[gullyg]

HI guys,
I thought I’d post a quick review of the X3s auxiliary heating option in case anyone else is looking for info on it as I found very little and my dealer was unable to provide much information.

BMW’s site isn’t hugely helpful it simply says
“The Auxiliary heating with timer function enables the passenger compartment to be individually heated in cold temperatures while the engine is turned off. It also prevents windows from freezing and fogging.”
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicle...ng_heater.html


What is is?
BMW’s auxiliary heating is a £1190 option which gives you a remote controlled fuel burner under the bonnet similar if not the same as the webasto heaters.

What does it do?
I’m no mechanic but my understanding is it burns diesel from the car’s tank and heats the interior of the car by tying into the BMW residual heating system. It’s controlled in any of three ways,

• By a Separate Remote control key fob (shown in the BMW link above) which turns it on and off within radio range immediately.

• Within the iDrive system - you can set timers within iDrive when to turn the system on. Unfortunately you don’t appear to be able to set a reoccurring timer, once the timer has run it is deactivated.

• Using the BMW remote smart phone app, this allows you to run the heater immediately or set a timer as above. I believe this option requires a connected drive subscription and obviously needs a data connection for both your phone and your car.

Once activated it burns fuel over a 30 min cycle to bring the car’s interior up to the last temperature the climate control was set to (I usually use 22degC). By doing this the interior is nice and toasty and all the glass is clear of ice without scraping.

You can see a video of it in action here:

What doesn't it do

• It is not a remote start option, at least in the UK when afaik remote start is not permissible as the highway code does not allow for running vehicles to be left unattended.
• It does not activate A/C - you can't cool your car with this option, it is simply a heater.
• It does not appear to warm the engine block itself - if it does it's not enough to register on the car's temperature gauge which is a shame,.

How much fuel does it use?
I have no figures as it obviously simply impacts overall MPG and we don’t always use it - only when the car is cold but I’ve been lead to believe it may use around 1/2l of fuel per hour.

Would I spec it again?
Yes absolutely, it’s expensive but IMHO worth the money just not to have to scrape the windows. My last car had a heated windscreen but this does all the glass, the interior and without any wires in the screen.

The main extra feature I’d like is automatic initiation on a timer and thermostat - so mon-friday at 6.30am if the temp was below 0 deg c only for example.

The other downside is it still leaves the wing mirrors frosted and the seats/steering wheel are still cold but the heated seats, wing mirrors and heated steering wheel soon deal with those issues.


Edited to add
Noise is like a small turbo. Only noticeable from a few feet away.

Any questions, please ask.

[Tjalle]

Called parking heaters in Sweden and is common.

There are two kinds: electrical and fuel heaters, both heating coolant.

Fuel heaters also have electrical pump, to increase flow through heater core. Also activates HVAC blower at low setting.

Typically fuel heater will NOT increase fuel consumption because what it uses will be less than you gain in faster heat up. NOTE: any start up with less than 80 C, is a cold start.

It does heat up engine block - through coolant

Remote operation is allowed in Sweden and Germany, and I believe most countries.

Typically there is a preset time, so you just have to push one button to operate.

[Crassus]

Thanks for the reviews. It's definitely a nice to have that I would love to have one day. To a passer by, is there any sound, lights or give aways that the car is "on"?

[gullyg]

Originally Posted by Crassus

Thanks for the reviews. It's definitely a nice to have that I would love to have one day. To a passer by, is there any sound, lights or give aways that the car is "on"?

Yeah. Sounds like a low level roaring noise, almost like a turbo but you'd not hear it unless you were walking past.

I'll try to get a recording of it - I deliberately pulled the audio off the video as a stay under a flight path.

I plan on writing up a review of the BMW Advanced Car Eye camera system as well as that's another issue I couldn't find much on either. BMW really aren't brilliant at explaining the technical stuff, although I think that's an issue with all dealers.

[gullyg]

Added video of noise

[Ashsarhaz93]

This feature became available yesterday on the BMW configurator for the G01 X3 M40d at the price of £1130

[TEF]

I lived in the UK in the early '60s (including the north, Carlisle) and I don't recall winter cold requiring an optional heater. I currently live off of Lake Erie in a snow belt and still wonder why it would be necessary (especially at 1130 pounds). In fact, in winter weather, it puzzles me how BMW manages to get a 2 liter diesel to provide warm interior air in less than two miles of driving.