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      01-02-2014, 06:58 PM   #1
Scottaw
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Does your heater have this problem too?

I feel that my X3 has a malfunctioning heater, where it is not outputting enough heat. Not only does it take forever to heat, but even after 20 minutes it doesn't put out hot heat like other cars I've driven have.

In addition, today I made another observation. While I would get discouraged without how warm air would come out of the vents, and then the HVAC system would put out cooler air through the vents... I always thought it was the same temperature coming out the defrost/vent/feet ducts. Turns out that the air is hot on the defroost/foot area, but the vent is cooler, significantly.

Yes, the adjustment dial on the console for the vent temperature is cranked all the way up. This is also with the temperature setting set at 80.

I noticed when it cool air was coming out the vent if I adjusted the console dial down to cool air it would lower the vent air temperature. Then, I'd adust the dial all the way up, and then the air coiming out the vent would be hot, the same temperature coming out the defrost/feet ducts. But, this would only last about 30-60 seconds, and then the controller was obviously adjusting the temperature outoupt and it'd cool the temperature coming out the vents. I am able to repeat this on demand.

Can someone else on the forum who lives in cold environment (I'm in upstate NY) chime in and let me know if you've had any similar experiences? Also, I have to keep the heat cranked to keep the windshield from icing over, even when the outside temperature is in the 20's Today, being around zero, I wasn't expecting anything great... but the X3's heater system sucks as it currently works. Which stinks, becausse I like everything else about the X3, and especially like the xDrive system compared to the Quattro drive system on my previous Audis.
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      01-02-2014, 07:17 PM   #2
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It's the heating system in your car. I have been driving my 2014 over the past couple weeks quite a bit in temperatures much lower than that, like today when it was just 1 degree (Fahrenheit) - the windshield would only show some ice after the car had been parked outside, just like you would expect.
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      01-02-2014, 07:36 PM   #3
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Guess I'll make an appointment to have it looked at. Hopefully they can diagnose the issue and make a fix.

How long does it take for your X3 to start pumping out warm air? Today my car was parked outside at work all day, about 2-3 deg F out. Leaving work driving about 45-50 (snowy roads today) it took about 7-10 minutes for reasonable warm air. My previous Audis, also with a turbo 4 cylinder, heated up very quickly, putting out warm air within a few minutes of driving.

The weird thing is when the HVAC system switches from warm air to cool air, like the ambient temperature probe for monitoring cabin temp is screwed up.


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Originally Posted by flavius View Post
It's the heating system in your car. I have been driving my 2014 over the past couple weeks quite a bit in temperatures much lower than that, like today when it was just 1 degree (Fahrenheit) - the windshield would only show some ice after the car had been parked outside, just like you would expect.
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      01-02-2014, 07:40 PM   #4
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Oh my.... Reading over my initial post.... Never try to explain or type a post with a 3 year old distracting you. My apologies for the horrible grammar and spelling mistakes... Too funny as is, can't correct that nonsense!
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      01-02-2014, 07:58 PM   #5
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I drove our X3 about 120 miles first thing this AM. When I left home it was -25f actual, not wind chill. I had heat within 4-5 miles of starting to move. I did have to have the defrost on max -right top button to keep the windshield clear. If I only use the top of the three buttons on the left (what I thought was defrost at first) I cannot keep the windshield clear until the entire interior is warm. It does work on the side glass. However, I do not feel much, if any difference in temp between the different vents, it gets plenty hot quickly. I don't have the temp set more that 65 ever.
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      01-02-2014, 08:03 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gouda View Post
I drove our X3 about 120 miles first thing this AM. When I left home it was -25f actual, not wind chill. I had heat within 4-5 miles of starting to move. I did have to have the defrost on max -right top button to keep the windshield clear. If I only use the top of the three buttons on the left (what I thought was defrost at first) I cannot keep the windshield clear until the entire interior is warm. It does work on the side glass. However, I do not feel much, if any difference in temp between the different vents, it gets plenty hot quickly. I don't have the temp set more that 65 ever.
Thanks. In previous vehicles I left the temp at 70, never had to mess with it.
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      01-02-2014, 11:25 PM   #7
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Are you driving in Eco-Pro mode? I was disappointed in all the HVAC settings until I realized the Eco-Pro was causing my problems. (Especially the heated seats)
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      01-03-2014, 09:19 AM   #8
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I have a 2014 X3 35i

