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BMW 5-Series (G30) Forum 2017+ BMW 5 Series (G30) General Discussions Unknown blue light in my 530e

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      10-18-2020, 09:29 AM   #1
TiagoRibeiro
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Unknown blue light in my 530e

Apparently there's no active warning anywhere else, apart from this icon near by edrive battery gauge.

Do you know what it means?

Thanks
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      10-18-2020, 11:28 AM   #2
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Baffling. Your question intrigued me so I looked through my 540xi owner's manual and could not find this symbol. Googled BMW warning lights and got a list of 68 from BMW of Escondido but it did not show your symbol. They did say the following:

BMW Warning Lights
Presented by BMW of Escondido
Some of these warning lights will appear when you first
start the car, along with how many miles you have until
your next scheduled service.
• Red warning lights are associated with danger, and
there is a serious situation which must be checked
out before continuing.
• Orange and yellow warning lights are less critical, but
something is wrong and should be resolved as soon
as possible.
• Green or blue warning lights indicate that your vehicle has a technological feature enabled.

I also went further and Googled "BMW 530e warning lights" and got lots of responses with lists and pictures of lots of warning lights, including one that had 308 on it. I did not see your "car with a thermometer" symbol however. If I had to guess it may have something that has to do with interior car temperature, perhaps suggesting some ventilation feature is active? I suggest checking in with your dealer service guys and let us know the answer. Good luck.--Bob
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      10-18-2020, 11:48 AM   #3
TiagoRibeiro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Warp Ten View Post
Baffling. Your question intrigued me so I looked through my 540xi owner's manual and could not find this symbol. Googled BMW warning lights and got a list of 68 from BMW of Escondido but it did not show your symbol. They did say the following:

BMW Warning Lights
Presented by BMW of Escondido
Some of these warning lights will appear when you first
start the car, along with how many miles you have until
your next scheduled service.
• Red warning lights are associated with danger, and
there is a serious situation which must be checked
out before continuing.
• Orange and yellow warning lights are less critical, but
something is wrong and should be resolved as soon
as possible.
• Green or blue warning lights indicate that your vehicle has a technological feature enabled.

I also went further and Googled "BMW 530e warning lights" and got lots of responses with lists and pictures of lots of warning lights, including one that had 308 on it. I did not see your "car with a thermometer" symbol however. If I had to guess it may have something that has to do with interior car temperature, perhaps suggesting some ventilation feature is active? I suggest checking in with your dealer service guys and let us know the answer. Good luck.--Bob

Thanks (I also spent part of the afternoon googling...)

I've already asked the dealer, and will share my findings in this thread.

Thanks

Last edited by TiagoRibeiro; 10-18-2020 at 03:42 PM..
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      10-18-2020, 12:24 PM   #4
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Battery cold? Don't the batteries get warmed up if they are cold? What was the ambient temp?
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      10-18-2020, 01:32 PM   #5
TiagoRibeiro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AP View Post
Battery cold? Don't the batteries get warmed up if they are cold? What was the ambient temp?
Strange... It was parked in my garage, with an ambient temp of around 20o C...
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      10-18-2020, 03:22 PM   #6
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https://www.motorwerksbmw.com/manufa...-do-they-mean/

Overheating? ( why blue though??)
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      10-19-2020, 03:29 AM   #7
TiagoRibeiro
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Adding my experience from this morning, this symbol disappears after using the combustion engine for a bit. When it disappears, it’s replaced with the indication “eBoost”.


Also found this in another forum (X5 discussion thread): “The full drive power may not be available for approximately 30 seconds after starting the combustion engine. In this case, the vehicle will not accelerate as usual. The maximum drive power can be utilized as soon as eBoost is available.”


I’m starting to wonder if this is only an indication that eBoost is still not available…
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      10-19-2020, 03:39 AM   #8
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This matches the symbol that shows next to my battery if it is colder outside and I don’t precondition first. The battery needs to be warmed up to temperature. I can’t remember it showing up in the cluster where eBoost shows up, but you have the LCI I presume.
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      10-19-2020, 09:26 AM   #9
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That explains why I have never seen it. I changed to the Alpina display on my 530e.
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      01-01-2021, 02:30 PM   #10
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Also intrigued about this symbol and after 30 mins of googling, nothing came out.

Did you (or anyone) had any feedback from the dealer?

