Air Condition Does Not Always Blow Cool Air, Even in Comfort

[mybmwi3kc]

I have been driving the i3 for a bit more than a year now, and in general, I am pretty happy with the car. However, the weather is getting warm here in NY, so I start turning on the air conditioner, and then I notice something that I don't recall experiencing last year: the air conditioner does not always blow out cool air. Initially, I thought that's because I am in ECO Pro mode, and I had the temperature too high. Then, I experimented a little bit more by lowering the temperature all the way down to 60 (still in ECO PRO). Same thing happened. The air conditioner would blow out cool air every once in a while, for about a minute or so, after that the air that comes out would be like coming out from a fan, not an air conditioner. A while later, the cycle would start again, and the air conditioner would blow out cool air for a minute and stop again. At that point, I thought that this is because of the ECO Pro mode, so I switched to the Comfort mode. To my surprise, the air conditioner behaves exactly the same, even when I turned the Max AC on.

Is that normal at all? As I said, I couldn't recall if it was acting like this last year. I don't want to waste my time taking it back to the dealer if the air conditioner is designed to work this way. Anyone experience the same thing?

 

[janner]

It's not normal operation but it's not unusual. Just turn it off and back on again and it usually fixes itself.

 

[epirali]

I have been driving the i3 for a bit more than a year now, and in general, I am pretty happy with the car. However, the weather is getting warm here in NY, so I start turning on the air conditioner, and then I notice something that I don't recall experiencing last year: the air conditioner does not always blow out cool air. Initially, I thought that's because I am in ECO Pro mode, and I had the temperature too high. Then, I experimented a little bit more by lowering the temperature all the way down to 60 (still in ECO PRO). Same thing happened. The air conditioner would blow out cool air every once in a while, for about a minute or so, after that the air that comes out would be like coming out from a fan, not an air conditioner. A while later, the cycle would start again, and the air conditioner would blow out cool air for a minute and stop again. At that point, I thought that this is because of the ECO Pro mode, so I switched to the Comfort mode. To my surprise, the air conditioner behaves exactly the same, even when I turned the Max AC on.

Is that normal at all? As I said, I couldn't recall if it was acting like this last year. I don't want to waste my time taking it back to the dealer if the air conditioner is designed to work this way. Anyone experience the same thing?

This sounds like something is shutting off internally, which may mean you may not have enough coolant in the system. That could damage the AC so it's probably best not turn it on and have it looked at.

 

[Boatguy]

I have been driving the i3 for a bit more than a year now, and in general, I am pretty happy with the car. However, the weather is getting warm here in NY, so I start turning on the air conditioner, and then I notice something that I don't recall experiencing last year: the air conditioner does not always blow out cool air. Initially, I thought that's because I am in ECO Pro mode, and I had the temperature too high. Then, I experimented a little bit more by lowering the temperature all the way down to 60 (still in ECO PRO). Same thing happened. The air conditioner would blow out cool air every once in a while, for about a minute or so, after that the air that comes out would be like coming out from a fan, not an air conditioner. A while later, the cycle would start again, and the air conditioner would blow out cool air for a minute and stop again. At that point, I thought that this is because of the ECO Pro mode, so I switched to the Comfort mode. To my surprise, the air conditioner behaves exactly the same, even when I turned the Max AC on.

Is that normal at all? As I said, I couldn't recall if it was acting like this last year. I don't want to waste my time taking it back to the dealer if the air conditioner is designed to work this way. Anyone experience the same thing?

This sounds like something is shutting off internally, which may mean you may not have enough coolant in the system. That could damage the AC so it's probably best not turn it on and have it looked at.

I had the air conditioning quit working entirely and need service twice in the last 21 months. And I've also had it blow cold air when the A/C is off. It's flakey, but you should take it in for service.

 

[mybmwi3kc]

Thanks for everyone's help. I've scheduled a service this Wed -- since the AC is off completely now, no matter what I do.

 

[psquare]

I had mine earlier this year for a check-up, as our heating stopped working on 2 occasions. All the dealer did in the end was to apply a software upgrade, which was suggested by BMW i Germany. This appears to have resolved out problem.

Over 15 months of ownership and I still love this car.

 

[Schnort]

Thanks for everyone's help. I've scheduled a service this Wed -- since the AC is off completely now, no matter what I do.

