Hi all,

I just took delivery of a 2010 550i. This past weekend, I was trying to use the parked car ventilation function, but that option is grayed out in iDrive, and I can't figure out how to turn it on. My initial thought was that the battery may not have enough current to start the ventilation, but I put 200 mostly highway miles on the car just this past weekend.

Would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks in advance.

-TA

 

Try setting it just after stopping the engine (but not turning off the car)...

 

Thanks, Rudy -- will give that a try later today. Appreciate the reply.

 

That should do if for you -- I'm pretty sure that parked car ventilation has always been something you could only set with the key on and the engine off. Even the E39 worked that way if I recall correctly.

I assume you have the "new" iDrive on your 2010 but I still think you need to follow the same procedure(s) the prior models had.

 

And in Park.

 

If you are like me, what you REALLY want is the car to be vented automatically, in which case you want to use the "automatic vent settings" option which you can do with the car on. The parked car ventilation is mainly just if your sitting in your car waiting on someone or something like that.

I loved the timed venting, it lowers the temperature in my car by at least 10-15 degrees, i have it set to kick off 15 minutes before I get off work

 

Parked car ventilation is great when I go to the store or anywhere when I'll be back in around 30 minutes or less. I always vent the SR too, so the hot air can be pushed out, since there is no refrigeration. I've really got to get my windows tinted, too, lol!