Is it possible to disable dual climate function?
 

I usually drive alone. While it's not a big deal, it would be convenient to disable the dual climate function so I only have to push one button to change the temp up or down, not one for left side and one for right side. I did a search but didn't find any info.

I don't understand. some days you want it different than room temperature?
why would you be changing the temperature?

Huh? In the morning if its cold I put the heat on which requires me turning up the temp to say 75. I have to press both the left and right side temp up buttons. If its hot and I want a/c I turn down the temp to say 65.

There are a few things that drive me nuts about our ol'X...
having to "double finger", (actually right thumb and middle finger),
the two temps to roll them up or down, is not one of those things.
It's cake, even for an old guy with diminished eye-hand coordination...;)
Don't know of any way to set it as "one".
GL,mD

I kind of wish it did too, my VW Touareg had dual climate control rotary knobs and you could 'lock' them so that both zones adjusted from one of the rotary knobs.

It's a minor annoyance to have to push both buttons on the X5. I like how the new X5 and our E90 have rotary knobs for temp rather than the buttons. Just a little easier to adjust them. Ah, what ya gonna do...

I understand what you are saying, but why wouldn't you use it in automatic mode as it was designed? If you want it to be 70 in the cabin, for example, leave it set there. The heat will come on when it is 65, and the AC will come on when it is 75. You appear to be using it as a manual heater/AC.

As to having to move both controls, why would you have to do that unless you were sitting on both sides. If you leave the passenger one alone, the driver side control would be the only one you need to move. If you are adjusting it on behalf of your passenger, then I understand, but you could always teach the passenger how to do it themselves.

JCL- Just to clarify, do you leave the a/c button on all the time when using auto mode?

I do. The compressor kicks in only when it is required. A side benefit is that the AC system works as a dehumidifier, and your windows clear much more quickly. The system was designed to be always on, which confounds some posters because they get frustrated that the system turns itself back on when they restart the vehicle, if they have turned it off previously.

With each of my last five BMWs, I have spent a few minutes to set up the climate control when I pick up a new car. I occasionally hit the defrost button for a few minutes, and then hit it again to return to auto, but apart from that I generally don't ever touch the AC controls. If it is hot out I tend to run the cabin one degree cooler, 19 C, and then go back to 20 C when the ambient temperature drops, but that only a few times per year that it needs adjustment.

Funny how you seem to make sense of that minor detail. How do you set AUTO mode to be truly AUTO though? I never really knew we could set to to whatever temp it automatically feels the people in the car need... or cant you? :/

We posted simultaneously. AUTO works fine for me, with a couple of adjustments per year. I always thought it was about getting the settings right, and then leaving it alone. Think of it this way: how often do you adjust the thermostat in your house? For us, it is the same temp all year, possibly down a degree for more AC in the summer. Once you get the vents set correctly, and the flows balanced, then it can be left alone.

Or maybe I personally just have a very consistent sense of what temperature I want the car to be, I'm not sure. I do know that while I like 19, my wife likes 21 on the passenger side, and the car seems to be able to deal with that just fine.