A/C problem

[robdrab]

It seems to me that the air conditioning in my 2014 BMW i3 is not working properly. When turned on by myBMW app, it immediately runs at full power and 40 F air quickly flows from air ventes. If I turn on the A/C with the A/C button and the MAX AC or AUTO button then even after a quarter of an hour air's temperature from the air ventesis is as the outside temperature , e.g. 80 F today. What could be the problem?

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[friviera]

Hi,
I had the same issue a few weeks ago and this was repaired by BMW.
For me it was the wiring of a pressure sensor that was defective and when moving, with the vibrations, the AC system was randomly not getting the refrigerant pressure value and was going into safety whereas in pre conditioning it was working.

The steps done by BMW were to check that there was enough refrigerant gas.
Level was ok so they checked sensors values.
As values were good when doing tests in static position they thought it was a bug so they flashed again the AC module and when seeing it wasn’t working randomly they checked the wirings and found the problem.

So if this happens only when you drive get the wiring checked, then if nothing is found, sensors and refrigerant levels. (But these 2 should be defective all the time and not only when driving)

 

[robthebold]

It seems to me that the air conditioning in my 2014 BMW i3 is not working properly. When turned on by myBMW app, it immediately runs at full power and 40 F air quickly flows from air ventes. If I turn on the A/C with the A/C button and the MAX AC or AUTO button then even after a quarter of an hour air's temperature from the air ventesis is as the outside temperature , e.g. 80 F today. What could be the problem?

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If the car cools properly when preconditioned, it's seems unlikely there's a hardware problem with the cooling . . . Have you made sure the light on the A/C button is lit and stays lit? I've had the same problem where the remote preconditioning works but the air from the vents starts warming up after turning the car on -- somehow the A/C was switched off. I don't remember every turning it off, and I don't know if I bumped it or something else turned it off, but once I pushed A/C again it acted normally.

 

[robdrab]

Thank you for your replies and important information as to possible A/C problems. I spent a lot of time checking the operation of the A/C in different settings all the time measuring the air temperature at the air vents. It turns out that it also works when the AC button is turned on, but it depends on the situation. The AC control in the BMW i3 is much more complicated than in my previous cars. There are more sensors and more algorithms. I have found that the response is often delayed compared to simple AC in older cars. This must be due to the preset control algorithms, which also take into account the need for battery cooling, which is probably a priority. Thus, it must be accepted. These are my conclusions.

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[robthebold]

I'm reminded of another quirk in the BMW preconditioning: IIRC, the precondition target temp is ~72F/22C. This is regardless of the thermostat temp you previously selected on the dashboard control. So you can get the possibly unexpected result of warmer or colder air coming out of the vents once you turn the car on as it attempts to regulate the temp up or down to your setting.