Audi a4 heating problem

kilkenny31

Hi, advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 2004 audi a4 1.9 tdi. The problem is that the car isn't blowing out hot air. It only blows out hot air when its been driven for a long time (around an hour) when the temp gauge is above half way. The temp gauge seems to be working fine. Anyone have any ideas what might be causing this and what i can do to fix it?
Thanks for reading this.

Senna

Is the temp gauge taking longer to come up to half way also?
Probably the thermostat and a new one is about €35-45 from an auto parts shop.

Ronnie Beck

kilkenny31 wrote: »

Hi, advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 2004 audi a4 1.9 tdi. The problem is that the car isn't blowing out hot air. It only blows out hot air when its been driven for a long time (around an hour) when the temp gauge is above half way. The temp gauge seems to be working fine. Anyone have any ideas what might be causing this and what i can do to fix it?
Thanks for reading this.

Coolant level would be the first thing that I'd check.

mathepac

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

Coolant level would be the first thing that I'd check.

+1 and make sure it's VW G12+ not that pink ALDI/Halford's pre-mixed stuff. BTW, it's unusual for the temp gauge to go farther than half-way (90 deg C). If it does you may be on the way to cylinder-head / gasket problems. Any lights on the dash?

kilkenny31

Ok... Is there any sure way to check if its the thermostat or not?
the coolant level is correct and sorry i was wrong when i said the gauge goes above half way the highest it ever gets is half way.

George Dalton

Do you get heat from the heater as soon as the gauge moves up to half way or do you sometimes get cold air even when the gauge is at 90 degrees?

Ronnie Beck

You could try opening the bleed screw going through the bulkhead to the heater matrix. You might have an air lock.

Sounds like your flap is stuck closed. Is it a normal manual heating system or the climatronic? one has a cable opening flap and the other uses a electric motor.

kilkenny31

Cheers for the replies guys.

George Dalton wrote: »

Do you get heat from the heater as soon as the gauge moves up to half way or do you sometimes get cold air even when the gauge is at 90 degrees?

No a lot of the time even when the gauge is at 90 degrees there still no heat.. Today when i got into the car to drive to work hot air came out straight away for about two minutes, but the engine was already hot because i was driving it about half an hour before. The gauge was only at about 60-70 degrees. Anytime hot air comes out it only lasts for a couple of minutes and then goes back to cold. Sometimes i can drive for over an hour and the car might not blow hot air at all.

You could try opening the bleed screw going through the bulkhead to the heater matrix. You might have an air lock.

Sounds like your flap is stuck closed. Is it a normal manual heating system or the climatronic? one has a cable opening flap and the other uses a electric motor.

Its climatronic. It might be also worth mentioning that yesterday before i started the car i topped up the coolant level (it wasnt low, it was half way between min and max so i filled it to max) and when i started the car hot air came out after about two minutes but stopped again a couple of minutes later.

George Dalton

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it sounds to me like a head gasket problem.

kilkenny31

George Dalton wrote: »

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it sounds to me like a head gasket problem.

Really? Thats a disaster. Is there anyway to know for definiate. How much roughly are we talking to get that repaired? Also the timing belt was done about 3000kms ago. When the engine is opened up to replace the belt do the gaskets have to be replaced? Or do they not go near the head when changing it? Sorry know a little about engines but once you start getting down that far im lost.

George Dalton

Any decent garage should be able to confirm it for you one way or another.

The timing belt job should not have had any bearing on the gasket failure.

The last one we did cost around €700.

kilkenny31

George Dalton wrote: »

Any decent garage should be able to confirm it for you one way or another.

The timing belt job should not have had any bearing on the gasket failure.

The last one we did cost around €700.

