Air Conditioning Always On at Startup

SDCAi3 · Aug 6, 2014

Does anyone know of a way to prevent the air conditioning (climate control system in general) from coming on when you "start" the car? Even if I turn it completely off (including the fan) prior to shutting down and leaving the car, when I return and start up again, the a/c comes on. In all other BMWs I've owned, the system remembers the last state it was in prior to turning off the car (fan speed, a/c compressor on or off, and whether it was in auto or manual mode). It's nice and mild again here, so I just want to drive around with the windows open right now. It's not a big deal, but a bit annoying to have to shut the a/c off when I get in the car each time.

uktechie · Aug 6, 2014

Remembers setting on BEV I drove in UK, nothing in app setting overriding is it?

jadnashuanh · Aug 6, 2014

The BMW engineers say if you drive the i3 over 30mph, it's a more efficient use of energy to keep the windows closed and the a/c on. The drag caused by having the windows open above 30 is greater than the draw on the a/c system. So, only do it if you really want the windows opened, but don't do it thinking you're going to go further on battery charge.

Surge · Aug 6, 2014

On my test car I could swear the AC stayed on even after the button was pressed to disable it. Has anyone else seen this?
You have the AC on, then you disable it; but the air coming from the vents is still cold. This continues for the entire drive...so it's not just residual cooled air.

Oh and no, the test car's AC did not come on every time I started the car. Perhaps the dealer can change a setting for you.

SDCAi3 · Aug 7, 2014

jadnashuanh said:
The BMW engineers say if you drive the i3 over 30mph, it's a more efficient use of energy to keep the windows closed and the a/c on. The drag caused by having the windows open above 30 is greater than the draw on the a/c system. So, only do it if you really want the windows opened, but don't do it thinking you're going to go further on battery charge.

I'm not doing it to save kWhs, although most of my driving is in the city. When it's below 80 deg outside, I just prefer to have the fresh air blowing in through the windows. I would think if there were a default setting of some sort, it would be to "off" not "on" for an EV, so I ruled that out. Oh, well... pressing another button when getting in the car is not a big deal.

Surge · Aug 7, 2014

If in fact your AC does shut off when you turn it off!
I don't think my car's did.

user 1096 · Aug 21, 2014

Mine was on constantly when it was delivered. We have had a wonderfully moderate summer, ideal for sleeping and lowered windows in upstate NY. I just hit the main AC button, the light went out and it hasn't come back on (unless I push it), even with "Auto" engaged that drives the vent fans. This is identical to my 5 series operation. I have only tried once the pre-conditioning mode and when I was satisfied with it, I disengaged the main AC button, and it hasn't come on since.