air flow

On 12/16/12, I purchased a 2013 535i. The weather in San Diego has varied from warm to rather unseasonably cool/cold. I noticed the air flow in my BMW is always warm. On days where it is not warm enough for the AC, I adjusted the air flow to the lowest degree (60). The air was warm. In the early morning, when the outside temperature is cool, the air flow is still warm. I took my car in to the dealership today. I was told because of the position of the air intake flow and the engine, the air flow is warm and that is normal. I find it hard to believe BMW would design the vehicle to produce such a constant flow of warm air. What happens in hot weather? All of us do not like AC when it is not extremely warm/hot. But with this feature, the only relief from the warm air in your face is AC. Has anyone else noticed the warm air flow? I truly believe its my car and not a design flaw. Let me know. please.

Originally Posted by SDPD4935

On 12/16/12, I purchased a 2013 535i. The weather in San Diego has varied from warm to rather unseasonably cool/cold. I noticed the air flow in my BMW is always warm. On days where it is not warm enough for the AC, I adjusted the air flow to the lowest degree (60). The air was warm. In the early morning, when the outside temperature is cool, the air flow is still warm. I took my car in to the dealership today. I was told because of the position of the air intake flow and the engine, the air flow is warm and that is normal. I find it hard to believe BMW would design the vehicle to produce such a constant flow of warm air. What happens in hot weather? All of us do not like AC when it is not extremely warm/hot. But with this feature, the only relief from the warm air in your face is AC. Has anyone else noticed the warm air flow? I truly believe its my car and not a design flaw. Let me know. please.

Did you make sure the vertical dial next to the hazard lights and door lock buttons is set to the middle position? It is sort of an override and determines the type of air coming out of the center vents.

Crack the sunroof if it is not already open. That seems to pull more ambient air into the car than with it is closed. I found this out one cold night when I forgot the rear part of the sunroof was open and caused cold air to flow from the inside door handles over my arms. I was concerned about a leak and used tape to cover all the holes on the front doors that sit outside the rubber seals and then took it for a drive and noticed the cold air still coming through. Then I closed the sunroof and realized the intention of increased flow rates.

Just a thought but I agree that normally the air from the vents is warmer than my other cars. In that case I just hit the airconditioner and adjust the temps accordingly.

Yes, I can adjust the AC to a lower temp but I feel I should not have to. That feature is truly disappointing. Big time.

Originally Posted by cordoor

Did you make sure the vertical dial next to the hazard lights and door lock buttons is set to the middle position? It is sort of an override and determines the type of air coming out of the center vents.

+1. Please check and adjust this dial. Unlike a lot of other makes, BMW actually makes this feature functional.

I also noticed the same hot air flow problem in my 2011 528i. I took the car to the dealer and they kept it twice, first time two days and second time three days. They also tried two other brand new cars from the lot, same hot air problem. The dealer concluded that there it nothing they could do and it is the way the car is designed. I wrote to BMW Canada and told them I am embarrassed as a BMW 5 series owner. They told me the dealer will keep the file open and will contact me if they come across any solution. And of course never hear from them again.

I have noticed it being an issue in my area

I noticed it as well but not a big of a deal ! my 2 cents is open the moon roof a little (slide it) and adjust the airflow to the window, feet and direct flow so u wont feel the warm air blowing in your face
GL

Thanks. I will do the same

Its rather uncomfortable to have constant warm air blowing in your face when it is cool outside and the AC is not needed. I did adjust the dail near the hazard button. As much as the car costs I think there is a serious flaw. I am really unhappy about that. And yes I could turn on the AC but I should not have to.

BMW allows for quite a bit of customization in their HVAC system--maybe a bit too much.

The key to the dial above the central locking is to put it in the "blue" during how weather. in between hot and cold place the dial in the middle, and in cold weather put it in "red."

The ACC will keep the compressor running to a certain low temp to remove excess moisture. I just leave mine on auto year-round. Also, I have mine set on auto-recirculate. BMW has adjustments for each side of how hard you want air to come out of the registers, and where.

Again, i leave mine on auto. usually 70-72 works fine in winter and i run it a bit cooler in the summer. knowing how to adjust the dial is quirkly but solves a lot of questions. The F10's system is one of the best out there for filtering out crap. I sync both sides of the cabin together, and have the fan speed selected at the #2 notch. i've run through 16" snow storms and 100 degree temperatures without having much. i might alter fan speed and change temps. I don't see any mega design failures. It might not be the same as everyone else but it gives you a lot of options.

Adjust the wheel, set to auto, and select a temp that you like. also, make sure all of your vents are open.

At first I was trying to make adjustments using only the round temp gauge, as I've always done in my previous cars. Now I just leave that on 70 degrees and use the vertical red blue adjuster. I like that a lot now, very easy to adjust on the fly

Yet another thing I didn't like at first, then realized the German engineers have it right.

I believe it's caused by the location and the insulation of the air ducts. I guess it's the heat from the engine that is warming up the air ducts and that causes the air to be warmed up as it passes through.

I say this because I notice that during a "warm start" (after the engine is warmed up), the air that blows out is warm (noticeably warmer than the cabin temperature), even when the AC is on at start. It takes about 8-10 seconds before you can feel the air is cooled down.