[BimmerGeneral14]

I'll bet somebody knows. I have a '21 LCI M550. It does not have heated rear seats or rear individual temp controls....just the center "open/closed" air outlets. In a warm car with front outlets pumping out requested cool air, the rear sest outlet is pumping out warm air....like it thinks it's winter back there. Anyone know what controls the air to the rear seat?

[CnSky]

There is something in the climate menu about having the seats match front or always revert to a standard setting each time.

Not sure where it is in an LCI idrive but it's under vehicle and climate on the pre LCI.


QUOTE=BimmerGeneral14;27938432]I'll bet somebody knows. I have a '21 LCI M550. It does not have heated rear seats or rear individual temp controls....just the center "open/closed" air outlets. In a warm car with front outlets pumping out requested cool air, the rear sest outlet is pumping out warm air....like it thinks it's winter back there. Anyone know what controls the air to the rear seat?[/QUOTE]

[J2045678]

Originally Posted by BimmerGeneral14

I'll bet somebody knows. I have a '21 LCI M550. It does not have heated rear seats or rear individual temp controls....just the center "open/closed" air outlets. In a warm car with front outlets pumping out requested cool air, the rear sest outlet is pumping out warm air....like it thinks it's winter back there. Anyone know what controls the air to the rear seat?

I get that rear heated seats are an option, but am I the only one that's dumbfounded by the fact that you can't have heat and AC controls in the backseat of a five series in the United States? For someone with kids that sit in the back, it's a big turn off.

[430Scud]

Originally Posted by J2045678

I get that rear heated seats are an option, but am I the only one that's dumbfounded by the fact that you can't have heat and AC controls in the backseat of a five series in the United States? For someone with kids that sit in the back, it's a big turn off.

It is a very strange item for BMWNA to not at least have as an option. I have a Canadian market M550i I imported a while back and it has that, as well as the touch panel control for the front HVAC. Both were standard in Canada I believe

[beerman80]

Originally Posted by BimmerGeneral14

I'll bet somebody knows. I have a '21 LCI M550. It does not have heated rear seats or rear individual temp controls....just the center "open/closed" air outlets. In a warm car with front outlets pumping out requested cool air, the rear sest outlet is pumping out warm air....like it thinks it's winter back there. Anyone know what controls the air to the rear seat?

Do you have the little dial with red and blue besides the open/close dials? That is how I switch from warm to cold for the rear seat.

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by J2045678

I get that rear heated seats are an option, but am I the only one that's dumbfounded by the fact that you can't have heat and AC controls in the backseat of a five series in the United States? For someone with kids that sit in the back, it's a big turn off.

It’s a US spec 5 series “tradition”. Same way even on the F10. It oddly even extends out of the brand to the Mercedes E-Class, at least up to 2018.

My best guess is that they either want to upsell to the x5 and/or most prospective buyers of the 5 don’t care.

[BimmerGeneral14]

Originally Posted by beerman80

Do you have the little dial with red and blue besides the open/close dials? That is how I switch from warm to cold for the rear seat.

My car does not have the red/blue adjustment dial like my 650 had. only adjustment like that is in the climate menu for driver and passenger front seats....nothing for rear seat that I can find. I'm thinking there may be a separate rear seat sensor that is out of whack.

[H_T]

Originally Posted by BimmerGeneral14

My car does not have the red/blue adjustment dial like my 650 had. only adjustment like that is in the climate menu for driver and passenger front seats....nothing for rear seat that I can find. I'm thinking there may be a separate rear seat sensor that is out of whack.

I don't have digital controls in the rear also, I find when I close the rear vents, the front blows slightly harder.

[CnSky]

Here are the setting in pre LCI for rear climate you should have similar?

[BimmerGeneral14]

Originally Posted by CnSky

Here are the setting in pre LCI for rear climate you should have similar?

Thank you......I'll check but guessing that only comes with the rear seperate climate control package.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by BimmerGeneral14

Thank you......I'll check but guessing that only comes with the rear seperate climate control package.

I believe he is correct. I have a 2018 pre LCI 530e and the rear does have the red/blue dial. They apparently did away with it in the LCI.

[ryanasimov]

My month-old 2021 540i also blows warm air from the rear vents when the front vents are blowing cold. If I turn on Max A/C the rear vents blow cooler, but when I go back to regular Auto Climate, the rear air becomes warm again. Is this an internal vent issue, perhaps? Really makes it hard to keep the whole car cool when the heat index is 108F! It's like outside air is leaking into the central tunnel between the front and back seats.

[Qsilver7]

Before BMWs had rear climate control...but did have the rear vents that could provide ambient fresh air...if you didn't like the temperature of the air coming from them...all you needed to do was close the vent.

It may be what's needed if you only have the front (aka 2-zone) climate zone. The rear passengers can get cooled air through the floor vents that are below the two front seats...as well as the center vent in the front...the air direction can be positioned straight back and upward to get air back to the rear seat area. One can always select air direction to the floor & dash vents...or the floor & defrost vents...or all 3 (floor/dash/defrost) vent locations.

If you're only getting ambient air from the rear vents when the IHKA is not in recirculation mode or auto-recirculate...and it is uncomfortable...then close the vents at the rear of the center console and direct "conditioned air to the floor.

