Wondering if you can help me; I bought a new to me, 2006 530i; we are going through climate now when it is cold in morning and hot in the evenings. The only way I seem to be able to get enough heat, or cold from the Climate control is to go into it on IDrive and set the vents for the driver to HOT by putting 4 bars red on the driver side, and then in the evening by reversing the setting to 4 bars blue. So the result is I just leave it on the climate control screen constantly. I would like to set the climate control to a setting where all I have to do is set the temp control on the dash, and not ever have to mess with the climate control in Idrive, then I could leave my screen on the radio (actually IPOD) screen.

I notice in climate control (IDRIVE) that instead of 4 bars red or blue, you can set it to one bar gray, which appears to be kind of a neutral setting, is that my only choice to do what I want to do? Seems I sacrifice comfort with that setting. Am I doing something wrong?

 

That red/blue soft slider is equivalent in to the red/blue mechanical roll-wheel that has been on BMWs since the beginning of time. Personally, I've never really understood why the need for both the slider (mechanical or software) AND a temperature setting. I don't think there is any way around it.

I don't know for sure, but I feel certain that with the slide bar in the Nuetral position (single grey bar) and the temp knob in the full HOT or COLD position the temp doesn't get as HOT or COLD as it would if the slide bar were in the full HOT (all red bars) or full COLD (full blue bars) position. Kinda hard to put in words, but I think you get the jest of what I'm saying.

 

Like you, I was constantly fiddling with the Vent settings when I first got my e60, but after switching the intensity from Soft to Medium on the Automatic programs page of the Climate Control section of iDrive, I have not had to fiddle with the Vent Settings again. You will probably find your intensity is set to Soft as mine was, and the system just does not react quickly or intensely enough. I have been able to leave my Climate Control in Full Auto mode all the time, and simply adjust the Temp dials to make it comfortable. And, if you are not happy with Medium, there's always the Intense setting. I never have to go to the Climate section in iDrive anymore.

 

I'll try the intense setting; thanks, nice to know you all have had similar experiences. So I'll set the slider to neutral, then go to medium or intense setting and see how that does. Thanks again.

 

Keep in mind that the center vent is a source of confusion for many people, especially in the heating seasons. The center vent will not always deliver warm air when the heat is on but that is by design.

The best way to use the climate system in the E60 is to keep everything on automatic (with the center vent set to neutral) and just adjust the temperature dials up or down to suit your individual comfort. Many people manually fuss with the fan speed dial to adjust things but that just takes the system off of auto and causes you to constantly chase the right temperature...

 

Rudy is correct. BMW has stated that its extensive safety research indicates that keeping the driver's torso and head cooler helps maintain alertness. It's a bitch in the winter, but the behavior is by design, and for the sake of safety.

 

In Charlotte we have the same thing spring and fall (40 degrees needing heat in the AM and 75 degrees needing A/C for the drive home).
I always adjusted the center vent temp and my biggest gripe with iDrive was having to use it for the center temp.

I too will have to try some of the suggestions. I already have intensity on medium.

 

I agree leaving it on the "Auto" mode setting seems to work best for me. In Orlando it gets cold early in the morning (where I actually use the Heated Seat/Steering Wheel) but on the drive home it AC all the way and the "Auto" setting has been adjusting accordingly.

 

If you dont like to use the auto setting then unfortunately thats the only way to get warm air in the morning and cool air in the afternoon.