Climate Control 3 Zone Issues

shamoony · 06-21-2018, 02:09 PM

Hi to all
I am having issues with the rear vents blowing much hotter air than the front.

I have the AC on Sync so all are at the same temperature. I have in settings the rear not to default to 22 deg Celcius, so it's unticked.

the AC is set to say 21 deg Celcius but the rear ones are blowing air at least 26 degrees. sometimes the air is so hot, the vents warm up.

Is anyone able to turn on their AC, sync all zones, have it on to push air through the face vents, set it to 20 or 21 degrees if in Celcius or 69 Fahrenheit and advise if the rear vents feel much much hotter than what's coming from the front vents?

My new car is at the dealership and we tried 2 cars in the showroom with the same issue.

thank you for taking the time to read this

Aaaaaaaaa · 06-21-2018, 02:43 PM

Try adjusting the red/blue wheel to all the way blue. It used to be an analog dial before but now BMW tucked it away in the Climate Menu. If set to Red it'll blow warmer air despite the set temp being colder.

shamoony · 06-21-2018, 03:36 PM

Hi Pheerlx

Thank you for your reply. Yes the setting in the menu is all the way to the left (to blue) and it still is happening.

Weird thing is, both cars in their showroom did the same thing.

ParadigmDawg · 06-21-2018, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamoony

Hi Pheerlx

Thank you for your reply. Yes the setting in the menu is all the way to the left (to blue) and it still is happening.

Weird thing is, both cars in their showroom did the same thing.

I will run out and test mine. I have to admit, no one, including me has ever been in my backseat.

ParadigmDawg · 06-21-2018, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParadigmDawg

I will run out and test mine. I have to admit, no one, including me has ever been in my backseat.

OK, mine feels like the same temperature as the front. The only thing I noticed is there is a default setting which automatically sets the rear to 72F each time you start the car if it is checked. Strangely enough mine isn't checked and I can't seem to check that box when I try.

shamoony · 06-21-2018, 04:14 PM

Thanks again for the support. Yes, if you check the box it defaults to 72F. I have had the box ticked and unticked. Same Same.

I only discovered this was my poor son started to complain how hot it was in the backseat.

Maybe there is an issue with the Australian shipped variants. God knows.

But the dealership kept the car overnight and are running another software update through it. Don't know what that will do.

ParadigmDawg · 06-21-2018, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamoony

Thanks again for the support. Yes, if you check the box it defaults to 72F. I have had the box ticked and unticked. Same Same.

I only discovered this was my poor son started to complain how hot it was in the backseat.

Maybe there is an issue with the Australian shipped variants. God knows.

But the dealership kept the car overnight and are running another software update through it. Don't know what that will do.

Let me know what they find. Now I am wondering why I can't check or uncheck the default box. I just won't get in the backseat again...lol...

shamoony · 06-21-2018, 04:38 PM

Will do.
Thank you so much for your feedback and support.

ParadigmDawg · 06-21-2018, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamoony

Will do.
Thank you so much for your feedback and support.

No problem, it was time I checked out the backseat anyway. It had more room than I thought it would.

nxa · 06-21-2018, 10:03 PM

I hadn't tried my rear AC before but just did.

I was able to set the front to 28c and waited for it to blow hot air. Then I changed the back to 16c which didn't change the front but did result in cold air in the back. So at least it confirms that front and back can be hot/cold independently, not just slightly different.

shamoony · 06-21-2018, 10:36 PM

Hi Natd

thank you for commenting too. Being in Australia, can you please complete the following test making sure the car has been running for a while / temperature gauge is not on cold?

1. Turn on AC cooling to 21 deg
2. Front Dash Vents only (no screen or foot)
3. Have the rear on which should be synced to 21 deg

Is the rear temperature different to the front? Mine is about 5-6 deg variance.

I just tested the loan car they gave me and the only way the rear blows cool air is when you set the rear independently to 16 deg. Have the front to 20 or 21 and put the rear to 16 and they are about the same. The moment you move the rear to 16.5 or above, it's warm air or sometimes hot.

mac13 · 06-22-2018, 01:09 AM

I have the same problem when setting the front to 21 and rear also to 21 it blasts out hot air from rear vents and cold air from front vents & this was on a warm day

I find if I set rear a couple of degrees lower it seams a little better but this should not be the case

Will definitely get the dealer to look at this when it goes in next

nxa · 06-22-2018, 01:34 AM

I’m in the car (driveway) and followed instructions (!) above. Car engine not quite at temperature but isn’t cold - I let it run for 5 mins and rev’d a bit.

