Using AUTO on the climate control.. and AC on constantly..

[BimmerX5kid]

i kind of cringe when i read about guys using the Auto feature on climate control.. and basically set-it-and-forget it..

Dont you guys think that having the AC "on" so much, regardless of temperature being blown out, is not efficient way to run the car? Running the AC is a drag on performance/fuel. Why would you ever want the green light AC running unless you absolutely needed cool air?

Matter of fact.. i never really adjust my thermostat.. i either run the AC on or off.. there is no "turn the temp up" if its too cold. why would i ever want to drive with AC engaged if i thought it was "too cold".

[AEC]

AC isn’t just for cold air. It’s also for de-humidification.

[expidia]

Originally Posted by BimmerX5kid

i kind of cringe when i read about guys using the Auto feature on climate control.. and basically set-it-and-forget it..

Dont you guys think that having the AC "on" so much, regardless of temperature being blown out, is not efficient way to run the car? Running the AC is a drag on performance/fuel. Why would you ever want the green light AC running unless you absolutely needed cool air?

Matter of fact.. i never really adjust my thermostat.. i either run the AC on or off.. there is no "turn the temp up" if its too cold. why would i ever want to drive with AC engaged if i thought it was "too cold".

For the same reason many of us have "auto" thermostats in our homes. Set it to say 70 and it turns the heat or AC on and off and holds say 70 degrees.

When I rent economy cars I still come across those that have a switch for either ac on or off. Kind of barbaric and uncivilized to actually have to manually switch it on and off . . . One hand holding my martini and the other on the wheel leaves no more hands for switches and buttons

I remember back in the days when my Dad used to have one of those cars that did not have climate control

[IndyJer]

Or you can just turn off the ac when in auto mode

[BimmerX5kid]

Originally Posted by expidia

For the same reason many of us have "auto" thermostats in our homes. Set it to say 70 and it turns the heat or AC on and off and holds say 70 degrees.

When I rent economy cars I still come across those that have a switch for either ac on or off. Kind of barbaric and uncivilized to actually have to manually switch it on and off . . . One hand holding my martini and the other on the wheel leaves no more hands for switches and buttons

I remember back in the days when my Dad used to have one of those cars that did not have climate control

This is incorrect. In the above you were presuming that the car is turning off the AC pump when the cabin temp got to the desired temperature. All the climate control is doing is just moderating the MIX of warm and cold air to keep that temp. But your AC pump is still dragging on your performance. This is what I mean by "always on". If your green light is on the AC pump is on. Just because cold air is not blowing in your face does not mean it is not ON.

If yiu guys don't care about using more fuel or drag on performance with AC on then so be it. But me, I care about fuel economy and don't want that green light in unless I want cool air blowing when needed. A BMW tech confirmed this with me. The AC is either on or off. It's dragging fuel or not dragging fuel. There is no "turn on only when more cool air needed" when in auto mode.

Put more simply. If the green light is on and yiu have the temp set for 75 degrees your AC i still running even with warm air coming out the vents

[Maverik259]

Lol he?s messing with you dude cuz your question is moot. First it doesn?t drag all that much on your engine (tell the actual mpg difference please) and second who cares. When it?s too cold I?m sure people don?t just sit there and freeze. They turn it off and if they don?t. This shouldn?t make you ?cringe?

[Scott2.0]

I bought an expensive twin turbo V8 vehicle. Fuel economy is of little concern. Plus I live in the the desert where AC is often needed. Worrying about other people’s climate control habits seems bizarre.

[MysticBlue]

The compressors on these modern cars aren't like the old ones that were either on or off. These are controlled with variable compression based on how much is actually needed at the time, so just because it is "on" doesn't mean it is fully engaged if it's not needed.
If you were worried about 1 tenth of a mile per gallon, why would you have bought a luxury suv? You could have bought a lot cheaper vehicle and got one that got a lot better mileage. But you bought this one, so there must be some things that are worth it to you to spend a little more money and get a little less mileage. Like comfort. I keep mine on all the time simply because I don't like being one of those idiots driving around with their windows all fogged up when it's humid or rainy. I keep mine on all the time in the summer because it needs to be on all the time. I keep it on all the time in the winter to keep the windows from fogging up. I keep it on all the time in the spring and fall because it might be raining, it might be snowing, it might be hot and humid, it might be cool and humid. So, my question would be, why would anyone not have it on all the time?

