intensity" setting (the three levels you've set in auto), my 2007 non-iDrive model doesn't even let me play with that... The E90 (and possibly all 3ers) have undersized blowers compared to their larger brothers. A 5 series can have the fan operating near the bottom of the range nearly silently and will still be moving more air than my E90 wailing away at second from the top bar. Sad.
I am also one who generally prefers to have the AC off unless it's truly needed and I coded my IHKA to no longer turn the snowflake on when you hit AUTO. It frustrates me that it can be 10C out, dry (no rain) and it's stuffy in the car unless you turn the AC on. That's just dumb.


A couple of tips for good "automatic" climate control in bimmers:

• Pay attention to the blending wheel - try to leave it in the center but don't go any more than 2/3 of the way to full blue or full red dot or the system will start doing things like blasting full heat at your feet
• point the center vents into the car's interior. In hot weather I have the center vents blow just past the side of my face
• make sure the center vents aren't pointed down so their output air isn't drawn into the temperature sensor on the climate control - this will cause no end of problems

My E39 didn't have a solar sensor (it was a 1998) but E39s which were also in the family did (a 1999 and a 2002). I know the E90 has a solar sensor and usually during the day I find AUTO does OK as long as the AC (snowflake) is on. It's at night that I find it's totally out to lunch and it's always stuffy and hot and I have to fiddle with the controls and turn up the fan speed.

You're not alone (and we're both in the GTA).

[Wires]

As mentioned above, BMW has the worst climate control system. Equipment works fine, they just don't know how to control it!

On my 2008 335, this is what I've learned:

1) Dual climate control doesn't work... Period. The car tends to pick the hottest of the two knobs and just go with it. I set my car to 18C all year round (which in Canada should result in my freezing to death, but it doesn't).
2) That knob on the dash governs the "draft" as it seems. So if it starts feeling warm, turning it to "blue" will introduce more airflow from the upper vents (draft) so it feels cooler. Turning to "red" does less air, so less drafty. It doesn't change the physical temperature.
3) The climate control issue seems to be that the interior air sensor is located in the dash panel below the radio. If the car is super hot, and the A/C comes on MAX, the dash cools down, so the climate control turns itself down.

I find my climate control works decent if I pull out of my garage and drive the car. If I let it heat soak in the sun at work, then it's just wacked. It'll start cooling then turn itself down. Like you said, you just sweat in the car (totally related to point 3 above).

If you turn the temp knob down to 16C (lowest setting), you should get maximum cooling. Mine will blow ice cold air at this setting. If yours doesn't, then it's probably low on Freon.

I'm sure if one installed a little microfan in the dash to pull ambient air across the sensor on the dash, it would probably work fine. My GM truck as that sensor in the roof liner above the driver, with a little fan circulating air across it. It works flawless.....

[David1]

You probably have a leak in the system and it is not working. If you hit the AC button and the idle does not go up about 100 rpm, than the compressor is not comming on and if that is the case, the car probably needs an evaporator core.

[Surly73]

I have to disagree with those stating that BMWs have the work climate control ever. I'm a chronic fiddler with HVAC systems in homes, offices etc... trying to get things just right. My old E39 IHKA did a great job, and it didn't have the solar or humidity sensors that the E90 has. My E39 was amazingly "set it and forget it" except sometimes in the summer sun I needed to turn the fan up a little (which it would have done itself if it had a solar sensor).

Furthermore, I haven't been any more impressed by "premium" cars from other manufacturers.

Most people complaining about the E39 system were doing all kinds of stupid crap instead of letting it do it's thing. They were perpetually setting the set temps to either maximum, and setting the blend wheel all the way to one temp or the other, and manually pressing the air flow buttons until everything was so jacked up no wonder they were complaining.

I do not like the E90 system nearly as much. I find it's stuffy in the car mostly due to insufficient airflow, and the stratified design (where cool air can come from the face vents while warm air flows to the floor, for instance) doesn't work as well with less airflow. It's design is very similar to the E39 but there simply isn't enough air with the smaller blower fitted in the 3 series. There could be something wrong with my E90 that isn't immediately obvious of course. The bearing is starting to make a little chirp on right turns in cold weather so I'll probably be pulling the blower motor and lubricating it some time soon.

