AC button help

quad_drive · 10-25-2022, 09:33 AM

Can someone explain how this button works? I am confused by what the button is doing! Sometimes I see AC in RED, then AC is White. Sometime SYNC showed up! Thanks…

Spencer518 · 10-25-2022, 09:50 AM

If you push the top of the button you will bring up the HVAC menu. When you push the bottom of the button it toggles between AC on and AC off. If you turn the AC off and the climate system is synchronized left/right/rear, you will see Sync in the display.

Qsilver7 · 10-25-2022, 10:07 AM

Red & white? What time of day are you seeing it change? White should be daylight...red should be dusk to dawn (evening).

This should also be explained in the various owner manuals. The one embedded in iDrive is easy to use and even has videos for multiple topics...and also has multiple search methods. There's also the online/app version...and the paperback version.

There are videos on Youtube, as well:

quad_drive · 10-25-2022, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spencer518

If you push the top of the button you will bring up the HVAC menu. When you push the bottom of the button it toggles between AC on and AC off. If you turn the AC off and the climate system is synchronized left/right/rear, you will see Sync in the display.

I see what you are saying. I tested it out. But, my confusion is AC and SYNC are not mutually exclusive. I can have both AC ON and SYNC at the same time, right? I see what the bottom button is doing now with the AC menu on the screen. It seems to me, AC and SYNC should be 2 separate buttons like most cars.

TurtleBoy · 10-25-2022, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quad_drive

I see what you are saying. I tested it out. But, my confusion is AC and SYNC are not mutually exclusive. I can have both AC ON and SYNC at the same time, right? I see what the bottom button is doing now with the AC menu on the screen. It seems to me, AC and SYNC should be 2 separate buttons like most cars.

The button has nothing to do with SYNC. When you see SYNC, that means the AC is off and the climate zones are synchronized. When AC is on, which should be all of the time to get the best out of the system, then AC is displayed. You can use the menu or voice to Synchronize.

E91toG05 · 10-25-2022, 01:30 PM

Or set a favorite button to synchronize…. Annoying that they do not have a dedicated button for it.

nZtiZia · 10-25-2022, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quad_drive

I see what you are saying. I tested it out. But, my confusion is AC and SYNC are not mutually exclusive. I can have both AC ON and SYNC at the same time, right? I see what the bottom button is doing now with the AC menu on the screen. It seems to me, AC and SYNC should be 2 separate buttons like most cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by E91toG05

Or set a favorite button to synchronize…. Annoying that they do not have a dedicated button for it.

i wish BMW had the same feature like my old Audi that syncs by holding the driver's side AUTO button. No need to have or program another button because the AUTO button is already there

quad_drive · 10-25-2022, 02:34 PM

I think I understand it now... The SYNC display confused me, when the AC is toggled to Off. I thought somehow the button can control 'SYNC' function which I use a lot because my kid like to mess with the rear HVAC control, I didn't want to turn off the rear HVAC control, sometimes others may use it.

Again, why is the display of SYNC and AC can't co-exist is beyond me.

Thanks for all the help.

Guy Fleegman · 10-25-2022, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

The button has nothing to do with SYNC. When you see SYNC, that means the AC is off and the climate zones are synchronized. When AC is on, which should be all of the time to get the best out of the system, then AC is displayed. You can use the menu or voice to Synchronize.

There are times when we prefer to have unconditioned outside air circulating, but for various reasons don't want the windows open. Unnecessary use of the AC also wastes battery power in electric mode.

We've been trying to duplicate the "vent" setting my older cars had by turning AC off and adjusting the fan controls. It's not clear to me what impact changing the temperature would have -- we haven't tried fooling with that.

Any thoughts?

jad03060 · 10-25-2022, 04:53 PM

Just be aware that opening windows in lieu of running the a/c uses more power. The cross-over seems to be about 25-mph...faster than that the induced drag uses more energy than the sleeker body and using a/c.

You should be able to turn the a/c off and retain the venting...haven't tried that though.

nZtiZia · 10-25-2022, 05:02 PM

i believe that turning AC 'off' will disable anti-fogging sensors

Shllshck · 10-25-2022, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guy Fleegman

There are times when we prefer to have unconditioned outside air circulating, but for various reasons don't want the windows open. Unnecessary use of the AC also wastes battery power in electric mode.

We've been trying to duplicate the "vent" setting my older cars had by turning AC off and adjusting the fan controls. It's not clear to me what impact changing the temperature would have -- we haven't tried fooling with that.

Any thoughts?