The air from front is cold.
The air from back is hot.

Outside temperature reported as 19c if that’s relevant.

Hmmmm. That’s not ideal...

Using rear controls to set lower, air does go cold but it makes little sense that rear pumps hot and front pumps cold when asking for same cabin temp.

On the upside, it’s finally not raining in Sydney so my slippers didn’t get wet to perform this test.

shamoony · 06-22-2018, 01:59 AM

Hey Natd and Mac13

Thanks for your feedback. Here is what BMW Canterbury has advised me in Sydney.

They have contacted BMW Head Office and it seems to be more to this. They have been advised to check all sensors and to go through this like a fine toothpick.

This is on all X3s from the look of it. We noticed on another 2 cars while they were in for service. I picked my car back up and said they can use their own demo cars to start stripping or whatever they need to do.

As drivers we don't notice. But when summer comes and you have the front generally at 22-23 deg C, it's a bit annoying that the rear is approximately 5 deg warmer. Those in the rear will notice it.

I will definitely keep you all posted, but suggest people should start telling their dealership and use this thread as a base to work with.

Remember, have the back at 16 and it's ok. The minute you move it to 16.5 or above, it's warm. I want to use the sync function and set it at a comfortable level. For now, I have closed the rear vent off.

Have a nice weekend all

nxa · 06-22-2018, 02:16 AM

My kids had actually been complaining about being too hot and I’d dismissed it!!! Whoops!

Ok, real problem, yet another software / tech issue!

Work around until fixed I guess is not to use the SYNC button without telling them to lower temp after.

cvee · 06-22-2018, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by natd

My kids had actually been complaining about being too hot and I’d dismissed it!!! Whoops!

Ok, real problem, yet another software / tech issue!

Work around until fixed I guess is not to use the SYNC button without telling them to lower temp after.

I haven’t really played with the back row hvac settings.
It it possible for front passengers to have the heater on, and the rear passengers to turn on cold aircon?

MarkyM · 06-22-2018, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamoony

Hi Pheerlx

Thank you for your reply. Yes the setting in the menu is all the way to the left (to blue) and it still is happening.

Weird thing is, both cars in their showroom did the same thing.

Have you tried the centre vent setting in the middle? on mine it seems to be same temp back and front but if I put centre vent setting all the way towards blue the front vents are colder than rear which I suppose makes sense as I am telling it I want front vents colder than the set temperature? there are 6 notches on that setting and wonder if 1 notch equals 1 degree?

Sea-Tac · 06-22-2018, 09:51 AM

Interesting. Mine seems equal.

shamoony · 06-24-2018, 01:20 AM

Hi MarkyM.

Thanks for your assistance too. Tried having the slider to the centre, tried to the right, tried everything. rear is about 5deg warmer. I have turned off rear climate for now and will wait and see what is happening with BMW Australia.

There must be an issue with the sensors as they are saying.

nxa · 06-24-2018, 06:46 PM

My answers from BMW:

Copy and paste of several rear console examples saying to use the 'dial' or 'buttons' to select desired temperature and that rear can vary by approx 10 degrees (c I presume) from what's set in the AC unit. I presume they mean it can vary 10c from whatever the front is doing.

No car can prevent outside smells completely and recirculate turns off to reduce condensation and safety.

So basically BS on both. I have NEVER had condensation issues in 25 years of keeping recirculation on on my other cars, and have never passed out through lack of oxygen either. Recirculating if anything produces even dryer air as the car reprocesses slightly dryer air with each pass. And I never suffered bad smells in other cars through tunnels / bush fires etc with recirculation on. The BMW was also able to keep those smells out IF I or my passenger turned it off/on again every few mins to reset the timer. It's not a mechanical fault, the recirculation is perfectly effective, it's just programming error turning it off.

shamoony · 06-24-2018, 11:09 PM

Just received the call from BMW. They have been advised that the issue is a known issue. Software is being developed and it will be available within hopefully 1 month.

Guys, sorry if it sounded like I am fussy. We don't sit in the back of our cars (this is my wife's car though) nevertheless it's not right for a car to be cooling in the front and hot in the rear.

