Heating and A/C Problems

[Mike Franklin]

Hi - my Grenadier's heating and A/C system does not work well. It has been in to the dealer already and they have not been able to solve the problem. Almost no heat passed in to cabin even when on full and a/c cooling is poor.

Anybody had similar issues and solved the problem?

 

[OZZA]

Had ongoing issues with the aircon leaking water into the passenger footwell (RHD). It was checked but the problem persisted (heating and cooling good)- eventually the unit replaced. Heating hasn’t been tested yet, but the aircon has a mind of its own - sometimes it performs well, but most of the time it’s mediocre. I’ve also noticed the coolant level dropping and have had to top up to about circa 2 litres so far. Still monitoring the situation.
Good news is no more water leaking into passenger footwell.

 

[John Z]

Hi,
I've been reading the forums a bit, is the issue with the heat really that bad? I keep seeing people say it's software but then I see posts about air in the system and leaking expansion tanks.

Was this issue that came day 1 or did it take time to manifest?

 

[Cheshire cat]

Topped up my high temp tank in the summer. I note it is now well down again. Either a leak, or air that was previously in the system has been replaced with fluid. Will top up again and monitor.
In the meantime, the best I can say of the HVAC is that it works, sort of. Certainly doesn't drive me to distraction but without doubt I would have expected better.

 

[CRH]

Hi - my Grenadier's heating and A/C system does not work well. It has been in to the dealer already and they have not been able to solve the problem. Almost no heat passed in to cabin even when on full and a/c cooling is poor.

Anybody had similar issues and solved the problem?

It's fixable, mine was cold to start with garage had a good and still cold. The dealer gained more experience and it improved. You need to search the forum for the bleeding procedure so you can do it yourself at home. Always carry coolant so you can top up both tanks when required. If it's cold then air is in the system. It will take time to get all the air out and if your dealer is a long distance from you then home bleeding is what you need to learn.

 

[CRH]

Hi,
I've been reading the forums a bit, is the issue with the heat really that bad? I keep seeing people say it's software but then I see posts about air in the system and leaking expansion tanks.

Was this issue that came day 1 or did it take time to manifest?

Software is an issue as is the system itself, having air in it is the main problem. Once you have sorted that then you can learn to deal with the quirks of the Software.

 

[Shopkeep]

It's fixable, mine was cold to start with garage had a good and still cold. The dealer gained more experience and it improved. You need to search the forum for the bleeding procedure so you can do it yourself at home. Always carry coolant so you can top up both tanks when required. If it's cold then air is in the system. It will take time to get all the air out and if your dealer is a long distance from you then home bleeding is what you need to learn.

This. Bleed it, drive it, bleed it, drive it. Then maybe bleed it again.

 

[Skydance]

We’re all very tolerant on this group . If it was Chinese made, what would have happened.

 

[Shopkeep]

We’re all very tolerant on this group . If it was Chinese made, what would have happened.

If it was Chinese it probably would just work.

More seriously here is my theory on the heating system. These engines were obviously designed for use in BMW vehicles, the interior HVAC systems in those vehicles sit much lower in the cabin compared to the Grenadier (where it sits unusually high in relation to the engine). For some reason either due to system capacity or the way they are commissioned the coolant loop has air still in the interior section when they leave the factory. If your dealer is keen and committed they bleed the coolant system repeatedly during the pre delivery process. If they are inexperienced or just DGAF they don’t bleed it and deliver as is with air in the loop. I could hear the air bubbling in my HVAC unit in winter after startup, it would subtly gurgle (kind of sounded like water was cascading down behind my centre console). I would not get any heat for the first 15 minutes of a drive, just the noise. The following winter I got jack of it and bled the coolant system repeatedly, topping it up when required. End result was no more noise or gurgling from the HVAC unit and heat starts after just a couple of minutes every time.

As for the AC unit mine works fine once I figured out what settings gave me what I wanted in summer (front vent / never use Auto / don’t use fan 4).

 

[Jeremy996]

No heat is usually a lack of coolant/needs bleeding from cold and topping up. It can be a stuck flap in the HVAC box, but that is nowhere near as common.

Coolant you can fix, (if your dealer is miles away), anything else is going to be a dealer fix and they may need to be bullied to do it right. "They all do that, Sir" is not customer service, but a lazy/incompetent/disinterested dealer.

