2009 X5 A/C Problem !

[JRX5]

Hello,finally winter is over here in Canada , so it's time to turn on the A/C, and for my surprise, no COLD air is coming out from the vents. Last summer worked fine.

Any quick check that I can do ? or I have to go and see the dealer ?

By the way, anyone knows a good garage in the Montreal area with experience in BMW ?

Thanks in advance.

[secretariat]

Same thing to my 2008 x5, they said I must have a leak. But they can't find it. They used dye and couldn't find it.I just had the recall done to my car, and I'll bet they did something to the freon.

[brian5]

Had the same problem last year. In my case, the refrigerant was low as the condensor was leaking. The condensor was replaced under my extended warranty.

There are a number of reasons that your a/c might not be working. I think you have should have someone check it out.

[JRX5]

When I press the A/C button, no change in the engine sound, like the compressor is not engaging.
Many different possibilities I think: Bad compressor, bad relay, no R134 in the system because of a leaking, any other?
I use a gauge to see if I can measure the amount of R134 in the system but I don't know how to read the result .
Temperature outside was 10 C or 50 F.
Anyone knows if this is a good reading?
Thanks.

[skunkd]

I'm having the same issue. Just tried my a/c for the first time this season and nothing.... Like you said when I turn on the a/c it's like nothing engages...

Any resolution yet? That seems like its on the low side of full. I hear bmws like to run near the max side of the blue

[JRX5]

No resolution yet ! Maybe garage tomorrow. I will post any news. I hope that it will be only a freon level issue.

[JRX5]

Problem solved ! was too low on freon, garage did the leak test for about 10 min and no leak found. So he put 700 gr of freon and the compressor came back to life. $70-
The only Q that I have right now it's why a 2009 was so low on freon if there's no leak?maybe is a very small leak.

[skunkd]

Seems to be a major issue with all x5's we should each get in touch with BMW NA and complain... I'm gonna check my freon level tomorrow thank you for keeping us posted.

Still If we have a slow leak this is going to be a recurring issue. At least we can refill it ourselves, but like you said... for a 4-5 year old vehicle, this should not be an issue at all!!

[Sylvan Lake V35]

I started my own thread but this seems more active so sorry to hijack but do you guys get any cold air at all? I get cold air when I am moving but stop and go traffic the AC kicks out and it starts to blow warm air again. Or sitting in the drive way in blows hot air until I start rolling down my street even if I am creeping along it starts to blow cold. You can tell the smell even changes when it quits blowing cold it goes to a slight mildew like smell as soon as the AC kicks out the in cabin air filter was supposedly changed recently X5 = one head ache after another

[skunkd]

It's to the point where i don't get any cold air moving or stationary now.

[skunkd]

Ok so I went and picked up some freon at the store and hooked up the included gauge... The reading was around 25 which was the perfect level for running on MAX A/C mode at the ambient temp for today.

But only hot air was coming out of the vents...

I read the instructions and they said to check if the compressor was engaged and I didn't think it was so I added freon even though the level was right. As soon as I added about 5 -10 seconds worth of freon the compressor kicked on and the level dropped to 0. The car was actually completely empty.

So from empty I added ~900 grams of freon and it's still on the low side of the full range but the air is ICE COLD now! thank god that was it but that stuff is pricey ended up costing me 70 bucks and I could have still used another 25 dollars worth.

anyway I'm glad it's fixed and I hope this stuff stops the leak as well since it includes a small amount of stop leak with it.

Anyway simple fix. The low side A/C port is the smaller connector on the thicker tube. The right of the 2 when looking at it from the front on US models on the passenger side.

[Cas74]

Originally Posted by JRX5

Hello,finally winter is over here in Canada , so it's time to turn on the A/C, and for my surprise, no COLD air is coming out from the vents. Last summer worked fine.

Any quick check that I can do ? or I have to go and see the dealer ?

By the way, anyone knows a good garage in the Montreal area with experience in BMW ?

Thanks in advance.

I have a 2006 3.0 X5 and had the same problem last year. I took the vehicle to the dealer and they said it was low on refrigerant. The system was recharged and ran like new again but this year it seems to take a while to get cold. The dealer put a dye in the system last year to see where the leak is coming from but couldn't find it.

[Cure4All]

Had the same problem. In my case, the refrigerant was very low and dye added to check for leaks. The temperature will be in the 80s so I will test more this holiday weekend!

Total Cost $300 at the dealer

[///SAL]

When i took my car to bmw for dinan tune a couple months ago i was told that my ac works fine but we could add something into to make it work better and i said no problem, later on i look in the bill and it said they added arctic blast into the ac, now whats arctic blast?

[blue dragon]

No such thing a low on refrigerant with no leaks. Its a closed system, either the leak is in the evaporator under the dash or somewhere else where it can't easily be seen.

[PatX5]

Just had this problem and surprised to find mine was not the first one . Went on a trip on this past Thur and it was 80+ degree outside, pretty hot. I turned on the air, no cold air coming out, but rather pretty hot one; tried several times this way or that way, no use, and gave up. Will take the car to a shop (dealer's shop closed on Sunday). Don't know why this happened. Hope the problem is not a serious one and not break my bank account.

[bmwx5er]

Originally Posted by PatX5

Just had this problem and surprised to find mine was not the first one . Went on a trip on this past Thur and it was 80+ degree outside, pretty hot. I turned on the air, no cold air coming out, but rather pretty hot one; tried several times this way or that way, no use, and gave up. Will take the car to a shop (dealer's shop closed on Sunday). Don't know why this happened. Hope the problem is not a serious one and not break my bank account.

Happened to me recently. Turned out to be a malfunctioning "temperature sensor". Got it fixed 2 days before warranty expiration!

[BMWX5girl]

I used my car this morning and had no problem. I get an in my car and no ac at all. Not even a little. What could cause this to happen in a matter of hours and so suddenly? Any ideas?

[jandref321]

If it's under warranty take it to the dealer. If not then buy a refrigerant set with gauge, tubing, can with sealant. I'd try that first then if there is plenty of freon you'll need to take it to an AC specialist. It's big money to have them trouble shoot which is why I say try the sealant first. $400 vs $40