BMW E46 12 Button Auto On-Off Climate Control HVAC Retrofit Pictorial DIY

[delmarco]

Upgrade your Old Style 10 Button Climate Control Unit to the new style Automatic Auto On-Off 12 Button Climate Control

Starting during the production month/year of 03/2003 BMW redesigned the Automatic HVAC Climate Control in the E46 BMW 3 Series cabin. The new style 12 Button units are plug and play swappable with the older style 10 Button units and will replace the older units completely.

If your 1998 to 03/2003 BMW E46 was bought secondhand and came with a new style unit this means that the original HVAC unit was replaced with a new style unit by the previous owner or if you find your 03/2003 on BMW E46 has the older unit then the same maybe true for you and the previous owner replaced the newer unit with an older style unit for whatever reasons.

VIDEO THREE: Comparing Physical Design of 10 and 12 Button Units.

VIDEO FOUR: Showing New 12 button style Climate Control.

Main Reasons to do this upgrade:

1. Aesthetics of button layout on new style units make more visual and functional sense.

Older 10 Button Style:

Newer 12 Button Style:

2. Due to the MUCH smaller footprint that the new style climate control uses in the radio/dash area cavity those looking to free up space for Navigation Retrofits, Dynavin and other wire-intensive double din projects will find lots more free space behind the dash with a new style control than the bulky older style.

3. It may add the Auto-Turn-On feature that the newer HVAC Climate Control have to your car. So when you enter the car the Climate Control will turn on by itself and automatically regulate the cabin temperature.

4. It is a relatively cheap upgrade. I got my new style unit in the forums classified for around $25 and you can find the new 12 button units on eBay from $10 and up for a good condition used one. Plus the DIY requires a basic screw driver, little car knowledge and takes minutes to complete.

Parts Number for new unit that I retrofitted into my car:

Parts Number for old unit that was in my car:

Parts Number with Production Date Guide for ALL YEARS E46 HVAC Units:

Everything you will need for the DIY:

Here are the basic steps to insure your installation goes as plan:

WARNING:

Before you proceed to disconnect the HVAC unit make sure that you unplug the battery or else the new unit will not work properly (don't ask how I found this out - lol ).

PART 1:

VIDEO ONE: Showing Old 10 button style Climate Control

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlBJFYmkGN4

VIDEO TWO: Showing New 12 button Style Pre-DIY.

PART 1 is continued below with PART 2 and PART 3....

Edited February 24, 2011 by delmarco

[RickyZ]

Excellent DIY as always dude but its not finished ?

[BadzMaru]

Already have the newer unit, but would be nice if the DIY has step by step on how to remove the existing unit out?

[El Turko]

Ive never seen the point in this, as im of the opinion the old one looks more modern

[delmarco]

Arghhhhhhh!!! for fcuk sakes e46zone moderators!!!

...I hate these DIY post approval delays in this web forum!!!

Excellent DIY as always dude but its not finished ?

Thanks but this forum is the only place in the Universe that has the DIY approval delay and I am on New York, USA time so it is difficult for me to keep checking the site to see if my DIY was approved and posted. I just woke up in New York yet it is Lunch time already in London.

Already have the newer unit, but would be nice if the DIY has step by step on how to remove the existing unit out?

Wait for it....wait for it...wait for it...now see below for the rest of the DIY!

Ive never seen the point in this, as im of the opinion the old one looks more modern

It's not about looks as much as adding the auto on - auto off climate function for those whose older unit do not have that feature.

AND NEXT TIME CAN PLEASE CAN WE KEEP IT IN OUR PANTS AND WAIT UNTIL THE ENTIRE DIY IS FINISHED BEFORE POSTING COMMENTS!!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 1 Continued...

If your car has the regular BMW E46 Business CD53 or Cassette Radio then the removal of the old HVAC will be as shown below.

Follow these steps:

You do not have to remove the upper vent-this picture below was borrowed from my Radio upgrade DIY thread. Again you DO NOT have to remove the upper vent for this HVAC upgrade DIY:

If you have an in-dash factory navigation or double din unit then the removal of your old E46 HVAC will be different. Follow these steps below:

Edited February 24, 2011 by delmarco

[delmarco]

PART 2:

PART 3:

When said and done:

[RickyZ]

Another awesome DIY top marks dude

[Sam]

Delmarco, I've explained this before. Alot of newbies will post their questions in the DIY section, because they don't bother to read the rules and forum descriptions. This causes us a fair bit of extra work.

It also allows us to control what the DIY list has in it, not just "how to remove the fuel cap". I also said before, if you want to get it all in 1 post, post it in a different section and get a mod to move it to the DIY section.

[BadzMaru]

Relax Delmarco... don't get too worked up, your DIY thread have always been useful and full of information... I never knew how to take the HVAC unit out but now I know!...

[bobdisk]

Excellent diy Now I know how to get into the dash. But, has my old syle got an extra function others havent? Or am I missing something? It always comes on as I left it, that is, if ac or climate or anything was on when I finished the previous journey, they start up when I turn on the ign. If anything was off, it stays off.

[shrink]

yeah not sure what they mean by newer auto on climate... i set mine to 20 degrees and auto.. and leave it there. If i start the car on a cold day, the car automatically tries to get the car up to 20 degrees... not sure what functionality this newer unit brings?

unless they mean it automatically turns on the air conditioning as needed to get the car cool, as by default, my E46 wont turn on the air con, until i tell it to.

at which point, it would be the air con thats automatic, not the climate control, which is always active anyway

[Rob-]

Nice write up

[RickyZ]

yeah not sure what they mean by newer auto on climate... i set mine to 20 degrees and auto.. and leave it there. If i start the car on a cold day, the car automatically tries to get the car up to 20 degrees... not sure what functionality this newer unit brings?

unless they mean it automatically turns on the air conditioning as needed to get the car cool, as by default, my E46 wont turn on the air con, until i tell it to.

at which point, it would be the air con thats automatic, not the climate control, which is always active anyway

OP's post says it may add it, as some E46s do come with the auto feature