[DonnyGirl]

As my first car with Air Con, I was pretty impressed at how cold my Air con was, when I got my car 3 months ago. I have only used it about 20 days, a bit more often now we are into summer.

But now it does not seem to be so chilled. Aftr ten minutes drive, with temp Cabin set at the lowest 16 degrees, and 24 degrees outside (Thats what we in the UK call pretty hot it chills but not particularly cold like it used to be. I get faster/cooler air con out of Ford Focus Hire cars.

Is there any reason why Air Con would stop working so well after only a few months with moderate use ? -Its only done 4.5 K Miles, and a long way form its first service.

I have seen adverts for 'Regassing' and alrming stories about having to take dashboards out for Air Con repairs !

BTW I gave my car a little bump yesterday, reversing in the car park, slowed down with the PDC going to continous beep, but still gave it a bit of a bump hitting the wall. Quite impressed to see no mark on the bumpers, I was expecting to see some sort of scratch.:rocks: So I guess these bumpers do sort of work, if going less than 5mph. Must take more notice of the PDC next time.

[cdheaven]

i had the same problem. my car was in service for 2 days. i was out of free-on (or however you spell it). They searched for a leak somewhere and couldnt find one, so they just refilled the freeon and the car has been perfect since then.

[Greeney]

24c is like 75F. Thats not that hot haha.

[KevinC]

No problems with my AC, and I've already endured temps as high as 114f here in blazing Arizona. I've been nothing but impressed with how well it has performed in incredibly hot conditions.

How hot does it get here? Last night I went into my garage at midnight to grab some CDs out of the glove box. The CD cases were all hot, as if the car had been parked out in the sun for some time. But this was at midnight, the car had been garaged for the past 6 hours, and was under covered parking all day at work. Temp in the garage? 100f on the nose. Yes, at midnight. If my 3 didn't have good AC, I'd be in deep trouble!

[ska///235i]

i notice alot of German cars have bad AC
i think american cars have the coolest AC, but I would never buy one

[shark330i]

Almost same thing here in SW Florida! AC is working fine...thankfully.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by ska

i notice alot of German cars have bad AC
i think american cars have the coolest AC, but I would never buy one

Japanese cars have wonderful AC as well. My camry is way colder on medium than the E90's on full blast. I dont know why German cars have crappy AC.

[DonnyGirl]

Must be a problem with a Freon leak or something in my car then

[DeuceDeuce]

I had an e46 3 series stop blowing much in the way of cold air and the dealer found that road debris had damaged the exterior thermometer. They replaced it under warranty though they didn't have to. If its a leak or a thermometer on the blink you're covered either way- I'd let my service deartment have a look. I moved from Arizona to Texas so fully functional AC is a must for me. -22

[Asiann]

Originally Posted by BMWE90

Japanese cars have wonderful AC as well. My camry is way colder on medium than the E90's on full blast. I dont know why German cars have crappy AC.

Yeah, I just refilled the freon on my maxima after 8 years of great service. No problems here in Hawaii.

[difush]

German cars AC is not as good as the Japs. but they are getting better. I parked the car under the sun for about an hour yesterday with outside temp at 33C and the AC managed to cool the cabin down to above 24C after 15 mins. drive. Its definitely better than the 5 series my dad had 15 years ago where you will still be sweating with the AC on full blast if outside temp is 33C.

[deez330]

yea ive noticed my AC isnt as cool anymore, at 8500 miles
guess i need more freon?
will the dealer do this for free?

[cdheaven]

my dealer spent 2 whole days trying to find the leak, and then filled it up with freon, all under warranty... so im ASSUMING you can just roll in there and be like, fill me up. but maybe they only give you freon if you have a leak or something. either way, they should give it to you.

[timking85]

If you car is that new i would speak to your local BMW dealer, air con gas leaks through the system all the time, just what it does, you can loose up to a 3rd of the gas every year!!!!

[David328M-Sport]

24!!!!
That's open sunroof temperature.

Sorry to read about the AC. Get it checked out because something is wrong as you are well aware.

All the best having the ac fixed.

[akhbhaat]

Low refrigerant at 5000 miles means there's a leak. It's almost unfathomable to have a compressor failure at that age. Have them recharge the refrigerant and check for the leak. Probably easy to find - I'd imagine it's a faulty or loose gasket/clamp.

[BenMW]

So I've been in a loaner for the past few days and every time I turned on the car and the AC started...It literally reaked for about 15 seconds. whats up with that?

[timking85]

The loner just sits around for days at a time, and the customer only uses it for short trips, so the air con might be used only for short periods at a time, bacteria then forms and sits there on the filters causing the smell. Use my BMW Tech Tip (Useful working for BMW)

BMW (UK) Technical Tip 64/4

Odours Emanating from the Heater and Air Conditioning System

Enquiry Description

A customer has enquired whether there is anything he can do to reduce the odour emitting from his heater system.

Suggested Action

It has been indicated from an independent source that growth of odour producing bacteria can be significantly reduced if the following procedure is adopted.
The Air Conditioning should be run at maximum cooling for a period of 10 minutes, followed by a period of maximum heat through the same vents, this process will dry out the condensation and so leave nothing for the bacteria to grow in. This procedure should be carried out at least once a week and will help in the reduction of odours from the heating system.

It does work!!

[BK]

timking85, I will have to try that. The "maximum heat" part, is that with A/C on or off? I guess it's A/C on, to keep the air as dry as possible.

With my Civic, I turn off the A/C a minute or two before arriving at my destination, and I crank up the fan so outside air blows through the vents. Since the vents are much closer to the outside air temp once I stop, they don't collect so much condensation inside. At least that's my theory. This seems to work. Before I started doing this, my Civic HVAC vents smelled moldy whenever I first turned on the fan. Since I've done this, they don't stink anymore.

[timking85]

Originally Posted by BK

timking85, I will have to try that. The "maximum heat" part, is that with A/C on or off? I guess it's A/C on, to keep the air as dry as possible.

With my Civic, I turn off the A/C a minute or two before arriving at my destination, and I crank up the fan so outside air blows through the vents. Since the vents are much closer to the outside air temp once I stop, they don't collect so much condensation inside. At least that's my theory. This seems to work. Before I started doing this, my Civic HVAC vents smelled moldy whenever I first turned on the fan. Since I've done this, they don't stink anymore.

Your right yes the air con should be on, so it dries as much condensation on the filters as possible. But good idea on your civic, i will have to try that one too. We change our cars every 6k or 6mths so the smell is never there!