 

[landmannnn]

If it was Chinese it probably would just work.

More seriously here is my theory on the heating system. These engines were obviously designed for use in BMW vehicles, the interior HVAC systems in those vehicles sit much lower in the cabin compared to the Grenadier (where it sits unusually high in relation to the engine). For some reason either due to system capacity or the way they are commissioned the coolant loop has air still in the interior section when they leave the factory. If your dealer is keen and committed they bleed the coolant system repeatedly during the pre delivery process. If they are inexperienced or just DGAF they don’t bleed it and deliver as is with air in the loop. I could hear the air bubbling in my HVAC unit in winter after startup, it would subtly gurgle (kind of sounded like water was cascading down behind my centre console). I would not get any heat for the first 15 minutes of a drive, just the noise. The following winter I got jack of it and bled the coolant system repeatedly, topping it up when required. End result was no more noise or gurgling from the HVAC unit and heat starts after just a couple of minutes every time.

As for the AC unit mine works fine once I figured out what settings gave me what I wanted in summer (front vent / never use Auto / don’t use fan 4).

I have mentioned this in other threads, the IG HVAC is lifted from the X5.

If you were to have a search, many X5 owners have reported identical issues with their HVAC. Bimmerforum for example. Typically AC not cold enough, blowing hot in rear and cold in the front, auto setting not working consistently and so on.

I don't think we can entirely blame Ineos.

 

[Shopkeep]

I have mentioned this in other threads, the IG HVAC is lifted from the X5.

If you were to have a search, many X5 owners have reported identical issues with their HVAC. Bimmerforum for example. Typically AC not cold enough, blowing hot in rear and cold in the front, auto setting not working consistently and so on.

I don't think we can entirely blame Ineos.

I bought it from Ineos so I probably could blame them? (Not really as my heating is now sorted). Anyway, grabbing your point and running with it BMW already has an iffy heating system that may be exacerbated by the implementation in the Grenadier? The Grenadier engine is tilted backwards, the radiator is considerably taller and the base of it sits much lower than the engine (and than in the X5) and the highest point of interior heating loop is higher than in any BMW (in relation to the engine)? This means the initial filling and bleeding of the cooling system is more challenging than in a BMW (who may have advised them on the process?)

 

[Jeremy996]

You appear to have put your finger on the issue as that agrees with a conversation I had with one of the engineers at an Ineos event, there is not enough vertical height to get all of the air out of the cooling system easily. (And why I am so keen to keep my cooling system topped up and leak free).

 

[Krabby]

Can they somehow be vacuum bled?

 

[CRH]

Can they somehow be vacuum bled?

I was told by an Ineos technician that it could be

 

[Krabby]

And that, in theory, solves a big chuck of the heating issues?

 

[ADVAW8S]

On Tuesday, I checked my lower tank and it was at Min and my upper tank was just below min. Went and got H-12 coolant and filled them both up. I was not having heating issues but wanted to check coolant levels now that I have been running the heater more during the winter. My truck was serviced in summer to deal with limited cooling. It was found my upper tank and tubes were leaking and they were replaced. I think all the air is now out of system which required me to fill the tanks. Also, it was taking about 15 minutes before heat and now it is down to less than 5.

 

[Jeremy996]

Can they somehow be vacuum bled?

They can be but it is far from foolproof, (No shit, Sherlock!)

 

[Skydance]

On Tuesday, I checked my lower tank and it was at Min and my upper tank was just below min. Went and got H-12 coolant and filled them both up. I was not having heating issues but wanted to check coolant levels now that I have been running the heater more during the winter. My truck was serviced in summer to deal with limited cooling. It was found my upper tank and tubes were leaking and they were replaced. I think all the air is now out of system which required me to fill the tanks. Also, it was taking about 15 minutes before heat and now it is down to less than 5.

I’ve hear a lot of reservoir tanks and pipes leaking. This is probably due to too much air and coolant causing it to leak out of the joints.

I had white residue on my reservoir tanks on the weld joints. Wiped it away, checked levels and never leaked again. This was only having the system bled twice and hopefully that was the last of it. My question is do they not have a pressure relief expansion, escape valve of some sort.

Heating and A/C working ok but not perfect.