E46 Owner: Why does my dash computer beep and tell me the temperature?

It is suggesting you be careful because there is likely to be ice on the reads.

Brilliant, thanks. Knew it was something simple.....no i can sleep in peace.

Your car is telling you that it is cold, andthere could be ice that has formed in all of the usual places.

Some people know all about ice, but are not aware that it might be cold enough for ice to form. The car knows how cold it is, and it knows that when it is about 36F outside in "normal" places, it could be cold enough in ice-favored locations for ice to form.

... unless you are driving at the time. It could be a deadly combination to be driving on icy roads, and in this case, the alarm could serve to wake you up.

R / John

They all do that sir. :-) My E39 in the UK does the same. It beeps if the outside temperature is 3 degrees Centigrade or lower when you start the car, and is meant to warn you that there might be ground frost, even though it might not actually be freezing. Mike.

The "beep" is just to make u aware that it is cold enough for ice to build up on the roads.. (frezzing temp.) i think the trigger temp is

-Dan

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

It is anything at or below 3C and it will happen if the temperature falls below that as you drive along. The actual temperature is displayed (so you see 1.5C when you start, but it could be -20C if you live in St. Petersburg.

This is normal operation.

Move to a hot country if you don't like it.

As you've already read it's to warn you that there may be ice/frost on the road and to drive with caution. My Z4 alerts me also at 37 degrees F. = 2.778 Celsius.

Sheesh. Every year.

Ever hear of a google search?

The traditional annual signal for *new* BMW *owners* to write to internet message boards around the world and ask, "Why does my car 'Ding' at me?"

Even my ratty old '88 does that.

-- C.R. Krieger

Even my '82 735i did that in 1985!

Only in 1985? What about 1984? 1986?

My E46 does it, standard feature - not sure if it can be switched off ?

My 307 used to just display a warning on the info display and before that my Mondeo had a flashing warning light that flashed for 0 secs between 3 or 1oC, then a constant light below 1oC.

Handy feature but the beep can be quite alarming - especially for me as the last time I heard such a beep for the first time in a car it was an airbag fault!

Didn't buy it until 1985, bought a new one in 1986...

Is it normal for this to continually beep? I'm talking about it beeping every 5 seconds or so for a good 20-30 mins.

Thanks

-Chris

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Abnormal and that means it's broken. Perhaps the temperature sensor itself, but also possibly the computer module.