But, they know of the issue and software will be ready hopefully within 1 month.

Hope it helps those that have not realised this on their car.

nxa · 06-25-2018, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamoony

Just received the call from BMW. They have been advised that the issue is a known issue. Software is being developed and it will be available within hopefully 1 month.

I'll be very happy if that's the case. It's really bugging me now and I can no longer tell the kids they are imagining it .... especially since I have now just put my hand back there and realised it's true!

Did you get TOLD that verbally by a dealer, or something more solid?

ALSO...what dial are you guys talking about when you talk about adjusting it from RED to BLUE? Aren't the X3s all digital displays? The only adjustment that I can find in iDrive that is a RED/BLUE says it is just for adjusting upper body heat, presumably to blow hotter in your face compared to feet. I see nothing relating to front/rear.

06-21-2018, 02:09 PM	#1
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Climate Control 3 Zone Issues - Please Help Hi to all I am having issues with the rear vents blowing much hotter air than the front. I have the AC on Sync so all are at the same temperature. I have in settings the rear not to default to 22 deg Celcius, so it's unticked. the AC is set to say 21 deg Celcius but the rear ones are blowing air at least 26 degrees. sometimes the air is so hot, the vents warm up. Is anyone able to turn on their AC, sync all zones, have it on to push air through the face vents, set it to 20 or 21 degrees if in Celcius or 69 Fahrenheit and advise if the rear vents feel much much hotter than what's coming from the front vents? My new car is at the dealership and we tried 2 cars in the showroom with the same issue. thank you for taking the time to read this
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

06-21-2018, 02:43 PM	#2
Aaaaaaaaa Banned 7559 Rep 5,056 Posts Drives: The other M3 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: So Cal iTrader: (0)	Try adjusting the red/blue wheel to all the way blue. It used to be an analog dial before but now BMW tucked it away in the Climate Menu. If set to Red it'll blow warmer air despite the set temp being colder.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-21-2018, 03:36 PM	#3
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Hi Pheerlx Thank you for your reply. Yes the setting in the menu is all the way to the left (to blue) and it still is happening. Weird thing is, both cars in their showroom did the same thing.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-21-2018, 04:14 PM	#6
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Climate Control 3 Zone Issues - Please Help Thanks again for the support. Yes, if you check the box it defaults to 72F. I have had the box ticked and unticked. Same Same. I only discovered this was my poor son started to complain how hot it was in the backseat. Maybe there is an issue with the Australian shipped variants. God knows. But the dealership kept the car overnight and are running another software update through it. Don't know what that will do.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-21-2018, 04:38 PM	#8
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Will do. Thank you so much for your feedback and support.
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06-21-2018, 10:03 PM	#10
nxa Second Lieutenant 112 Rep 200 Posts Drives: X3 G01 30d M Sport Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Sydney iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 BMW X3 30d [0.00]	I hadn't tried my rear AC before but just did. I was able to set the front to 28c and waited for it to blow hot air. Then I changed the back to 16c which didn't change the front but did result in cold air in the back. So at least it confirms that front and back can be hot/cold independently, not just slightly different.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-21-2018, 10:36 PM	#11
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Hi Natd thank you for commenting too. Being in Australia, can you please complete the following test making sure the car has been running for a while / temperature gauge is not on cold? 1. Turn on AC cooling to 21 deg 2. Front Dash Vents only (no screen or foot) 3. Have the rear on which should be synced to 21 deg Is the rear temperature different to the front? Mine is about 5-6 deg variance. I just tested the loan car they gave me and the only way the rear blows cool air is when you set the rear independently to 16 deg. Have the front to 20 or 21 and put the rear to 16 and they are about the same. The moment you move the rear to 16.5 or above, it's warm air or sometimes hot.
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06-22-2018, 01:09 AM	#12
mac13 Registered 9 Rep 3 Posts Drives: 2018 bmw x3 30d msport Join Date: May 2018 Location: melbourne Australia iTrader: (0)	I have the same problem when setting the front to 21 and rear also to 21 it blasts out hot air from rear vents and cold air from front vents & this was on a warm day I find if I set rear a couple of degrees lower it seams a little better but this should not be the case Will definitely get the dealer to look at this when it goes in next
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-22-2018, 01:34 AM	#13
nxa Second Lieutenant 112 Rep 200 Posts Drives: X3 G01 30d M Sport Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Sydney iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 BMW X3 30d [0.00]	I’m in the car (driveway) and followed instructions (!) above. Car engine not quite at temperature but isn’t cold - I let it run for 5 mins and rev’d a bit. The air from front is cold. The air from back is hot. Outside temperature reported as 19c if that’s relevant. Hmmmm. That’s not ideal... Using rear controls to set lower, air does go cold but it makes little sense that rear pumps hot and front pumps cold when asking for same cabin temp. On the upside, it’s finally not raining in Sydney so my slippers didn’t get wet to perform this test.
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06-22-2018, 01:59 AM	#14
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Hey Natd and Mac13 Thanks for your feedback. Here is what BMW Canterbury has advised me in Sydney. They have contacted BMW Head Office and it seems to be more to this. They have been advised to check all sensors and to go through this like a fine toothpick. This is on all X3s from the look of it. We noticed on another 2 cars while they were in for service. I picked my car back up and said they can use their own demo cars to start stripping or whatever they need to do. As drivers we don't notice. But when summer comes and you have the front generally at 22-23 deg C, it's a bit annoying that the rear is approximately 5 deg warmer. Those in the rear will notice it. I will definitely keep you all posted, but suggest people should start telling their dealership and use this thread as a base to work with. Remember, have the back at 16 and it's ok. The minute you move it to 16.5 or above, it's warm. I want to use the sync function and set it at a comfortable level. For now, I have closed the rear vent off. Have a nice weekend all
	Appreciate 1 mac139.00 Quote

