Heater Issues

[bigroo42]

I took my M3 into the SC after reviewing posts about people having the same problems i had (have). The heater, on auto, on hi doesn't blow that hot. and for whatever reason only blows in the floorboards. so, i turn it on manual and turn it to hi and 10 blowing just out of the vent. it blows about 75 degrees. mind you this is after the car has been driving for 20 minutes or so. so, i took it in, explained the problem...they ran all the computer tests and basically said "well it passed all the tests-no isses. and it's blowing hot for us." which, surprisingly it is. however, like clockwork, later that day it wouldn't blow hot.

so, i'm deciding whether i should force the issue with the SC or just be content with the fact that the heater is just not that great.

What do yall do to maximize the heater? auto on hi (even though it's only blowing in the floor) auto on 81? manual on high? I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Lasttoy]

Do u have a thermometer in the vent? Mine has never topped 80. If it's really cold? U have to turn it on 15 before you go out.
I live in Florida, so it's never cold. But I was in DC, it's the same. I dont know what folks have in Minnesota or Michigan? But it takes awhile for mine to get up to temp.

 

[OCR1]

I find the seat heaters on high are so warm that I don't really need to rely on the heating system in the car. But then again I live in Southern California so my experience may not be relevant here.

 

[morningstar]

I think it takes some time to warm up too, but I also have never run mine over 75 degrees. I keep it at 67 once I get the cabin warmed up a bit. I use it on auto and just change the temp up and down as I see fit. Generally preheating it on 72 before I leave and then switching it to 67 once I enter the car. It's actually saved into my settings at 67 so I don't even have to mess with it. It's been pretty cold here (Indiana) this last week, but I never felt like the car didn't get warm enough. Today it warmed up to 45 outside and I had to turn the heat down because it got too warm in the car with the sun beaming into it and me still wearing my winter coat. I wish I got more heat on my feet actually. I feel it on my right foot, but not my left so my left foot is usually the only part of me that's cold in the car. LOL

 

[smatthew]

Can you try turning on the front defrost? Press the button twice - once gets you cold defrost, twice gets you hot defrost. Let me know if you think the heater is working enough.

I think the car just economizes the heat to save range. No need to blow 100 degree air to heat a car up 2 more degrees.

 

[bigroo42]

this makes a lot of sense.

I think the car just economizes the heat to save range. No need to blow 100 degree air to heat a car up 2 more degrees.

this makes a ton of sense. i would *expect the heater to blow 81 degree air when set to 81. But it makes more sense that it would simply blow warm air (maybe 76 -78 degree air) to slowly increase the temp to 81. i did temp the air with a laser thermometer (dont' know the technical name for it) but the tech at the SC said "thats not a reliable way to temp the air temp.". hmm. ok. welp it what our hvac guy uses to temp our a/c at work and they're a multi billion dollar maintenence company. anywho. it's all a moot point now that the SC said 'nothing wrong with it - have a nice day". i'll just have to add this to the VERY small list of 'cons' i have when/if people ask me.

 

[Magnets!]

I had a similar issue but with the AC in the summer. Does your 'keep climate on' work? And the temp control from the app? If not, you probably had what I did, which is a bad temp/humidity sensor.

 

[bigroo42]

I had a similar issue but with the AC in the summer. Does your 'keep climate on' work? And the temp control from the app? If not, you probably had what I did, which is a bad temp/humidity sensor.

yea both of those work. i assume that if i had some bad hardware that would come up in their scan they did. ah well

 

[mswlogo]

I'd get Scan My Tesla setup and then you can determine if it's intentional or a defect.
I suspect Auto might be doing some energy conservation. My Volt certainly does. As soon as I hit Auto the "Eco" button lights up.

 

[bigroo42]

I'd get Scan My Tesla setup and then you can determine if it's intentional or a defect.
I suspect Auto might be doing some energy conservation. My Volt certainly does. As soon as I hit Auto the "Eco" button lights up.

scan my telsa... tell me more. is this an app? unfortunately, i'm on android so ive found the app selection very minimal. thanks in advance!

 

[Msjulie]

Scan My Tesla (OBDII) Install

scan my tesla

You're in luck, it's android only at the moment