[BimmerX5kid]

Well some guys add a special air filter for 1/10th more horse power or one tenth better gas mileage so different strokes for different folks. But at least maybe some people can learn from this thread if they thought with green light on that sometimes their AC is not engaged because they have heat blowing out of their vent

[BimmerX5kid]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

Lol he?s messing with you dude cuz your question is moot. First it doesn?t drag all that much on your engine (tell the actual mpg difference please) and second who cares. When it?s too cold I?m sure people don?t just sit there and freeze. They turn it off and if they don?t. This shouldn?t make you ?cringe?

No Maverick. If they are cold they just turn temp number up to a higher number to have less cold blow out. That's the original point of this thread.

[BimmerX5kid]

Cringe is a figure of speech guys. Cmon. It's a dialogue. "Hey why is your AC on?"

"It's not on"
"Yes it is... the green light is on"
"No it's not its blowing hot air"
"It's on"
"Not it's not it switches between hot and cold"
"The AC motor is on if the green light is on"

[expidia]

Originally Posted by BimmerX5kid

This is incorrect. In the above you were presuming that the car is turning off the AC pump when the cabin temp got to the desired temperature. All the climate control is doing is just moderating the MIX of warm and cold air to keep that temp. But your AC pump is still dragging on your performance. This is what I mean by "always on". If your green light is on the AC pump is on. Just because cold air is not blowing in your face does not mean it is not ON.

If yiu guys don't care about using more fuel or drag on performance with AC on then so be it. But me, I care about fuel economy and don't want that green light in unless I want cool air blowing when needed. A BMW tech confirmed this with me. The AC is either on or off. It's dragging fuel or not dragging fuel. There is no "turn on only when more cool air needed" when in auto mode.

Put more simply. If the green light is on and yiu have the temp set for 75 degrees your AC i still running even with warm air coming out the vents

Maverick is right . . Im only yanking your chain because you are "not" preaching to the quior in a forum of owners when the average buyer when bought new paid over 65k or has a huge monthly lease payment for their X5/X6 which takes premium fuel and then worries about economy

If any loss of power is going to be due to that AC light being on and you are at a stop light ready to show that 16 year old kid in a Camaro next to you . . . who is Da Man then just turn the AC light off before you floor it.

[BimmerX5kid]

Yes Expedia I agree. I've just noticed being a lurker that climate control is a HUGE issue on this board and i think this bit of info would at least be enlightening to those that use AUTO all year round.

I mean year round with AC green light on.

[Pkitch]

Just FYI; in the 4.0e iPerformance model, the AC compressor runs from battery not engine; no parasitic loss or loss of efficiency at all as well as during start/stop (if you're running it with active) on the IC only powertrains.

As a side bar, it also allows you to fully run the AC while away from the car (activate when you turn ignition off, or from BMW remote) which is one of the best benefits in my humble opinion...

[Scott2.0]

Originally Posted by Pkitch

Just FYI; in the 4.0e iPerformance model, the AC compressor runs from battery not engine; no parasitic loss or loss of efficiency at all as well as during start/stop (if you're running it with active) on the IC only powertrains.

As a side bar, it also allows you to fully run the AC while away from the car (activate when you turn ignition off, or from BMW remote) which is one of the best benefits in my humble opinion...

Are you talking about the climate control activation through the app or when scheduled in the iDrive? Mine just blows air around with no AC compressor.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by expidia

Maverick is right . . Im only yanking your chain because you are "not" preaching to the quire in a forum of owners when the average buyer when bought new paid over 65k or has a huge monthly lease payment for their X5/X6 which takes premium fuel and then worries about economy

If any loss of power is going to be due to that AC light being on and you are at a stop light ready to show that 16 year old kid in a Camaro next to you . . . who is Da Man then just turn the AC light off before you floor it.

[crackerjack15]

And you want the real kicker... when you press the a/c button to off, it doesn't always turn the compressor off. Especially if you have rear air. I hate a/c if it's not super hot out. So I turn mine off all the time. I usually end up shutting the entire system off for a few minutes.
Then turn it back on in manual setting, with the temp all the way down and fan on 2nd speed.

[Optherion]

I still have never understood when its snowing outside, and I set my thermostat to 78, hit auto why on earth the AC light comes on. Dont give me any bullshit about humidity. haha.