When i checked there doesn't seem to be anything leaking from the head. Or any signs of oil in the coolant or water in the oil. I did notice that the fan is not spinning..When should it cut in? Car was at about 70 degrees when i checked.

irishsniper

I have a similar problem to kilkenny31...
2005 Audi A4 1.9 tdi, air vent not blowing out hot air for the first hour or so of any journey. The temp gauge/sensor is possibly broken as it's stuck on Zero. I topped up the coolant a few days ago. I noticed that there is a lot of air trapped in the coolant tank any time I open the lid.

biko

Try burping the car
See my post in this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056538995 don't mind the pollen filter bit

Waterson

As above there could be an airlock. Alternatively could be your thermostat is starting to fail. Both would be easy enough to check. Also when you open your coolant reservoir, is the engine hot? The air you report could be just pressurised coolant boiling when system is depressurised? Best to check you dont have air bubbles when the car is idling cold.

have2flushtwice

George Dalton wrote: »

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it sounds to me like a head gasket problem.

Are you serious?!!
If the head gasket was gone the temp gauge would b through the roof and there would be no problem getting hot air into the cabin! not to mind the warning lights that would appear.
there are some cowboys out there ok be careful who you give your car to.
I would guess the heater to the cabin has an airlock(but unlikely as you can get hot air) or your climatronic is giving trouble.

George Dalton

have2flushtwice wrote: »

Are you serious?!!
If the head gasket was gone the temp gauge would b through the roof and there would be no problem getting hot air into the cabin! not to mind the warning lights that would appear.
there are some cowboys out there ok be careful who you give your car to.
I would guess the heater to the cabin has an airlock(but unlikely as you can get hot air) or your climatronic is giving trouble.

Ah sure what would I know about Audi head gasket failure symptoms :pac:

have2flushtwice

George Dalton wrote: »

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it sounds to me like a head gasket problem.

Are you serious?!!
If the head gasket was gone the temp gauge would b through the roof and there would be no problem getting hot air into the cabin! not to mind the warning lights that would appear.
there are some cowboys out there ok be careful who you give your car to.
I would guess the heater to the cabin has an airlock(but unlikely as you can get hot air) or your climatronic is giving trouble.

spiggotpaddy

Well op did you fix it. What was the culprit?

alps

Any update in this issue....have the same problem with 02 1.9tdi.
Thermostat is not working properly with years, but even if engine is up to full operating temperature it makes no difference to the temperature of the air to the cabin.
Low heat entering on drivers side, but only cold in passenger side.
Will not direct air to the windscreen even though you can hear the electronics going through the motion of moving the flaps...maybe it's only the motors going and the flaps not connected..

Would like to hear if anyone has found a solution..

dooroy

I have a 2003 A6 with the 1.9 Tdi AWX engine.
The heater was performing very poorly for a bout a year and the gauge never got up very far and sometimes never moved at all.
First I changed the CTS but it made no difference,
Then I fitted a new thermostat and heater has been pumping out plenty of heat since and gauge sits nicely in the middle of the dial all the time.
The only problem I have always had with the climatronic is that you can turn down the heat on the move - but it won't come back up unless the car is switched off and then on again.
One other benefit of the new stat was that the smoke reading for the NCT was well down compared to the previous years.

rex-x

These can have issues with clogged heater matrix and water pump impeller spinning on the shaft but to be honest 99% of the time its the head gasket thats blown.

Old Perry

Hi, so I have a similar problem on a 1.9tdi, It gives of heat fairly quickly, no issues there but the air flow out of the vents is pretty week, when turned up full there is no blast/pressure out of them like id find in other cars. any suggestions?
also I don't know if its related, but the econ button is always on, heard this may be because it needs to be regassed, also stops it providing cold air form air con, could this be causing the above issue?

dooroy

Poor airflow usually caused by clogged up pollen filter . I have seen some absolutely caked with dust so impossible for air to get through.

Old Perry

dooroy wrote: »

Poor airflow usually caused by clogged up pollen filter . I have seen some absolutely caked with dust so impossible for air to get through.