Does this occur with the 5 series that have the 4-zone climate system that has a stratified air dial for the rear center vents?

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by ryanasimov

My month-old 2021 540i also blows warm air from the rear vents when the front vents are blowing cold. If I turn on Max A/C the rear vents blow cooler, but when I go back to regular Auto Climate, the rear air becomes warm again. Is this an internal vent issue, perhaps? Really makes it hard to keep the whole car cool when the heat index is 108F! It's like outside air is leaking into the central tunnel between the front and back seats.

I would call this a manufacturing defect. The car is not performing as designed nor promised. I would insist that the dealership/BMW solve the issue. They sell a car with rear seats and rear ac vents so they should work as designed.

[ryanasimov]

I spoke to my salesperson and got the expected, "Hmm, that doesn't sound right. Bring it in so we can check it out." I know that's the only way to really know, but I'm not excited about taking my month-old car back to the far-away dealership (though they offered to bring me a loaner and take the car back for me) and have someone diagnose it by possibly taking apart the transmission tunnel. Or worse yet, have the intermittent problem temporarily "fix itself" while at the dealership, only to revert back to its current state when I get the car back.

Just bumping this thread to ask other 2021 drivers to please check their rear outlets to see if they always put out cold, dry air when the A/C is on.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by ryanasimov

I spoke to my salesperson and got the expected, "Hmm, that doesn't sound right. Bring it in so we can check it out." I know that's the only way to really know, but I'm not excited about taking my month-old car back to the far-away dealership (though they offered to bring me a loaner and take the car back for me) and have someone diagnose it by possibly taking apart the transmission tunnel. Or worse yet, have the intermittent problem temporarily "fix itself" while at the dealership, only to revert back to its current state when I get the car back.

Just bumping this thread to ask other 2021 drivers to please check their rear outlets to see if they always put out cold, dry air when the A/C is on.

Sounds to me like your dealership is going out of its way for you. Good to hear.

[BimmerGeneral14]

Originally Posted by ryanasimov

I spoke to my salesperson and got the expected, "Hmm, that doesn't sound right. Bring it in so we can check it out." I know that's the only way to really know, but I'm not excited about taking my month-old car back to the far-away dealership (though they offered to bring me a loaner and take the car back for me) and have someone diagnose it by possibly taking apart the transmission tunnel. Or worse yet, have the intermittent problem temporarily "fix itself" while at the dealership, only to revert back to its current state when I get the car back.

Just bumping this thread to ask other 2021 drivers to please check their rear outlets to see if they always put out cold, dry air when the A/C is on.

Please keep us informed. Yesterday with 88 OAT, the front temp was consistent, but the rear went from warm, tk cooler, then back to warm. Something is trying to control it separately from the front.

[ryanasimov]

I think I found the cause for warm back seat air.

I'm not in the car now so I can't remember the exact setting in iDrive, but I found a screen that allowed you to independently adjust the driver and front seat passenger's air temperature; you can bias each side towards hot or cold. I'm not talking about the main temperature control knob for the Climate Control, btw. Both these settings were set all the way to the left (cold). When I adjusted each of them back to the middle the air from the rear vents became cooler. Perhaps to make the air cooler in front it causes less cooling to be directed rearward?
Anyway, now I wonder if the dealer set them both to full-cold? It seems like most other controls in iDrive default to middle or neutral settings.

Anyone here care to share how their car's front seat ventilation temperature is set for comparison?

[E3_550]

My 2022 M550 blows warm air through the rear vents when the climate control is set to auto and temp is set to 68 degrees F. When Max AC is pressed, cooler air comes out of the rear vents.

My temperature blend settings are currently max cold for both passenger and driver.

My 2017 540 did not have this issue and also had a temperature adjustment wheel for the rear passengers.

[ryanasimov]

Originally Posted by E3_550

My 2022 M550 blows warm air through the rear vents when the climate control is set to auto and temp is set to 68 degrees F. When Max AC is pressed, cooler air comes out of the rear vents.

My temperature blend settings are currently max cold for both passenger and driver.

My 2017 540 did not have this issue and also had a temperature adjustment wheel for the rear passengers.

Would you please consider changing your temperature blend from max cold to the middle setting and post back here whether or not it makes the rear temp cooler? FWIW, I checked the rear temp multiple times on my drive to work today and it was noticeably cooler with the temp blend in the middle.

[E3_550]

Originally Posted by ryanasimov

Would you please consider changing your temperature blend from max cold to the middle setting and post back here whether or not it makes the rear temp cooler? FWIW, I checked the rear temp multiple times on my drive to work today and it was noticeably cooler with the temp blend in the middle.

Have an hour drive this afternoon, I will try the middle setting and post the results.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by E3_550

My 2022 M550 blows warm air through the rear vents when the climate control is set to auto and temp is set to 68 degrees F. When Max AC is pressed, cooler air comes out of the rear vents.

My temperature blend settings are currently max cold for both passenger and driver.

My 2017 540 did not have this issue and also had a temperature adjustment wheel for the rear passengers.

Still blows my mind that they removed even the stratification dial in the LCI. No idea if this is due to component shortages or what, but it is another weird cut.

IMHO 4-Zone climate control should be standard, but not even giving them anything? Yikes.