I guess this light/symbol might indicate that the electric climatization is being used, as opposed to the traditional AC system that uses the thermal emgine for running.
Nevertheless, I would like to be sure about this!
Regards
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      01-01-2021, 02:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lp01 View Post
Also intrigued about this symbol and after 30 mins of googling, nothing came out.

Did you (or anyone) had any feedback from the dealer?

I guess this light/symbol might indicate that the electric climatization is being used, as opposed to the traditional AC system that uses the thermal emgine for running.
Nevertheless, I would like to be sure about this!
Regards
If I had to wager a guess here... As I mentioned earlier this looks like a new symbol added to the LCI.

For my Pre-LCI MY2020 530e I'll get a similar symbol near my battery charge meter when the battery is too cold to let me know the system won't run on eDrive until it has warmed the battery (or cooled it in too hot temps). My guess is the LCI has this up top due to its extra overdrive in eBoost mode as I mentioned earlier.

Meaning since the battery is too cool (or warm) to allow the EV motor to run the symbol is letting you know that the extra HP you have access to via this functionality is unavailable until the battery is brought to temp.
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      01-01-2021, 04:08 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LogicalApex View Post
If I had to wager a guess here... As I mentioned earlier this looks like a new symbol added to the LCI.

For my Pre-LCI MY2020 530e I'll get a similar symbol near my battery charge meter when the battery is too cold to let me know the system won't run on eDrive until it has warmed the battery (or cooled it in too hot temps). My guess is the LCI has this up top due to its extra overdrive in eBoost mode as I mentioned earlier.

Meaning since the battery is too cool (or warm) to allow the EV motor to run the symbol is letting you know that the extra HP you have access to via this functionality is unavailable until the battery is brought to temp.
What is strange is that I am almost sure I saw that symbol driving over 120 km/h, in pure electric mode... what you say wouldn’t mean the pure eletric mode would be unavailable?
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      01-01-2021, 04:47 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lp01 View Post
What is strange is that I am almost sure I saw that symbol driving over 120 km/h, in pure electric mode... what you say wouldn’t mean the pure eletric mode would be unavailable?
I don't have the LCI so I can't say the exact limitations of the system. The manual should clarify it though.
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      01-29-2021, 11:35 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TiagoRibeiro View Post
Apparently there's no active warning anywhere else, apart from this icon near by edrive battery gauge.

Do you know what it means?

Thanks
I get that symbol randomly, even if everything is at operating temperature. Mine shows up where the Battery DTE is. Instead of it showing the range, it will show that light. My engine comes on and the A/C stays warm until the light goes off.
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      01-31-2021, 07:32 PM   #15
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I think it just means that the eBoost feature is not available temporarily due to the battery not being in the ideal temperature.

I started seeing the symbol when it got cold outside during winter.

What is strange is that the symbol does not go away even after driving a longer period of time...
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      02-03-2021, 10:29 AM   #16
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I am surprised that no one at BMW has been able to explain what this is. One would think that if there is a warning light on, one should do something about it, but it is hard to take action without knowing what it means. --Bob
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      02-09-2021, 04:02 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Warp Ten View Post
I am surprised that no one at BMW has been able to explain what this is. One would think that if there is a warning light on, one should do something about it, but it is hard to take action without knowing what it means. --Bob
x2

Still wondering how long it will take until someone confirms what that symbol means.
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      02-09-2021, 04:10 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lp01 View Post
x2

Still wondering how long it will take until someone confirms what that symbol means.
The manual doesn't say?
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      02-09-2021, 05:15 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LogicalApex View Post
The manual doesn't say?
No!
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      02-09-2021, 06:07 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lp01 View Post
No!
That's odd.

But does a Check Control Message appear to give details? When I got this on my MY2020 it will let me know that the HV battery is being heated or cooled in a check control message and will be available once it has done so. Perhaps that will clarify what isn't available and why.

I am still sure it is HV battery isn't at operating temp for eBoost.
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      02-10-2021, 05:57 PM   #21
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Quote:
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That's odd.

But does a Check Control Message appear to give details?.
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      02-10-2021, 06:59 PM   #22
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Does it come up only when you're in "XtraBoost" mode? My understanding is that mode is only turned on in sport mode? But I don't have an LCI so I'm not sure. As I am convinced it has something to do with the extra demands for that mode.

Does the car tell you when that boost mode is and isn't available?

My MY2020 just shows "Boost" there where it will use the EV motor to deliver the rest of the car's HP. I assumed they added extra details to help you know when you're accessing the enhanced mode in the LCI.
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