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Before getting to the mechanical diagnosis, start with the operating discussion. This is how it is supposed to work.
Turn the air conditioning on (snowflake). Push the auto button so that not only the temperature is auto, but also the fan speed. Turn the centre vents to neutral (no red or blue dots). Set the recirc to auto. Now, see if it works. Turn the centre vents off (shut) if you like.
Now we add in the centre vents. The centre vents are not an absolute temperature control. They are better thought of as an offset control. If you have it set to 23 (I have mine set to 19, but that is another story), then the thumb wheel on the centre vents allows you to have a warmer or cooler flow on those two vents. They aren't a temperature control, they simply provide a slight offset. They aren't an automatic setting, but rather a manual override, and that is where owners get in trouble with them. One blue dot is one degree cooler, two red dots means two degrees cooler, one red dot is one degree warmer. This is designed so that with a comfortable temperature in the vehicle (automatically held by the AC control), you can have slightly warmer or cooler air blowing on your face. The problem is that if you set it to 16 degrees on auto, and three red dots, then the air conditioner will work hard to get it to 16 degrees, while the warm air in the centre vents fights it. It is an illogical setting.
See if the above works (as designed) before starting to diagnose any mechanical problems. The most common issue is that people have the auto control set to cold, with three red dots, or vice versa.
Good luck.
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2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White
Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue
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