[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by lacrimarum

It seems like I have a somewhat similar issue. Had a three-hour trip back home today, outside temperature was 65F in the morning and went up to 80 later. After a couple of hours I noticed that the blow from the vents is gradually becoming weaker and warmer. Finally its temperature became equal to outside air, and even AC max mode did not do any difference - the fan was working on fastest speed, AC button was on, but it was blowing warm air. The climate control was completely useless for the rest of the trip.
I've asked our local BMW representational office if there are any TSBs available for my car, will see what they'll answer.

Could you have a Freon leak?

[lacrimarum]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Could you have a Freon leak?

Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention it in my original post.
I've checked how climate control works again after I got home. The car rested for an hour or so, and it worked absolutely fine.
So I doubt there's a leak, but A/C in my car really seems to lose its effectiveness, if it's working for a lot of time.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by lacrimarum

Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention it in my original post.
I've checked how climate control works again after I got home. The car rested for an hour or so, and it worked absolutely fine.
So I doubt there's a leak, but A/C in my car really seems to lose its effectiveness, if it's working for a lot of time.

If it's low, it could work in lower temps but not be able to keep up in higher temps

[lacrimarum]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

If it's low, it could work in lower temps but not be able to keep up in higher temps

Understood.
I'll definitely have Freon level and possible leaks checked at the service.
Thank you for your response!

[lacrimarum]

Delete - the app doubleposted.

[jdwrealestate]

Hello! I used to have this problem but I figured out a way to fix it. Basically the problem I had is what everyone else is saying, you're driving down the road blasting the AC and after about 30 minutes to an hour it stops blowing air, what little air that's coming out is cold but the fan is not blowing. Here's what I adjusted to prevent this and it hasn't happen since after about a year and a half.

Basically I had to turn the temperature up, I think the problem is somehow related to cranking it down to 60 and leaving it there, if you turn it up to 70 or a little more it should still blow plenty cold and should stop the problem from happening. For almost 2 years I had that problem and I average about 3-6 hours a day driving. Y'all let me know fi anyone else has tried this.

[lacrimarum]

Unfortunately, that’s not my case. I always set the temperature to 70, but AC still fails during the long trips.
It worked fine today while it was 78 outside, but I had just two short trips (30 min each) with a considerable pause between them.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by lacrimarum

Unfortunately, that’s not my case. I always set the temperature to 70, but AC still fails during the long trips.
It worked fine today while it was 78 outside, but I had just two short trips (30 min each) with a considerable pause between them.

It could also be its freezing up when working too hard.

[lacrimarum]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

It could also be its freezing up when working too hard.

Yeah, I guess you are totally right.
But such conditions should not be that hard for the AC to work in, so this freezing up behavior is an issue rather than normal, isn't it?
The climate here is not very pleasant, so there are few chances to combine a really hot sunny weather and a long trip in one day, thus it could take a lot of time to me to figure out exact AC uptime and conditions that cause the failure. But I'm expecting an answer from BMW considering possible TSB tomorrow or in Friday, and then I'll go to a serviceshop, so I hope it will be fixed soon

[lacrimarum]

Nope, no active TSBs for my car.
I’m coming to the dealership for diagnostics on Saturday, hope this issue will be covered by extended third-year-warranty.

[Sea-Tac]

Originally Posted by hcw5

so I just dropped my 2016 328 at the dealer for the 4th try at getting the a/c fixed. it seems to be the same issue that others have had where the a/c will essentially stop blowing air after any reasonable amount of time on the road, but nothing the dealer has done will get it working correctly.

first time around they did some sort of reprogram.
second time around they replaced the compressor.
the third time, after some sort of retrofit designed for this issue, I was told with confidence that it would be fixed. but of course 45 mins down the road and not only does it stop working, but one vent was actually blowing very hot air.

so it's in the shop again with the service manager now heavily involved, but i don't know that they even know what's wrong. on her recommendation, we have also begun talks with bmwna and customer relations about a possible lemon law situation, but we would rather avoid that if possible.
has anybody else had this similar issue?

This is a known flaw. Scream at your service center to check the most current TSB on the AC.

