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Re: HVAC: My two cents on these systems (archive)
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Posted by callan campbell on October 03, 2000 at 23:31:47:

In Reply to: HVAC: How could BMW do this? posted by Hans on October 01, 2000 at 00:48:44:

BMW didn't give the US a comparable A/C cooling system like most of the domestic cars have until the advent of the E-32 Sevens with their larger HVAC AND Radiators. Most of the older BMWs were expecting the driver to be at high speeds, not crawling around at slow traffic[which IS where alot of US driving occurs] If you have lots of ram air going across the A/C condensor of an older Seven, they put out freezer temps out of the vents with a good, maint. car.

Just don't expect this eff. level when you start to slow down. I've owned a few BMWs, and worked on all the BMW heater systems that the US got from 2002s to the '99 models. For an automatic system like the first Sevens, at least we can do almost all the diag. and repair work ourselves. Try owning a '88-95 Seven Series that won't run the electric vent motors right, and then not have any dealer you talk to willing to venture a true "end of repair cost total". I walked one of our regular BBs through his family's Seven over a month of dialogue/e-mails to figure out what ailed the car. He had the dash out TWICE!

The moral of the story is that the vacuum system was the last of the Automatic Climate Controls that BMW sent to the US that is easy to repair. Every later system depends on much more intergration with the current diagnostic machine in the dealers bay. A simple meter won't cut it.
At least with vacuum, you apply it or create it for testing , real cheap. Can't pull a $70K tester or one of the now obsolete hand held units out of our pockets at home , can we?

Bemoan the now old vacuum system, then look at a new car, have fun with that, esp the software upgrades you don't get unless you buy a new ECU to plug in for weird interm. problems that crop up.

On a bad day I have hated the vacuum system as much as anyone,I just know all the new alternatives and their problems too well. Cable is great, simple, direct. Don't expect the gadget happy general public to allow it back into a high-line BMW like a Seven anytime soon. That went out with the '80-81 Sevens for the US. We didn't get individual vent control back until 1995!
Oh well, time to end this rant.

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