[Wild M]

This question got lost in another thread, so I have started a new topic for it.

I hate to admit it, but I haven't figured out the relationship between the "automatic climate control with enhanced features" described starting on page 133 of the manual, and the "ventilation" described on page 136 of the manual. The climate control has seat heating left and right, control of air flow and where the air enters the cabin. One would think this is all you need. So my question: how does the knob 3 "thumbwheel to vary the temperature" on the ventilation relate to all of this. It seems you control temperature with both automatic climate control and ventilation. If I set the temperature on the automatic climate control, what position should the ventilation thumbwheel be set to, hot or cold?

[svache]

This is just a thought, so I could be wrong, but I was wondering about the same a few days ago and started playing a bit with the knobs and settings.. it seems to me as if the automatic control overrules the hot/cold thumbwheel (as it didn't seem to make any difference) and that makes me think that the thumbwheel is only used if the automatic climate control is off, so you could get heat from the engine, or nothing at all, by adjusting that wheel. Again, it's a thought, not something I know for sure

[shoptb]

Good question. This is also something that I wondered about when I got my E92. Here's the answer:

The digital automatic climate control temperature is used to vary temperature of the cabin. Basically think of it like the temperature on the thermostat in your house. The thumbwheel, however, it used to vary the air blowing out of the vents at the driver/passenger's face. Think of this like a desk fan distributing more localized/concentrated air. For example, let's say you want the cabin to be warm (74 degrees), but you also would like to have a little bit of cooler air hitting your face. You can accomplish this by turning the thumbwheel to a cooler setting, while maintaining the 74 degree setting on the automatic climate control. Same the other way around as well.

Seems confusing at first, but it's a really nice feature if you want to have a little blast of cooler air while still maintaining the overall temperature in the car at a constant. This feature is really handy on longer trips, in my opinion.

[HighlandPete]

I assume you guys are talking of the centre thumbwheel air temperature blender? Have you not had BMWs before, as this feature is in many models, over many years?

It allows face level temperature blending, in addition to full climate control. Set it to where you are most comfortable, simple. Works fine in auto mode.

I've always appreciated this feature, as it allows that finer control of face flow temperature, when the car is running comfortable in every other way.

HighlandPete

[svache]

Originally Posted by shoptb

Here's the answer:

Thanks, that made perfect sense and looks like a nice option indeed

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

I assume you guys are talking of the centre thumbwheel air temperature blender? Have you not had BMWs before, as this feature is in many models, over many years?

Sorry, many of the things in other topics are indeed old news to me (like 95% of the things in the 'new feature' topic, just to name something) but this was something I did not have on my '09 X5 and I can't remember if we had it on our '04 M3

[Wild M]

My other BMW, a Z4M, doesn't have this. In fact, it doesn't have most of these Inspector Gadget features. It was built just for speed.

So, if I set the digital climate control system to blow air only at my feet, I assume that this ventillation temperature control does nothing. Is that right?

I'll have to experiment more when I get back from my business trip, but it seems to me that these functions can act against each other. For example, on the digital climate control I turn on air conditioning and set a low temperature and select the air to blow only at my face, but I turn the ventilation air temperature knob to hot, the cabin will never cool down. Perhaps one just has to use common sense.

[HighlandPete]

Works best if the Climate Control is left in auto mode. Once you start pushing the zone buttons you are restricting the auto function anyway, so no longer really full climate control.

Leave on auto, to selected/chosen cabin temperature, and just tweak the face vent temperature thumbwheel to mood, it is then just a fine tune.

Assuming of course, we are not running high/low temperatures, and/or continuously changing temperatures. I've been passenger in cars with Climate Control and the drivers are always fiddling with the controls and temperature and the cabin is never a stable temperature. I don't get that approach at all, why keep fiddling?

I'm a 19/20C setting man, leave the system to do its work, hardly ever touch the system settings week in week out.

HighlandPete

[E90Fleet]

As mentioned, the "thumb wheel" regulates what mix comes out the dash level vents.

It is said in winter the best setting for a alert driver, especially at night is a cool head and warm feet.

Setting the thumb wheel to cool mix while the climate control is set to a high temperature will allow cooler air to flow out the head level vents, while the foot and windshield vents flow warm air.
If you turn the wheel to warm, the heated air will also flow from the dash level vents.



Gives you a lot more control

[mjmonjure]

This is great! - I had no idea the thumbwheel was this advanced. I thought it just applied heat to the air coming from the face vent when wheeled toward the red and reduce/removed heat when moved toward the blue side. I think what you guys are saying is that, if I have the cabin temp set to say, 70 degrees in the auto mode, with the thumbwheel in the middle, and I move it toward the blue, it actually lowers the temperature of the face vent air to something cooler than 70 degrees. Wow, highly sophisticated.

[mark.L]

Originally Posted by shoptb

Good question. This is also something that I wondered about when I got my E92. Here's the answer:

The digital automatic climate control temperature is used to vary temperature of the cabin. Basically think of it like the temperature on the thermostat in your house. The thumbwheel, however, it used to vary the air blowing out of the vents at the driver/passenger's face. Think of this like a desk fan distributing more localized/concentrated air. For example, let's say you want the cabin to be warm (74 degrees), but you also would like to have a little bit of cooler air hitting your face. You can accomplish this by turning the thumbwheel to a cooler setting, while maintaining the 74 degree setting on the automatic climate control. Same the other way around as well.

Seems confusing at first, but it's a really nice feature if you want to have a little blast of cooler air while still maintaining the overall temperature in the car at a constant. This feature is really handy on longer trips, in my opinion.

+1.
One of the best features for me.

[snowghost]

Yes it's similar to prior models. But notice when on "Auto" the fan setting is really not a fan setting per se. That's the part that is a mystery to me after messing with it.

[shivaswrath]

Auto sets the temp.

Fan speed sets the speed of air.

Center ThumbWheel adjusts the air temp up top.

It's all very odd and confusing to me. Very German.

[Tsuyoi]

The center thumb-wheel allows you to adjust the temp of the center vents independent of climate control. This is useful say, if it's winter, everyone else in the car likes it warm, but you're driving late at night and are falling asleep. Rather than cracking a window at 80+mph, you can just turn the vent to cool and blow some cold air on yourself. Or, middle of summer, ac's on max blast, but your hands are freezing from the ac, turn vent to warm.

[vern]

What I've been doing since I understand how it works. In the colder weather set the auto on 70 and the thumb wheel in-between the red and blue. Its perfect for me. Good luck
cheers
vern

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by snowghost

Yes it's similar to prior models. But notice when on "Auto" the fan setting is really not a fan setting per se. That's the part that is a mystery to me after messing with it.

You are referring to the intensity setting, when in auto mode. It will still change the flow rate as it sees fit, but you have a choice of what sort of airflow intensity you want as a baseline. I run mine at the most gentle, (lowest setting) in my 5-series.

HighlandPete

[snowghost]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

You are referring to the intensity setting, when in auto mode. It will still change the flow rate as it sees fit, but you have a choice of what sort of airflow intensity you want as a baseline. I run mine at the most gentle, (lowest setting) in my 5-series.

HighlandPete

Yes that's my understanding. And I run mine on the lowest setting as well but really don't see much difference bumping it up to 2 or 3 even.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by snowghost

Yes that's my understanding. And I run mine on the lowest setting as well but really don't see much difference bumping it up to 2 or 3 even.

I know in my 5-series it will almost blow a gale through the car, if turned to the higher intensity settings.

I'm not sure about your ambient temperature range in use, against CC temperature settings, but here I often have a wide variance, that may make a wider difference to flow rates as well.

HighlandPete