No problems here in chilly Colorado. Temps are warmer now, but before Christmas we were seeing some temps below 0F. Not as cold as you all in the upper states, by ANY stretch, but cold enough to count for something

No probs with the heater. I keep it set at 70F and make sure the vent on the dash and rear seating area are set to the RED end. Fan is on auto and the speed is set to max. If you don't set the speed to max and auto, you never get full force from the fan and air does not circulate well. In auto mode, the fan speed determines the maximum fan speed that can be used in auto mode.

Car does not blow any air when I first start the car. Not until it warms uip a bit. Very considerate After 2-3 miles at 45 mph, I start getting some decent heat from the vents. Of course, I have the steering wheel warmer and butt warmers on full roast from the beginning Makes the warm-up wait for the heater bearable

In certain conditions, I have to manually direct more air to the defrost outlets, but usually I leave it on auto for the outlets, too.

BTW - same instructions for air conditioning, except make sure the vent dials front and rear are on the BLUE end.
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      01-03-2014, 09:38 AM   #9
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-24c this morning and my car didn't have any issues keeping me warm.

I turned on the heated steering wheel and heated seats and left the climate control to auto 23c and the rotary dash dial at the warmest setting.

Make sure the air recirculation isn't set to auto... manually set it to fresh (outside) air only.

After only a few blocks of driving the cabin temperature was comfortable.
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      01-03-2014, 12:05 PM   #10
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Try taking it out of Auto temperature mode and increase fan speed.
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      01-03-2014, 10:43 PM   #11
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Have an appointment, not for another 10 days though. Paid more attention, and it's a 30 second cycle from where I lower the dial to blue, hold for a second to let the vent air get cool, and then raise the dial all the way to red. The vent air then gets warm for 30 seconds before it goes back to blowing cool air.

To answer some of the feedback/questions:

No, not driving in ECO-pro mode, I hate that mode! 😀

For the recirculating button, no lights are lit. I had previously tried auto and manual fresh air and noticed no difference. (It works well for a/c in the summer though)

The dial on the rear vents is all the way to the red.

If I take it off auto, and go to full manual, it does blow warmer air. What I've noticed is with the fan speed at max there is still not a lot of air flow coming out. Even when setting the manual mode to vents only it is not that strong for airflow. The fan is cranked up, and it sounds like it's moving a lot of air, but not much air comes out. Most cars the high speed air will blow strongly. Makes me wonder if there is an obstruction in the vents that may be causing all these issues.

Thanks for the feedback all, hopefully the dealer can diagnose. I'm hopeful, since no one else seems to be complaining about poor heating capabilities on the X3.
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      01-03-2014, 11:25 PM   #12
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My father had a similar problem in his X5. I believe one of the HVAC actuators that directs the flow of air through the vents had become disconnected. They had to remove the entire dashboard.
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      01-04-2014, 09:57 AM   #13
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Do you guys have the arctic package included in the options list?

At least in Finland we had a separate row for arctic equipment. The row was in the ordering software the car seller used in order to get the car order into BMW actory system. The arctic option included electric heater pieces in the airvents for quicker warm-up, "heavy duty" battery, possible also "heavy-duty" alternator, etc. etc. Maybe this option also affects the AC system operation in cold conditions?

I assume in Canada this is also default and included in the price, but maybe not in US?
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      01-04-2014, 10:07 AM   #14
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Never heard of that option. Sounds nice though!
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      01-04-2014, 02:41 PM   #15
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Arctic option! No, not in US, maybe Alaska?
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