ok i feel like a fool for asking this question, :unsure: but last night i was reading the owners manual and it has no mention on how to turn on the heater in the car???? it has a whole section on the A/C, but no mention of heat.

so do i set the temp control to say 85 degrees, turn off the a/c button (with the snowflake), and just adjust the fan speed?

The idea is that the whole AC/heater system is fully automatic.

You need only to select the temp.

If you so wish you can turn the cooling AC system off.

Just do the temp control adjustment and be patient, the activation of the heater is part of the ACC system.

The trick to using the automatic climate control is to make adjustments to the temperature dial only. Press auto and dial your temperature. The compressor light (snowflake) will probably stay on but that's okay because it helps to control the humidity in the winter.

Many people who are new to auto climate control systems will adjust the fan speed if they're too cold or too warm but doing that will override the automatic system. If you're too cold, just turn the temp up a couple degrees. If you're too warm, turn the temp down a couple degrees. Resist the temptation to mess with the fan speed...

You do have to adjust the Vent Setting in the idrive too. Remember you can set it to blue (cold) or orange (hot), by turning the i-drive controller.

Getting cold here in Chicago and had to switch the heater on a few weeks ago. Initially I just turned up the temp, but noticed that the vents weren't blowing hot air. That's when I remembered i need to adjust the vent settings to hot too.

All the time I was in Auto mode. Kinda defeats the meaning of "Auto", but that's the way it works. :think:

Anyone care to confirm this?

wow! idrive, vent settings, temp control......
sure are a lot of steps just to get some heat going. :)

no worries, the e60 still kicks azz

Yes he's right, you have to adjust the vent setting to get heat too, if you adjust it so the person icon in your iDrive turns red than you can get heat from the system even if you adjust your temperature setting to 22 degrees. If you have maxium cold (blue person icon) than the system will be reluctant to give out heat. On the E39 or E46 you can do it manually on the dial in between the centre vents but with the iDrive you need to do it using the iDrive.

Nice thing to know! I was wondering also, with the temp set to max the air didn't come out really hot. Next time i'll mess around with the vent settings. Anyway kinda weird...but it doesn't bother me at all.

I think the vent setting in the i-drive is controlling the 'fresh air' mixing in...whether you want 'Cold' (Blue) or 'Hot' (Red) fresh air or 'Closed' (White). This is independent of the ACC and only affects the vents on the dashboard.

Therefore even if you set the temp so that heat is coming out, but you had the fresh air turned to 'cold', then you'll still get cold air coming from the vents on the dash. If you do not want the vent to affect your temp setting, the best way is to close the fresh air mix (White).

Hope this helps...

My heat works fine without changing the vent settings. I just leave it on auto and adjust the temperature settings. Works like charm.