paperslitter

I'm new on this forum and would like some feedback on the following issue: This morning was the first time this season that I required heat in my 2005 E60 and it only took a couple of minutes to start feeling warm air from my driver's side vents. I noticed, however, that the passenger side was blowing very cold air from center vents only. The passenger window vent was warm as well as the center rear vent (although not quite as warm as the rest). All the posts I have researched talk about a similar problem but with the A/C not the heat mode. I have adjusted the iDrive climate control to hot and it increased the temp of the driver's vent to hotter but nothing on pass side. I also switched off the "auto" mode and manually adjusted fan speed and temp. I should mention that I have noticed a very slow coolant leak the last few days which I think is from an overflow issue on expansion tank (coolant level is still satisfactory with no low coolant warnings). I did notice one of the rings on the tip of the exp tank cap being broken off so I suspect it's allowing blow-by of coolant to atmosphere. Anyone have any experience with this type issue?

seanjordan

I had an issue like this before. If you have made sure that your temp mode is good in the IDrive then it has to do with a malfunction with the thermostat. It might be stuck open. I cant remeber if I was getting a code or not but I am pretty sure I wasnt. That was the issue with mine. I had the thermostat replaced and cooling remapped and everything worked fine after that. It cost me about $350 if I remeber correctly. I did not take it to BMW. I had an European shop do it for me. It was cheaper that way. I am not in the country at the time so I cant pull my records to see actually what was done. If you need me too I can get someone to my car to scan me the actual work done.

What type of vehicle is it and how many miles does it have on it?

Hitesh

SeanJordan, I note with interest your statement "thermostat replaced and cooling remapped"...what is remapping of the cooling system???? I have a pre-LCI E60 and have long warm up time issues for a while. The I-Drive setting is on 4 red bars (hot!) but the temp bars (on the edge of one of the circular gauges?) take approx 10 min before they reduce to 3 bars not indicator. Even then, the 'hot' heat is just not there. I have replaced the thermostat and coolant at an indy shop yet the problem persists. I contacted a local BMW dealer who offered no help...does the cooling remap have to be done at a dealer or can a knowlegable indy shop do it. thanks in advance.

phlfly

I have another issue is I noticed rear vent blowing cold air, when both driver and pass set to 72 deg.
What do I have to do with this?

seanjordan

The issues that are being described are issues I was having as well. Your engine is not getting to operating Temps therefor not getting hot enough to use the heat effectively. I should have the document on what was done to my car sometime today and I will post exactly what was done. If I remember correctly it was not done at the dealership but I will have an answer for you today sometime.

paperslitter

Thanks for that info! The car is a 2005 545i with 90K miles. If you have a chance I would appreciate more details on exactly the problem you had and if there are any codes for that. What year and model is your car?

seanjordan

I got the invoice from when I was having the issue. The code is DME 279B(10139) Thermostat Map Cooling Mechanism. The part that was ordered is Thermostat Assembly with Housing (11 53 7 509 227). Cost is $99 and labor was $160. This part is the thermostat and the housing were the map cooling mechanism is located. The part# for the 05 545i is 11-53-7-586-885. The part is $68 dollars for you on the hyperlink.

I have an 05 530i with 98000 on the ticker. My issue was when I turned on the heat it would never get hot. It would blow warm but never hot. The back only blew cold. When I took it the shop they told me it was the thermostat assembly. I didnt believe them at first but whe they changed it out everything worked as it should. I didnt take it to the dealership because it was going to cost $100 more to fix. If this info didnt help out let me know and I will see if can get you more info.

seanjordan

I didnt know for sure what it was called but I did remember that it had something to do with map cooling. I am not sure if you can purchase just the thermostat or not but check your invoice to see if that is what they did was only replace the thermostat and used the same housing. If so the housing needs to be replaced because that is where the thermostat map cooling mechanism is located. Let me know either way I can call my mechanic to get you more info.

howorks

Timely thread. Just tried to use the heat for the first time on my 05 545 and had a similar problem. For me the heat was coming from windshield and feet no problem. But middle vents were shooting out cold air! Used the idrive to turn that middle vent setting to warm and then started getting warm air from middle vents. Seems odd that you have to adjust the middle vent setting to hot? I would think this would adjust automatically. Can someone confirm?

seanjordan

Is the rear vents set to hot/cold? You can control the rear air temp from the rear.