I agree in general with the comments above regarding low airflow from the side vents.

I feel that the medium and intensive settings are not different enough from each other. To me, the current intensive is more like what I would expect from medium. On a hot day, the system does not seem to be agressive enough to get the temperature down to where I want it.

I would like the philosophy to be:

Intensive - be agressive and if need be more noisy...get me to my temp fast.

Medium - not as agressive...and try to be quieter

Soft - Shhhhhh....nice and quiet.

I dont have a problem with the 3 presets as much as the issue I have with airflow from the side vents. The side vents should have equal airflow to the middle vents. My side vents have such little airflow you can only feel it if you put your hand on top of the vent.

FYI- You also have a button for "MAXIMUM" if you push the passenger side temp knob.

I agree that the side vents seem almost unecessary there is so little flow.

Yea, I use the maximum control...but it is so overpowering. I would just prefer that intensive was more aggressive.

And while I am at it...I will add one more off-topic climate control complaint....at night the climate control display (the one with the termperatures and fan bar graph) is way too bright. It should dim more. It seems out of line with the other lights in the car.

1. you can adjust the brightness in IDrive settings
2. You can manually adjust the "soft", "medium" and "intense" settings by pushing the large or small fan buttons when in each mode. I think these settings stick to, meaning when you come back they remain at last level.

I think if that were true the fan indicator lights would only go halfway when you pushed the fan increase button.

With regards to number 1....I can only find an adjustment in the idrive for the main display....not an adjustment for the brightness of the climate control display (the one next to the CD slot that shows temps and fan speed)...

I'll take a look at mine again when I get it back from service. Did you try #2?

Did anyone find a fix for this problem yet?

I drove an X5 at the Ultimate Drive last week and the AC is exactly like mine...so the problem seems to be common and more noticable in hotter climates like Louisiana (me). During the spring when the temp outside was nice I never noticed any issues...now that its hot, the ac sucks!

Here are some more observations:
1. The "AUTO" mode seems to make the issue worse.
2. I notice now, when the rear air turns on it affects my airflow...why?
3. If I use manual controls I get much better cooling, and not as loud.
4. In "AUTO" mode the ac is very loud.
5. "AUTO" mode has a split personaility...it has very odd behaviour. sometimes it just turns warm, other times airflow stops flowing from the side.

I have started using the ac in manual mode and adjusting the fan speed as needed, and I stay much cooler and the ac is far quiter. I think the primary problem is the "AUTO" programming, this is exagerated by the lower airflow from the side vents compared to the center vents.

this sucks.. between reading this thread, and the one on the ipod not working, I'm hoping I didn't make a bad decision to get one of these.. I'm assuming all this is stuff that can be fixed with software or minor hardware retrofits should it be a design flaw.. but then I guess it is a 1st generation car..