My old 3 series and current F36 4 series, you can open the vent and switch the AC off. I haven’t played with the vent setting enough on our new X6. Will have to play around and check on that.

TurtleBoy · 10-25-2022, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guy Fleegman

There are times when we prefer to have unconditioned outside air circulating, but for various reasons don't want the windows open. Unnecessary use of the AC also wastes battery power in electric mode.

We've been trying to duplicate the "vent" setting my older cars had by turning AC off and adjusting the fan controls. It's not clear to me what impact changing the temperature would have -- we haven't tried fooling with that.

Any thoughts?

Having the AC on does not mean that it is running. If it is not calling for AC then it is not using any more energy, at least on ICE.

I would suggest keeping it on AC and make sure your air flow is set to outside. You could turn off the AC and do the same but it of course wouldn't get much cooler should the cabin start heating up.

Guy Fleegman · 10-26-2022, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Having the AC on does not mean that it is running. If it is not calling for AC then it is not using any more energy, at least on ICE.

I would suggest keeping it on AC and make sure your air flow is set to outside. You could turn off the AC and do the same but it of course wouldn't get much cooler should the cabin start heating up.

I suppose. It's just that when it's 70 degrees outside and very comfortable and we just want a little of that nice mountain air flowing...this seems like a complicated way to achieve something so intuitively simple.

namitj5X5 · 11-03-2023, 05:16 AM

Hi All,

This is my first post on this forum. I recently welcomed home the all the X5. I was going through the manual and found two interesting buttons present that I have never seen on any X5 video i have watched. They are placed right next to the the front and rear defogger buttons (which are underneath the central AC vents). I have attached the image. Would appreciate the inputs of the members here.

Thanks!

Heavyd · 11-03-2023, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by namitj5X5

Hi All,

This is my first post on this forum. I recently welcomed home the all the X5. I was going through the manual and found two interesting buttons present that I have never seen on any X5 video i have watched. They are placed right next to the the front and rear defogger buttons (which are underneath the central AC vents). I have attached the image. Would appreciate the inputs of the members here.

Thanks!

I don't have these buttons.

Qsilver7 · 11-03-2023, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by namitj5X5

...I was going through the manual and found two interesting buttons present that I have never seen on any X5 video i have watched. They are placed right next to the the front and rear defogger buttons (which are underneath the central AC vents). I have attached the image. Would appreciate the inputs of the members here.

Thanks!

What did the MANUAL say they were for? And what do you think we can give you over what the manual said?

Many of us probably don't know what they are for...never seen them...so if you can reveal what the manual said they were for...you'd be educating many BMW owners that have never seen them before.

BTW, the resolution of the pic is so fuzzy...I can't tell what the icon on the left is (even after enlarging the image). The icon on the right looks like a fan speed button...is that what it says it is in the manual?

namitj5X5 · 11-05-2023, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

What did the MANUAL say they were for? And what do you think we can give you over what the manual said?

Many of us probably don't know what they are for...never seen them...so if you can reveal what the manual said they were for...you'd be educating many BMW owners that have never seen them before.

BTW, the resolution of the pic is so fuzzy...I can't tell what the icon on the left is (even after enlarging the image). The icon on the right looks like a fan speed button...is that what it says it is in the manual?

Unfortunately, the manual does not say anything about these two buttons. Which is why I was confused. Also because, my car doesn't come with them. If I had to take a guess, these buttons would have something to do with the BMW Ambient Air Package control. Sorry for the bad image. It was the clearest I could find in the manual. The icon on the left is the same that BMW has for its heated seats. Curly arrows pointing up.

Qsilver7 · 11-06-2023, 09:18 AM

Thanks for the update. Hopefully someone that has them will chime in with more info.

walketed · 11-06-2023, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by namitj5X5

Hi All,

This is my first post on this forum. I recently welcomed home the all the X5. I was going through the manual and found two interesting buttons present that I have never seen on any X5 video i have watched. They are placed right next to the the front and rear defogger buttons (which are underneath the central AC vents). I have attached the image. Would appreciate the inputs of the members here.

Thanks!

It's not a button. It's an LED, in my case when I precondition the car and the AC is on, the LED turns blue.

Heavyd · 11-06-2023, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by namitj5X5

Unfortunately, the manual does not say anything about these two buttons. Which is why I was confused. Also because, my car doesn't come with them. If I had to take a guess, these buttons would have something to do with the BMW Ambient Air Package control. Sorry for the bad image. It was the clearest I could find in the manual. The icon on the left is the same that BMW has for its heated seats. Curly arrows pointing up.

