I was thinking the same thing!!

 

yeah, how foolish of me to think that adjusting the temperature dial to past 70* would heat the car

 

yes it's strange thing about these dashboard vent. I remember E46 has a dial cold/hot thing on then, so every summer/winter I saw a post on e46fantics or bimmerfest about no cold/hot air from dashboard vents. On this car it didn't clear to show until person look careful on display. I did test this in morning, and it works surprising (at least something working as supposed too)

 

OP, my remark was to the user suggesting the thermostat.... It was like taking a dart, opening up the hood, and randomly throwing blind folded hoping to hit the cause of your problem...

Did the idrive resove your issue???

 

lol turns out it was the dreaded "blue bars" in idrive....i think this is the most redundant, rediculous quirk i have found in this car yet! thanks everyone.

 

The "bars" in idrive are actually a very useful function for some people. The bar setting controls the relative heat/cold from the dash vents (that hit you in the hands/chest/face) compared to the rest of the vents for heating and cooling. So... if you want the car to heat to 70, but don't want hot air blasting in your face, set the bars to neutral or one/two blue bars... the car will still heat to 70, but you won't be blasted with the hot air. It's confusing compared to most cars, but useful once you understand what they are used for.

If you don't want to fiddle with the settings from season to season, set the "bar" to neutral (one white bar) and forget about it.

 

How warm should be the air coming out between front seats to the rear passengers? In my 520d 2008 it's more like cold or very cold depending on the setting. The local dealers says it's ok, but I don't believe it. It's much much colder even with the red setting than the air coming from dash center.

 

it sure shouldnt be cold. mine are the temps i set it to. If I have it on hot its hot, cold its cold.