06-22-2018, 02:16 AM	#15
nxa Second Lieutenant 112 Rep 200 Posts Drives: X3 G01 30d M Sport Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Sydney iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 BMW X3 30d [0.00]	My kids had actually been complaining about being too hot and I’d dismissed it!!! Whoops! Ok, real problem, yet another software / tech issue! Work around until fixed I guess is not to use the SYNC button without telling them to lower temp after. Last edited by nxa; 06-22-2018 at 03:32 AM..
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06-22-2018, 09:51 AM	#18
Sea-Tac Major 1455 Rep 1,487 Posts Drives: 2108 X3 xDrive30i Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Bellevue, Wa iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 X3 xDrive30i [0.00] 2016 328i xDrive [0.00]	Interesting. Mine seems equal.
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06-24-2018, 01:20 AM	#19
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Hi MarkyM. Thanks for your assistance too. Tried having the slider to the centre, tried to the right, tried everything. rear is about 5deg warmer. I have turned off rear climate for now and will wait and see what is happening with BMW Australia. There must be an issue with the sensors as they are saying.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-24-2018, 06:46 PM	#20
nxa Second Lieutenant 112 Rep 200 Posts Drives: X3 G01 30d M Sport Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Sydney iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 BMW X3 30d [0.00]	My answers from BMW: Copy and paste of several rear console examples saying to use the 'dial' or 'buttons' to select desired temperature and that rear can vary by approx 10 degrees (c I presume) from what's set in the AC unit. I presume they mean it can vary 10c from whatever the front is doing. No car can prevent outside smells completely and recirculate turns off to reduce condensation and safety. So basically BS on both. I have NEVER had condensation issues in 25 years of keeping recirculation on on my other cars, and have never passed out through lack of oxygen either. Recirculating if anything produces even dryer air as the car reprocesses slightly dryer air with each pass. And I never suffered bad smells in other cars through tunnels / bush fires etc with recirculation on. The BMW was also able to keep those smells out IF I or my passenger turned it off/on again every few mins to reset the timer. It's not a mechanical fault, the recirculation is perfectly effective, it's just programming error turning it off.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-24-2018, 11:09 PM	#21
shamoony New Member 31 Rep 26 Posts Drives: X3 2018 G01 30i Join Date: May 2018 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Just received the call from BMW. They have been advised that the issue is a known issue. Software is being developed and it will be available within hopefully 1 month. Guys, sorry if it sounded like I am fussy. We don't sit in the back of our cars (this is my wife's car though) nevertheless it's not right for a car to be cooling in the front and hot in the rear. But, they know of the issue and software will be ready hopefully within 1 month. Hope it helps those that have not realised this on their car.
	Appreciate 0 Quote