4.4i Aircon blows only warm air first 5 minutes

[hbanko]

Hi Guys,

Since Friday I am the lucky owner of a 2005 4.4 X5.

The aircon works fine on traffic lights and while I am driving. But for the first 5 - 7 minutes it just blows warm air. After that it kicks in and I don't have any issues. Also starting with a hot engine, makes the aircon work immediately.

Any thoughts what that can be?

[AV8R4AA]

I had this exact problem on my E39.
If I drove it everyday, it worked perfect.
If I left it for 2-3 days it took 5 minutes or more to
begin to cool. Try this experiment to see.
After you get the engine started and AC on,Rev up the engine a few times.
Get the RPM above 3000. No need to hold it there, just a few
Pedal pushes.
If this gets the air cooling faster, your problem is just a tiny
but low R134. It's not much but enough to cause the compressor a while
to build up pressure.
That is what I found to be the problem.

[hbanko]

Thanks, that will be easy to test then! Havent really started to investigate the issue yet, just searched the web a bit.

If coolant is not the issue, I found some more possible causes:

• Low Pressure Switch broken
• Low fan stage not working (or the fuse for the stage blown)
• Compressor (some regulation mechanism inside)

Lets hope its not the compressor at the end. But I am in a good position demanding to get it fixed, as I just bought the car last Friday.

[kruger.chris]

Hi Hbanko,

I had the same issue when I first got my X. Took it to the aircon shop and had the gas refilled, and all problems was sorted.

[hbanko]

Well, will tell them to check for sufficient gas in the system. I did the test AV8R4AA suggested and the car continued to blow warm air.

Almost at the same time as the car reached normal operating temperature today (needke of temperature gauge in the middle), the aircon started to produce cold air.

I have to call them tomorrow anyway and arrange for warranty repair, as the more concerning part is the gearbox. I sometimes get a bang when shifting in the first or second gear (not sure). Especially from rolling uphill slowly and then give more throttle. From my observation it feels like 'not enough oil'. 95% of the time it just operates issue free.

[kruger.chris]

With the refill they also insert a dye to check for leaks if any.

[andrewwynn]

AC problems with both my x5s bought this year. The first one "dead on arrival" turned out to be the low pressure switch not plugged in fully. The second was low coolant. What will often happen with low coolant is it works too well and freezes up and stops producing cold air. It will start again when the car not used for just a few minutes and ice melts off evaporator. For the price of one refill I bought the complete refill kit with high/low pressure manifold. The last can of 134a I bought for $7US


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[xbimma]

Also check that you are not dealing with a seized blower fan which spins (due to air flow)

[iansanderson]

Most likely, the compressor will need replaced. Just did mine for the same issue.

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by hbanko

I have to call them tomorrow anyway and arrange for warranty repair, as the more concerning part is the gearbox. I sometimes get a bang when shifting in the first or second gear (not sure). Especially from rolling uphill slowly and then give more throttle. From my observation it feels like 'not enough oil'. 95% of the time it just operates issue free.

My transmission did that when first got it too - banging hard into first gear when coasting to a stop. Felt like being rear-ended. Got the dealer to reset the transmission adaptations when they were doing some other work and now it's 99% better. They checked the fluid (condition and level) also -both good.

Can still get a small kick but have to goad it into doing it.