BMW X7 Climate Control Failure, Temp Sensor Suspect

Hey! I had a similar issue with my 2017 BMW X5 last summer (I have some experience working on cars, but mostly basic maintenance). The symptoms were exactly the same, climate control went completely unresponsive. Initially thought it was the sensor too, but turned out to be a faulty wiring connection to the climate control module. Took it to my regular workshop and they diagnosed it pretty quickly. They found a damaged cable connection that was causing the whole system to malfunction. Total repair was 95 Euro and they had it fixed in about 2 hours. What's the mileage on your X7? Also, have you noticed any other electrical issues before this started happening? Sometimes these problems can be related to other electrical gremlins in BMWs (had this happen with my 's X3 too). Let me know these details and I might be able to share more specific insights.

Thanks for sharing that info! My X7 just hit 130209 KM and had its last service about 3 months ago. Actually, now that you mention electrical issues, I've noticed the parking sensors acting a bit weird lately, they sometimes give false alerts. Not sure if it's connected, but maybe there's a bigger electrical issue going on? The climate control problem just started this week, completely out of the blue. Did your workshop mention if this is a common issue with newer BMWs? I'm hoping it's just a wiring issue like yours was, rather than having to replace the entire module.

Oh wow, that's really interesting about your parking sensors acting up too! You know, after I had my X5 fixed, I remembered having similar ghost alerts from my parking sensors about a month before the climate control went crazy. My mechanic actually mentioned that these issues can be related, something about the wiring harness degrading in certain spots affecting multiple systems. In my case, they found corroded connectors in the main wiring harness, which was causing these unusual electrical problems. While they were fixing the climate control wiring, they also checked the rest of the connections and found a few other spots that needed attention. The whole diagnosis and repair took a bit longer than expected (about 3 hours total), but it was worth it because all the little electrical gremlins disappeared afterwards. If you're getting similar symptoms to what I had, I'd definitely mention the parking sensor issue when you take it in. Could save some diagnostic time if they know to check the whole harness. These newer BMWs can be tricky with electrical stuff, my mechanic said he's seen quite a few X5s and X7s come in with similar issues around the 120-150k mark. Keep us posted on what they find! Would be really helpful to know if it's the same issue as mine.

Thanks so much for the detailed response! That's super helpful, especially about the connection between the parking sensors and climate control issues. I just called my workshop and managed to get an appointment for tomorrow morning. I mentioned both problems to them, and they seemed to know exactly what I was talking about, said they'd start by checking the wiring harness and connections. Really hoping it's just corroded connectors like in your case. The 3-hour repair time doesn't sound too bad either. My worry about the entire module needing replacement is a bit less now. Still nervous about the cost, but 95 Euro sounds way better than what I was imagining! I'll definitely update this thread once I get it checked out. Thanks again for sharing your experience, it's really helped me understand what might be going on with my X7.