My car was actually delivered without the AC working. Really strange, since it was a demo model that had been in service in Texas for ~6 months. I didn't notice for a few months because I took possession of it in January, but still...

 

[gt1]

I have exactly the same problem as the OP. Looks like it is relatively common.

 

[Neil]

This is interesting. I've noticed a couple of times in the last few days when I hit the A/C button to turn it off (but just keep the fan running) that the air does seem to be colder than expected. I have the latest software update, etc. Does anyone know what is being done to fix this besides updating the software? Are parts being replaced? Maybe I'm just not waiting long enough to feel the expected change in the air temperature coming out of the vents.

 

[jadnashuanh]

If the cooling fins are at full cold temp, it will take a few minutes for them to cool off to the ambient, incoming air temp. Obviously, the hotter it is outside, the shorter the time for the incoming air stream to warm up.

 

[rnrustad]

My wife and I are having the exact same problem. We just picked up our brand new 2016 rex, we're in Florida, it's 95 for 80% of the day. I don't get it, and the same thing, Eco Pro, back to Comfort, back to Eco Pro --

So, after our first 300 miles on the odometer we're off to the service department... seriously hindering my ultimate driving experience...

Oh, and my wife had a hard-braking incident yesterday too, posted under "troubleshooting"

 

[hamanncheese]

I experienced the same thing right after delivery. My dealership ended up replacing the AC compressor. Very frustrating to experience this after 2 days of ownership! AC blows ice cold now.

Other symptoms included a loud compressor noise and intense heat created in the cabin when charging.

 

[Alternative]

Mine did this once and fixed it by selecting EcoPro for a while then going back to Comfort mode.I almost always stay in Comfort.

 

[engineear]

Mine has been fine but the one thing that happens is, when driving along with the air on, and then hit around 44 mph, fan speed blows harder as if
I selected the next fan speed. Upon slowing down to around 25 mph it goes back to normal. Anyone else experience this?

Also, when I switch the fan speed up I lose 4-5 miles of distance. When switched back down a speed it either stays the same or it goes back to original
miles left....strange it's not consistant.

 

[jadnashuanh]

One of the major contributors to saving energy (increasing range) on the i3 when switching to an Eco mode is limiting the HVAC system's operations...at least to me, it's not at all surprising that increasing the fan speed would decrease range - you're drawing more current from the batteries and something has to give. This is one reason why people looking to maximize their range don't use the heater or a/c...it's more efficient. FWIW, though, BMW has said that driving the i3 with the windows open uses MORE energy above 30mph than running the a/c because of the differences in drag caused by the openings.

Depending on how long you stay in the mode with the fan running higher, keep in mind that the range estimation is based on your past history. IOW, the history of using more with the fan high is part of your history, and that range is already lost...it will take awhile for that use history to be purged and replaced with your current use pattern (typically, about 18-miles).

 

[davidzi3]

My AC stopped blowing cold air when in REx mode on the highway. I attributed it to the state of charge since it was going around 80 mph and it came back on when I slowed down. It hasn't happened again since, but I'm definitely scared to take car on long trips using the REx. Has this happened to others? Is it normal? In Florida, I would rather the car limit my speed than limit the AC.

 

[rsbell]

My AC stopped blowing cold air when in REx mode on the highway. I attributed it to the state of charge since it was going around 80 mph and it came back on when I slowed down. It hasn't happened again since, but I'm definitely scared to take car on long trips using the REx. Has this happened to others? Is it normal? In Florida, I would rather the car limit my speed than limit the AC.

Nah-I take a weekly 200+ mile each way trip over the grapevine here in California. It's no problem at all as long as I have the Hold State of Charge coding and hold about a 20% SoC before the big grade.

Don't worry at all about taking long trips. At the least there's always a gas station to put a gallon or so of gas in and keep on drivin'.

 

[Eikon]

Had AC not working intermittently. Turned out to be faulty AC refrigerant pressure sensor. All is well after replacement.

 

[ted99]

I've had 3 compressor assemblies replaced in the first 25 month. The firs time manifested itself with the dash lighting up like a christmas tree and sudden loss of power. After the third failure, I looked up the cooling system in the on-line systems descriptions (links posted on this forum early-on) and find that there are two expansion valve circuits from the A/C compressor (EKK system). One for the passenger compartment and one for the battery cooling system. So, when the A/C compressor fails, you don't have any active cooling for the battery. Can be a big problem in hot places and under a heavy load.