Climate Control Question

[dschwartzer]

I'm sure this has ben discussed before but as I am new to the board and this is my first BMW I am looking for some guidance.

I have climate control in my car and from reading the manual I gather that the A/C does not go off or on based on the temperature needs. Rather, I need to push the button to actually "turn off" or "turn on" the A/C.

My question is, what do most of you do in the winter, leave the A/C on and reheat the air to avoid moisture in the car or do you turn off the A/C for the winter months? The reason I ask is I am in CT and the mornings and evening are cool but the days are still warm. Should I be turning the A/C off and on all day?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[codex57]

I've read in British BMW magazines that you should run the a/c every so often in the winter. Most people don't turn it on at all when it gets really cold and the a/c unit can crap out from lack of use or something like that.

As for turning it off or on, I just leave it on usually. What I do is play with the slider knob in between the vents. The one that goes from blue to red. I adjust taht to vary the temp I want.

 

[bmwrocks]

I think you should always leave the A/C button on. The climate control will provide the correct air to regulate the interior temp to where you set it. It uses inside and outside temperature to determine the proper temp and flow to provide. The A/C will perform moisture control in winter automatically for you.

It's like if you were to switch to manual mode and turn the temp up as high as it will go, it will mix mostly air from the heater core and minimal air from the A/C coils.

I could see overriding all this if your windsheild was frozen over. In that case you might want to select defroster and high heat, maybe turning off the A/C for a few minutes while it melts the ice. Then switching back to auto after all is well.

 

[dpnguyen]

I'm sure there's a little truth to using it so that it doesn't crap out, but in Colorado, the A/C on any cars I've owned have not gotten use in the Winter. Come Summer time, when I do use it, it still works fine.

I don't like using A/C because it loads my engine down a bit. With a manual transmission, I can definitely tell...gotta give it a bit more gas.

 

[EELADE]

Conditions the seals

From what I heard you need to run the AC at least once a month in the winter months to keep the seals in the AC lines from drying / cracking. Running the AC lubricates the seals so they stay soft / flexible. If the seals dry / crack then the gas escapes over time ... hence the AC is "broken". Well, that was what I was told for the old gas (FREON - R-12) ... not sure if this is true with the new gas (R-134a), but I would think it is.

My 2 cents,
eelade

 

[geneo]

the only thing you may loose by running the ac is a few less miles per gallon set it to your comfort thats what it is there for

 

[Average Jae]

i still haven't gotten used to the auto temp thingie.. it either blasts too much cold air, or not enough.. maybe i haven't sat in it enough.. but i guess it eventually gets it right..

i usually keep the ac on, altho sometimes, i can't defrost my windows even if my life depended on it for few minutes..

 

[theBMWenthusiast]

ii usually keep the ac on, altho sometimes, i can't defrost my windows even if my life depended on it for few minutes..

ya on my 318i that is hard to do, the defrost does nothing for some reason, so i blast the AC and point the fans right up towards the window and that usually helps...

 

[zman]

i usually keep the ac on, altho sometimes, i can't defrost my windows even if my life depended on it for few minutes..

I learned a trick to defrost your window quicker by pulling both sun shade down.

 

[Evermay]

I kept my A/C off for 2 winters and I had to recharge the system twice.I didnt have a clue,thought there was a leak.Now I know.

 

[AIO]

So, how often should we turn on the A/C during winter?
Is once or twice a month good enough? Or maybe more?

 

[pony_trekker]

>>The A/C will perform moisture control in winter automatically for you.


That's why I run AC 365. Never get a foggy window.