There are some basic suggestions for "good" automatic climate which I posted above. Do the equivalent of RTFM and give it a few minutes to settle in. All I had to do on my E39 was set it for 20C in the winter (because occupants wore jackets) up to 23C in the summer (with the AC off unless really needed) and it took care of comfort perfectly well. My E39 was the first car I had where my feet were perfectly warm in the winter without suffocating me with hot air on my face. Splendid...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Surly73

I have to disagree with those stating that BMWs have the work climate control ever. I'm a chronic fiddler with HVAC systems in homes, offices etc... trying to get things just right. My old E39 IHKA did a great job, and it didn't have the solar or humidity sensors that the E90 has. My E39 was amazingly "set it and forget it" except sometimes in the summer sun I needed to turn the fan up a little (which it would have done itself if it had a solar sensor).

Furthermore, I haven't been any more impressed by "premium" cars from other manufacturers.

Most people complaining about the E39 system were doing all kinds of stupid crap instead of letting it do it's thing. They were perpetually setting the set temps to either maximum, and setting the blend wheel all the way to one temp or the other, and manually pressing the air flow buttons until everything was so jacked up no wonder they were complaining.

I do not like the E90 system nearly as much. I find it's stuffy in the car mostly due to insufficient airflow, and the stratified design (where cool air can come from the face vents while warm air flows to the floor, for instance) doesn't work as well with less airflow. It's design is very similar to the E39 but there simply isn't enough air with the smaller blower fitted in the 3 series. There could be something wrong with my E90 that isn't immediately obvious of course. The bearing is starting to make a little chirp on right turns in cold weather so I'll probably be pulling the blower motor and lubricating it some time soon.

There are some basic suggestions for "good" automatic climate which I posted above. Do the equivalent of RTFM and give it a few minutes to settle in. All I had to do on my E39 was set it for 20C in the winter (because occupants wore jackets) up to 23C in the summer (with the AC off unless really needed) and it took care of comfort perfectly well. My E39 was the first car I had where my feet were perfectly warm in the winter without suffocating me with hot air on my face. Splendid...

I have to agree here. I think the E90 HVAC is pretty good, but the real issue is any "automatic" system will never be perfect because a machine will never be able assess the condition of the climate inside the car as well as a human. Additionally, human's sensitivity constantly changes and the system can't detect that and adjust for it. Your body has a internal heat control system, which the machine can't detect and compensate for.

Like you said, you need to not fiddle with the settings so much and let the system settle in.

[Braumin]

I've got the exact same year and model as you, and I've been pretty happy with the HVAC. What temp are you setting it to in Auto? I've been happy at 21°C. What temp are you setting your auto A/C to?

The Auto setting seems to try to keep the requested temp with as little fan speed as possible. If you're someone who is hot, you may have to ignore the auto and set the fan where you need it as well as the directional settings to the centre vents.

[upstatedoc]

"even when its cool outside (8C or 46F), I am sweating inside the car. It's so weird as I can feel the cold air blowing out of the vents "

maybe you have a metabolism problem?

[MandMs335Msport]

One thing that jumps out at me here is that if you are not moving through traffic at least 50 mph is that the condensor does not see enough ambient air moving through it and will make the ac not work well.

These cars run hotter than any car I have seen, add intercoolers, undersized radiators, etc and obviously not a big enough condensor, and there is no way to make an ac system work well.

Fortunately my wife and I live in a relatively rural area and generally keep the speed up, after our recent 5kmile trip, we noticed how the ac sucked in slow town traffic, and it wasn't really even hot out. Can't wait to see how "good" it is here in California when it really starts heating up.

So my two cents, way too small condensor.

Mark

[taranonline]

Works great for me.. Temp here goes up to 48* C.
No tints.

[theblackmamba]

your ac evap needs to be replaced.