[lacrimarum]

So, I went to the dealership and ordered A/C diagnostics. After that they told that dirty radiators were the reason for such strange A/C behaviour, causing cooling agent to overheat and create abnornal pressure in the system, thus enforcing the A/C to shut down. The radiators were disassembled from the car and washed, and then coolant and freon were topped up.
On the other hand, I've got another suspition about this issue. Half a year ago a stone hit engine radiator, causing a small coolant leak. I've got radiator changed at the same dealership, and then I noticed a strange rustle-like sound that was there every time when climate control was on. It was not loud, and climate seemed to work fine, so I didn't pay much attention to that. Now, after my last visit to mechanics, it disappeared, it seems quite possible that the true reason for that sound and later A/C malfunction was that they made a mistake while assembling the radiators back or didn't fill the system with enough freon.
In any case, at the moment A/C is working totally fine. It is good to be happy about the car again

[hcw5]

Originally Posted by hcw5

Update: I spoke with my SA and the service manager and they found that the expansion valve was not working properly, so they replaced that and i'm told that the a/c has been working properly on their drives since. I go to school 5 hours from the dealer, so they plan on delivering the car tomorrow to swap with the loaner i have. altogether on this 4th repair attempt, they have had the car for about 2.5 weeks and have had ample drive/testing time, but the 5 hour drive will be a true test if its working, as thats when it has stopped working in the past. I don't think the hoses they replaced were the problem, as it continued after that repair, but its good they got replaced. I think the expansion valve was the culprit. I will confirm that that was the issue once they get the car back to me with no issues.

I appreciate everyone's inputs. hopefully reading about this process will help anyone else having the same issues.

Update: So after the 4th repair (expansion valve replaced) the car was delivered back to me with apparently no issues. But this past weekend during one of my drives, the AC again malfunctioned. The manager essentially said they will just proceed with working on a deal to swap my car in with something they have there once they talk to BMW about any assistance they will offer. Hoping this will go smoothly as to avoid any litigation. So for now, the AC remains a mystery.

[hcw5]

If its allowed I can post the most recent work order, if anyone is curious of the details

[ZHP076]

Originally Posted by lacrimarum

It seems like I have a somewhat similar issue. Had a three-hour trip back home today, outside temperature was 65F in the morning and went up to 80 later. After a couple of hours I noticed that the blow from the vents is gradually becoming weaker and warmer. Finally its temperature became equal to outside air, and even AC max mode did not do any difference - the fan was working on fastest speed, AC button was on, but it was blowing warm air. The climate control was completely useless for the rest of the trip.
I've asked our local BMW representational office if there are any TSBs available for my car, will see what they'll answer.

The same thing happened to me yesterday, and it worked fine today, I am glad to know I was not imagining a problem. I will copy this thread and show it to my dealer when I take mine for service.
Thanks

[jmg]

Lemon law it. Have them buy back the car AND compensate you for the down time even if they had you in a loaner: you weren't able to drive the car you paid for after all.

Why so hesitant to lemon law it? I'd jump at the opportunity.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by jmg

Lemon law it. Have them buy back the car AND compensate you for the down time even if they had you in a loaner: you weren't able to drive the car you paid for after all.

Why so hesitant to lemon law it? I'd jump at the opportunity.

As I noted previously, none of the above posts qualify for lemon law.

[Tribalpinoy911]

Grab the new car man. Nothing beats that.

[aerostar]

Can you lemon a used car?

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by aerostar

Can you lemon a used car?

Not in many States (and certainly not in Russia).

None of the above qualify.

[hcw5]

Like IK6SPEED said, I'm not sure if it qualifies for lemon law, but I'm sure there is some type of legal recourse that could be taken. As of now we've been told that we will work on some kind of trade-in. They've indicated that they are going to work on compensating for the amount of time i've been without the car, possibly with help for BMW, so there's been nothing that indicates any need for a lawsuit at this time. That being said, we would be perfectly fine pursuing it legally if that's what it came to.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by hcw5

Like IK6SPEED said, I'm not sure if it qualifies for lemon law, but I'm sure there is some type of legal recourse that could be taken. As of now we've been told that we will work on some kind of trade-in. They've indicated that they are going to work on compensating for the amount of time i've been without the car, possibly with help for BMW, so there's been nothing that indicates any need for a lawsuit at this time. That being said, we would be perfectly fine pursuing it legally if that's what it came to.

How many miles on your car?

Has to be taken in 4 times over the first 24 months from new delivery date for same issue and under 24,000 miles.

Otherwise it falls under other general laws that you will have to fund on an ongoing basis and attorney fees are most likely uncollectable under law because most lawmakers are lawyers who do not want to pass laws where lawsuit loser pays legal fees for both sides as they know that would kill their business and frivolous lawsuits.