I have ambiant air and I don’t have these buttons.

namitj5X5 · 11-07-2023, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walketed

It's not a button. It's an LED, in my case when I precondition the car and the AC is on, the LED turns blue.

Oh! I gotta check it out then. Maybe there is a different location for it on my car. Could be on the screen. And these could be exclusive to the PHEV version

10-25-2022, 09:33 AM	#1
quad_drive Second Lieutenant 227 Rep 291 Posts Drives: 23 X5 45e; 20 Cayenne S; 17 Q7 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: No.VA iTrader: (0)	AC button help Can someone explain how this button works? I am confused by what the button is doing! Sometimes I see AC in RED, then AC is White. Sometime SYNC showed up! Thanks… Attached Images
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10-25-2022, 09:50 AM	#2
Spencer518 First Lieutenant 200 Rep 353 Posts Drives: 2021 X5 45e Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Albany, NY iTrader: (0)	If you push the top of the button you will bring up the HVAC menu. When you push the bottom of the button it toggles between AC on and AC off. If you turn the AC off and the climate system is synchronized left/right/rear, you will see Sync in the display.
	Appreciate 1 altern814.50 Quote

10-25-2022, 10:07 AM	#3
Qsilver7 Major General 4504 Rep 7,548 Posts Drives: F06 650ix GC / F15 X5 50i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Indiana, USA iTrader: (0)	Red & white? What time of day are you seeing it change? White should be daylight...red should be dusk to dawn (evening). This should also be explained in the various owner manuals. The one embedded in iDrive is easy to use and even has videos for multiple topics...and also has multiple search methods. There's also the online/app version...and the paperback version. There are videos on Youtube, as well: __________________ 2015 F06 650ix Gran Coupe`(Moonstone/Cohiba Brown)\| 2014 F15 X5 50i MSport (Space Gray/Mocha) Become a BMW CCA member! Click HERE to join and feel free to use my BMW CCA member #191509 as a referral.
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10-25-2022, 01:30 PM	#6
E91toG05 Captain 348 Rep 623 Posts Drives: 2022 X5 45e Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (0)	Or set a favorite button to synchronize…. Annoying that they do not have a dedicated button for it.
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10-25-2022, 02:34 PM	#8
quad_drive Second Lieutenant 227 Rep 291 Posts Drives: 23 X5 45e; 20 Cayenne S; 17 Q7 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: No.VA iTrader: (0)	I think I understand it now... The SYNC display confused me, when the AC is toggled to Off. I thought somehow the button can control 'SYNC' function which I use a lot because my kid like to mess with the rear HVAC control, I didn't want to turn off the rear HVAC control, sometimes others may use it. Again, why is the display of SYNC and AC can't co-exist is beyond me. Thanks for all the help.
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10-25-2022, 04:53 PM	#10
jad03060 Major General 3214 Rep 6,883 Posts Drives: X5 45e Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: NH iTrader: (0)	Just be aware that opening windows in lieu of running the a/c uses more power. The cross-over seems to be about 25-mph...faster than that the induced drag uses more energy than the sleeker body and using a/c. You should be able to turn the a/c off and retain the venting...haven't tried that though.
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10-25-2022, 05:02 PM	#11
nZtiZia Major General 4727 Rep 8,803 Posts Drives: eVeRyOnE mAD! Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: neither here nor there... iTrader: (0) Garage List 2021 BMW X5 xDrive 45e [9.88]	i believe that turning AC 'off' will disable anti-fogging sensors
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11-03-2023, 05:16 AM	#15
namitj5X5 Registered 0 Rep 3 Posts Drives: Jaguar XE25T, BMW X5, Ecosport Join Date: Nov 2023 Location: India iTrader: (0)	Hi All, This is my first post on this forum. I recently welcomed home the all the X5. I was going through the manual and found two interesting buttons present that I have never seen on any X5 video i have watched. They are placed right next to the the front and rear defogger buttons (which are underneath the central AC vents). I have attached the image. Would appreciate the inputs of the members here. Thanks! Attached Images
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11-06-2023, 09:18 AM	#19
Qsilver7 Major General 4504 Rep 7,548 Posts Drives: F06 650ix GC / F15 X5 50i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Indiana, USA iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the update. Hopefully someone that has them will chime in with more info. __________________ 2015 F06 650ix Gran Coupe`(Moonstone/Cohiba Brown)\| 2014 F15 X5 50i MSport (Space Gray/Mocha) Become a BMW CCA member! Click HERE to join and feel free to use my BMW CCA member #191509 as a referral.
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