Heat Question...oh and I hit a Deer...

So here's the story...

A week ago Thursday, I was driving to work early morning and two deer ran out of the woods and into my path. By the time I hit the brakes, it was too late (there was no way to avoid the accident) - I hit one or both of them. I believe the deer lived, I knocked at least one down...they both ran off into the woods. I am fine. The car on the other hand didn't fare so well. The hit took out the hood, grill, a/c condenser, passenger side xenon, and passenger quarter panel. It was still drivable. It could have been worse, I had just turned onto the road and starting to get on the gas to go up a big hill when the deer darted out (was probably going 30/35mph max).

I dropped the car off Tuesday at a certified BMW collision center. My rental car was...wait for it...and 2013 Dodge Challenger - 305hp, a good practical car for a Maine winter (and a woman), but entertaining.

I picked my car up today...$4900 of damage, covered under comprehensive - thank you State Farm. The car looks beautiful - very happy with how it came out. Here's where the other shoe drops...

Went to drive the car home and a bulb warning came on (came on right after the accident since the deer hit the headlight hard). I walked back in, they took the car into regular BMW service and how it was explained to me is the new headlight didn't ship with the starter bulb - since not all e9x have the starter bulb. Anyway, they put the starter bulb in, cleared the codes and gave me back the car - 15 minutes before they closed for the night. They apologized profusely for not discovering that before I picked the car up and thanked me for being so patient - no harm, no foul.

It was a warm sunny day here today. I start driving home and about 15 minutes into the drive I realized the car is blowing cold air in the cabin - the cabin temp is set to 72. I see the a/c light on - turn it off. I drove another 20 minutes home and the car never stopped blowing cold air - I turned the heater temp up as high as it would go, turned it off/on, switched from Auto to the 3 different settings - with no change. The blue/red dial below the vents is set to red. There is no heat. Prior to the car being dropped off for repair the heater worked great.

So my question is...since they had to replace the a/c condenser, could the lack of heat be related to that? There are no error codes being thrown.

And my follow-up, is it ok for me to continue to drive the car until the shop opens again on Tuesday? Could the car overheat - I've thought of trying to take it to NH tomorrow to have Stratham look at it (and then I would fight it out with State Farm after if it was repair related).

I need any advice you guys can offer up. Thanks! Kim

It's possible that they did not properly bleed the cooling system after performing the repairs. You're heater core may be filled with air.

Originally Posted by renaultf1

So my question is...since they had to replace the a/c condenser, could the lack of heat be related to that? There are no error codes being thrown.

And my follow-up, is it ok for me to continue to drive the car until the shop opens again on Tuesday? Could the car overheat - I've thought of trying to take it to NH tomorrow to have Stratham look at it (and then I would fight it out with State Farm after if it was repair related).

Answer: Yes

How do you know no code was thrown? Not everything shows on the dash.

Nobody can say if your car can be driven. I say: Leave with service dept today; demand a 7Li loaner as balm for pain & suffering.

Your probably safe to drive as long as the engine is running at the proper temp and the problem is just isolated to the heater core. As indicated above, if they had to drain the coolant to work on the AC condensor, then the heater core maybe be air locked and just not getting any coolant into it. Could also be a fuse or electrical issue with the heater door as they worked on the AC system it could affect it.

Probably a simple fix once you get it to them!

Oh and demand a 750Li as a longer

Thanks guys...It is going back in Tuesday. I'll see what I get for a loaner this time.

is it the two vents above the radio or the whole car?