Anyone with decent BMW knowledge?

Scania · 2 Jan 2008 at 21:51

[TW]Fox;10799133 said:
It's totally untrue. There is a fault somewhere if yours does this.

Iirc, my e38's dash vents only blew cold air I can't check to be sure, I don't have the car any more....

[TW]Fox · 2 Jan 2008 at 21:52

R124/LA420 said:
Iirc, my e38's dash vents only blew cold air I can't check to be sure, I don't have the car any more....

That was broken as well

ZG002 · 2 Jan 2008 at 21:59

My 318i (E36) if set to only blow forward only blows cold air and is ment to be like that.. the dial even indicates this. But if you leave the dial slightly off of this setting you can get warm air through them.

[TW]Fox · 2 Jan 2008 at 22:01

If this is true it's a design feature so daft I'm staggered it ever made production.

ZG002 · 2 Jan 2008 at 22:07

I feel the same fox. It annoys the hell out of me. Its only on the basic models. Models with climate control etc aint the same apparently.

Scania · 2 Jan 2008 at 22:08

[TW]Fox;10799162 said:
That was broken as well

Probably mate, I found the rotary dial in the middle of the dash vents the only way to guarantee hot / cold air regardless of the temp settings!

- £2.2k Council estate ***** BMW buyers problem now, not mine!

[Darkend]Viper · 3 Jan 2008 at 00:18

MrFunex - It is a E36 i've got. My mates does the same as well. I've also been told by many E36 owners that it was designed this way. Seems to be too many that don't blow hot through the dash vents for it to be a fault.

[TW]Fox - It may well be broken, it may well not be. I know it seems a silly idea, but when you think about it, it does make a little sense. Heat makes you feel drowsy, or at least it does with me!! I've been in a few E36's that do the same, not sure if the E46 is different.

GordyR - Basically you want to switch the fans on so that there is air movement. Switch the heating to full hot and set the air output to the window vents. With it being an E46 i'm not 100% sure on if it's rotary dials or a digital system. Once this has been set and the engine up to temp, you should hopefully get some heat through. If not maybe have a feel of the radiator to see if there's any cool patches, which would indicate an airlock in the rad. I know my E36 has a bleed screw on the top of it, not sure if the E46 does. Hope this is of some help.

[TW]Fox · 3 Jan 2008 at 00:22

[Darkend]Viper;10800302 said:
[TW]Fox - It may well be broken, it may well not be. I know it seems a silly idea, but when you think about it, it does make a little sense. Heat makes you feel drowsy, or at least it does with me!! I've been in a few E36's that do the same, not sure if the E46 is different.

At least the E39 gives you a choice!

If the E39 is anything like the E46 it is setup on a cold day to not blow any air out through the vents until the engine is up to temperature and can provide hot air, at which point the vents automatically open up and allow hot air into the cabin to heat it to your desired temp.