Vents not working - any setting

[CLS70]

Hi
In the last week or so, the Vents settings (X5 e70 3.0 si) are not working at all. It does not matter which setting I select in iDrive or how I set the distribution of air (Cold/Hot, top/middle/foot vents), there is no air coming out; barely a whisp in the windshield defroster vent. The fan works and it changes speed but no air is coming out. I have tried several combinations (auto, individual, AC, recirc on/off) with no discernible change in air output.

Before I start dismantling anything, has someone come up with this issue? I have searched already and found nothing (besides the guidance to change stuff / settings in iDrive....) Battery is less than 1 year old and I have even hooked up a charger. No electrical issues or alarms.

Thanks

[josiahg52]

Have you checked for any DTCs? There are codes for the climate control system.

[Qsilver7]

When was the last time the interior cabin recirculation filter was changed? Only bringing it up because many e38 7 series owners didn't know they had them and air velocity would become demonstratively diminished...and come to find out that the interior recirculation filters sometimes had never been changed in years.


In the pic below...you can see how caked over the reciruclation filter (from an e38) can become if never changed. A new/clean recirc-filter is white just as a comparison of what you see in the pic below:

[CLS70]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

When was the last time the interior cabin recirculation filter was changed? Only bringing it up because many e38 7 series owners didn't know they had them and air velocity would become demonstratively diminished...and come to find out that the interior recirculation filters sometimes had never been changed in years.


In the pic below...you can see how caked over the reciruclation filter (from an e38) can become if never changed. A new/clean recirc-filter is white just as a comparison of what you see in the pic below:

Thx - I went to check the filters for obstruction and noticed the box air quality sensor was not fully connected; plugged in tight and then all went back to normal.....

[Qsilver7]

Great...thanks for the update.

[gkcmilner]

Your issue might be related to this thread. I experienced a similar problem and I posted the dealer fix here:
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...ootwell-3.html

[robnitro]

Was your issue where the fan wouldn't blow past minimum speed if the battery was low?
If I park my car for a few days, the next start I have no drain warning but the fan won't go up in speed, that afternoon going home it works fine. It's being over protective of the charging.
Torque obd shows 14.4-14.8v, charging fine and only load is the steering wheel heater which is low load.


And op, wow how crazy the quality sensor would do that. All that sensor does is in auto mode to choose to recirc air if outside air is bad. Dumb how it made everything flip out

[CLS70]

Originally Posted by gkcmilner

Your issue might be related to this thread. I experienced a similar problem and I posted the dealer fix here:
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...ootwell-3.html

Thanks - Will keep an eye the next few days and will try different settings to see what could be the root cause; the sensor seems odd and could have been just a conincidence. I found a detailed manual of the different functions and behaviours of the hvac system and I’m reading it carefully. I never read the codes so there maybe something stored there as well.....

Thx

[gkcmilner]

Originally Posted by robnitro

Was your issue where the fan wouldn't blow past minimum speed if the battery was low?
If I park my car for a few days, the next start I have no drain warning but the fan won't go up in speed, that afternoon going home it works fine. It's being over protective of the charging.

No, my issue was more similar to the OP's. Air vent controls had no effect on where the air would blow. Only a small amount of air came out of the defroster vents, but no other vents.
The first repair attempt was to replace the HVAC control panel. That worked for only about a few weeks. After the last repair it's worked perfectly for the past three years.