Air conditioner

My 2005 X3 air conditioner is not blowing cold air. The compressor checked fine and no leaks were detected with a dye check. Could there a be a door closed under the dash? Any advice would be appreciated.

I assume you checked the refrigerant charge? My MDX was blowing hot air - until I filled it up with a can of arctic air I got at Autozone with the gauge

Yes, refridgerant was 1# low and I had that added at garage. Still no cold air.

Warm air comes out of the floor vents. Cool air comes out of the face-level vents, and make sure they are all open. In addition, the serrated dial above the lock button should be set to neutral or blue if you want more cool air from the centre face vents.

Yes, but still no cold air. If there is sufficient coolant, no leaks and the compressor is ok, then I thought some door/valve must be stuck in the wrong position. Maybe I am the only one that has experienced this problem. I just hate to take it to the shop because of the costs.

drop by your BMW dealer and ask the service representative if he/she can think of any reason why cold air is not coming from the vents when the ac is on. asking is free and i'd bet the rep will take a look to see if your settings are correct or if there is a simple solution to your problem, and i would think this will be free of charge...you know, good will and all that. if, on the other hand everything on the dash is set up correctly, you will probably be discussing appointment time and a fee. give it a try and good luck!

+1 on No's response. The SA (if you go in at a non peak time) will most likely be happy to look at the system and tell quickly if it is set up correctly. The good news is that winter is coming and you will be needing the heater more than the A/C for a few months.

My SA's are great with minor problems. A month or so ago, I stopped by to buy some of the pop rivets for the mud flaps that were loose/missing. The SA got them and had a lot guy install them no charge even though I have been out of warranty for a year now.

One reason I do not mind having them do all the service on the X3.

Stop in and explain the issue and they will likely do a quick check and if they can't fix it, you can always schedule a repair.

Cheers

I'm going to share a recent experience that may help. I was leaving work in my X3 and the temperature was 90+ F. The AC was blowing warm air. When I got in the slow-moving (10-15 mph) interstate traffic, I happened to notice the temp gauge spike to just below red. I shut the AC off and kept a close eye on it. I also called local BMW and got my SA on the line. He asked if any indicator lights illuminated (they didn't) and also suggested pulling over immediately and getting towed. By this time traffic was picking up (50-60 mph). The temp gauge moved back to normal position. We agreed I would bring it in next day first thing. Now that the engine temp was back to normal I tried the AC and it worked. The temp gauge never spiked again before getting it into service. They determined to cooling fan had failed and needed to be replaced. I was told the AC will shut down if the car senses it cannot keep up with cooling needs and AC. The air flow from the increased speeds must have been enough to cool the engine without the fan. They replaced the fan and no problems since. Don't know if this helps, but there could be a need overriding the AC.

Old "grapevine" trick, when the car heats up quickly turn on the heater full blast (fan not needed, just temp) that dumps more coolant into the system which will keep things under control for a brief period until you can get to a safe spot to pull over.

Originally Posted by jan.hunt@cox.ne

My 2005 X3 air conditioner is not blowing cold air. The compressor checked fine and no leaks were detected with a dye check. Could there a be a door closed under the dash? Any advice would be appreciated.

Are you saying that it is not blowing air or that the air it is blowing isn't cold?

Is the rotary dial on the top of the dash set to blue? With the heater on and the rotary dial set to blue, I get cool air blowing out of the vents. I suspect it is the same with the AC, just reversed.

My heater does not blow much air out of the vents. I can hear the fans going and the dash warms up and the cabin eventually warms up as well but there is either no air or minimal air coming out of the vents. This is even with the manual air volume buttons.

I miss the intuitive and functional rotary temp dials.

According to BMW, this is NORMAL. It is all NORMAL.

In contrast to the prior post, my heater blows warm air out of all the vents as expected. I can manually direct the airflow using the buttons, or choose Auto mode and let the system decide.

The blue/red rotary dial is used such that you can always get cold air blowing upon one's face/body, no matter what the heater setting is. That's a very German thing that all my BMWs have had.

This is explained in the owner's manual.

If you wish to have hot air coming from the middle vents (Group 2 in the owner's manual picture), you have to turn the rotary knob to red no matter what the heater temperature configuration is. If it's on it most-blue setting you will get cold (unheated) air no matter what!

-pd.

I have not yet found any configuration by which the HEATER (not the AC which appears to have a normal although not particularly strong blower) blows a strong stream of warm air even though the fan itself is very loud and the car heats up. The dash becomes warm to the touch so maybe this is how the system is supposed to work...avoid throwing too hot air onto the people in the cabin.

Who knows, it is a mystery like everything else.

The defrost mode, however, delivers a current of warm air from the forward most vents.

The HVAC system was checked out apparently from head to toe and found to be normal. That is, it works like all the other new X3s. Never did find out about the heater on and the plume of white smoke coming off the front of the engine. That hasn't reappeared thankfully.

PP I am so glad I didnt put you on my ignore list because I would miss all the fun. Its clear that the X3 is obviously far too complicated for you. What with the complex and sophisticated automatic transmission and the pesky manual controls for different gears (6 to choose from! Yikes!), the complex suspension with all those springs, shock absorbers, wheels and tires, and of course now the HVAC system with all the dials and settings. Jeez its a wonder you can even find the door handle and drivers seat. Have you navigated your way to figuring out the ignition key and start up protocol? Its complex, but you get the hang of it.

One idea you may want to consider is a remedial high school drivers ed class to acquaint yourself with the basic controls, then re-take your road test with the DMV. Get an experienced driver to show you the basics and after a few years of driving a 1970`s era buick, graduate to a 1990`s hyundai. After that you may be ready for a used jetta. I think with the X3 it was just a case of too much too soon. Best of luck on your personal Re-boot.

Originally Posted by cubed

PP I am so glad I didnt put you on my ignore list because I would miss all the fun. Its clear that the X3 is obviously far too complicated for you. What with the complex and sophisticated automatic transmission and the pesky manual controls for different gears (6 to choose from! Yikes!), the complex suspension with all those springs, shock absorbers, wheels and tires, and of course now the HVAC system with all the dials and settings. Jeez its a wonder you can even find the door handle and drivers seat. Have you navigated your way to figuring out the ignition key and start up protocol? Its complex, but you get the hang of it.

One idea you may want to consider is a remedial high school drivers ed class to acquaint yourself with the basic controls, then re-take your road test with the DMV. Get an experienced driver to show you the basics and after a few years of driving a 1970`s era buick, graduate to a 1990`s hyundai. After that you may be ready for a used jetta. I think with the X3 it was just a case of too much too soon. Best of luck on your personal Re-boot.

I think a good old Dodge Dart would suit him! Not too complicated!