I monitor the outside temp, inside temp feel and make changes as needed manually. Dont even get me started on the ventilated seat option. If i had to give up one of the biggest let down options, it would be that overpriced POS. My assistants 10 year old Lexus is350 has air conditioned seats which blow away my X5

[boyce89976]

Originally Posted by BimmerX5kid

This is incorrect. In the above you were presuming that the car is turning off the AC pump when the cabin temp got to the desired temperature. All the climate control is doing is just moderating the MIX of warm and cold air to keep that temp. But your AC pump is still dragging on your performance. This is what I mean by "always on". If your green light is on the AC pump is on. Just because cold air is not blowing in your face does not mean it is not ON.

If yiu guys don't care about using more fuel or drag on performance with AC on then so be it. But me, I care about fuel economy and don't want that green light in unless I want cool air blowing when needed. A BMW tech confirmed this with me. The AC is either on or off. It's dragging fuel or not dragging fuel. There is no "turn on only when more cool air needed" when in auto mode.

Put more simply. If the green light is on and yiu have the temp set for 75 degrees your AC i still running even with warm air coming out the vents

Theoretically, you could use more fuel by NOT using auto. Generally the most efficient way to run the AC is to leave it on so it's never working hard. If it's maintaining a temp, it's never working hard. If it has to cool the cabin 10 to 15 degrees, it's going to work harder to get it to that temp.

Which is better for gas mileage, a flat road, or a road with hills? Same principal, really.

You're assertion really has no factual basis.

[IndyJer]

Originally Posted by Optherion

Dont even get me started on the ventilated seat option.... My assistants 10 year old Lexus is350 has air conditioned seats which blow away my X5

Side bar in this thread... you are comparing apples and oranges. Ventilated vs air conditioned seats, so of course there is going to be a big difference in performance. I think many with this complaint had incorrect expectations and didn’t research what they were getting from BMW. In my opinion, the ventilated seats work just as designed, we were all just expecting ice cold air on our arse instead of ambient air because we didn’t pay attention to what ventilated meant.

My wife’s Chevy Tahoe had air conditioned seats too, worked great for the 3 months of the year it’s hot where we live. Then the ac compressors went out so now they’re ventilated seats like BMW

One benefit of ventilated in X5 though, you can use them in winter in conjunction with heated seats to blow warm air on your arse. Can’t do that with air conditioned seats...

[philbake]

Originally Posted by BimmerX5kid

i kind of cringe when i read about guys using the Auto feature on climate control.. and basically set-it-and-forget it..

Dont you guys think that having the AC "on" so much, regardless of temperature being blown out, is not efficient way to run the car? Running the AC is a drag on performance/fuel. Why would you ever want the green light AC running unless you absolutely needed cool air?

Matter of fact.. i never really adjust my thermostat.. i either run the AC on or off.. there is no "turn the temp up" if its too cold. why would i ever want to drive with AC engaged if i thought it was "too cold".

The Climate Control is very ?smart?. The compressor will run sometimes even with the green light turned off, in order to clear excess moisture from the system. In winter though, when the temp is below about 35F, it will not run at all, even with the green light on. In Eco-Pro, the compressor will work less....depending on the inside/outside temperature differentiation. If you?re concerned about fuel consumption, use the Eco-Pro setting. Makes everything work more conservatively. But less fun to drive in that setting.

[BimmerX5kid]

Originally Posted by boyce89976

Theoretically, you could use more fuel by NOT using auto. Generally the most efficient way to run the AC is to leave it on so it's never working hard. If it's maintaining a temp, it's never working hard. If it has to cool the cabin 10 to 15 degrees, it's going to work harder to get it to that temp.

Which is better for gas mileage, a flat road, or a road with hills? Same principal, really.

You're assertion really has no factual basis.

Like I'm gonna believe that a machine like a compressor knows how to "work harder?" It on or it's off. Are you gonna tell me that when you're driving with the green light off and your take your finger and you press it on that absolutely no change to your engine happens? If you say no change I won't waste my time discussing this with you anymore.

This thread has been loaded with people who think that the varying degrees of temperature of air that comes out of your vent is by the compressor changing? Oh my god it's the MIX of cold and hot air not the cold air "working to get colder". For the love of.....