Thanks, so I'll have a look at that and see it's condition, would seem like a handy fix to look at first cheers, can I run the heating/ air con while it's out to see if air flow is improved? If it is can I just go ahead and reset econ button fault?

Just in case it doesn't resolve itself what would u look at next?

Old Perry

Thanks for that, I pulled out the old one and it was indeed full of leaves feathers and animals hair. Gave a clean as much I could and stuck it back in and it has improved airflow, at glance anyway, have yet to drive it. Will order up a new one tomorrow and put it it in.

So what should I do about econ button always on? Anyone with experience of this.
From what I can tell econ on means air compresser or air con is always off? After that it I'm not sure what to look at.

audiavantawx

While at the pollen filter have a good look around to make sure its sealed correctly
This platform,i assume yours is passat or audi,im not 100% on the skoda leak at the pollen filter
2 Nuts to remove,Can be tricky with the window scuttle but it does come out
Clean all the area and give it a fresh dollop of sealent,I just used tec 7

On the heating issue,these cars came with a plastic and steel impelar
If yours is the plastic it could have broke and is not circulating the coolant
Radiator could also be clogged full of s****
Check oil cap for brown sludge
Check coolant bottle for slick on top of fluid
Is car loosing coolant
These cars also leak coolant at the flange seal,on the back of the head.
Only done mine awhile ago

From my own experience i havent heard too many with failed head gaskets,But i am not a mechanic

Old Perry

audiavantawx wrote: »

While at the pollen filter have a good look around to make sure its sealed correctly
This platform,i assume yours is passat or audi,im not 100% on the skoda leak at the pollen filter
2 Nuts to remove,Can be tricky with the window scuttle but it does come out
Clean all the area and give it a fresh dollop of sealent,I just used tec 7

On the heating issue,these cars came with a plastic and steel impelar
If yours is the plastic it could have broke and is not circulating the coolant
Radiator could also be clogged full of s****
Check oil cap for brown sludge
Check coolant bottle for slick on top of fluid
Is car loosing coolant
These cars also leak coolant at the flange seal,on the back of the head.
Only done mine awhile ago

From my own experience i havent heard too many with failed head gaskets,But i am not a mechanic

Thanks, it's an a3 8p. Pollen filter accessed from passenger foot well, no need for sealing I don't think?

Have only just changed oil ,no sludge or that to be found, coolant is due a service I'm sure but having looked at it , it's not losing anything noticeable and no oil or residue in tank. I don't even want to think about head gaskets goin, nightmare altogether.

Tis only air con anyways, wouldn't miss it much in this country but if it's relatively inexpensive I'd like to have everything working as it should.

audiavantawx

Old Perry wrote: »

Thanks, it's an a3 8p. Pollen filter accessed from passenger foot well, no need for sealing I don't think?

Have only just changed oil ,no sludge or that to be found, coolant is due a service I'm sure but having looked at it , it's not losing anything noticeable and no oil or residue in tank. I don't even want to think about head gaskets goin, nightmare altogether.

Tis only air con anyways, wouldn't miss it much in this country but if it's relatively inexpensive I'd like to have everything working as it should.

No need for sealing the filter so,Didnt realise it was an a3

Id say its what one of the other lads mentioned,something could be clogged,Maybe rust in the bottom of the rad,I know when i took the rad of my passat it was caked in rust and dirt
Whats the milage on the car?

I have air con too,Dont use it,Just took the belt of the extra pulley,Never gets hot enough here

this link might help
http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/1208-Econ-mode-will-not-turn-off

Old Perry

Thanks again. Cabin filter itself workkedgreat. Went ahead and got pressure sensor mentioned in link above and luck would have it that the error code/econ light always on is now gone. Although after replacing sensor the pressure is down a bit again. This must be because I realised it changing sensor. There was a good hiss out of it once I got it opening so hopeful there's no leaks or blockages. I guess next step is regas to bring it up to max performance. ??