Car blowing cold air

Fargo Boyle

Good evening boards,

So my fingers have just thawed out so I can now post. Driving home from work today, 125km commute, my car was blowing cold air for most of the journey , (i didn't notice it at the beginning ). I should also state that I had the fans set to off. Coolant level seemed ok, above minimum level in top-up bottle under the bonnet. Coolant temp while driving was 90°c. Oil temp was jumping between 110°c to 115°c. Any ideas what could be the issue here?

colm_mcm

What car is it?

BlakeS94

Fargo Boyle wrote: »

Good evening boards,

So my fingers have just thawed out so I can now post. Driving home from work today, 125km commute, my car was blowing cold air for most of the journey , (i didn't notice it at the beginning ). I should also state that I had the fans set to off. Coolant level seemed ok, above minimum level in top-up bottle under the bonnet. Coolant temp while driving was 90°c. Oil temp was jumping between 110°c to 115°c. Any ideas what could be the issue here?

I believe there is a motor that controls a flap that opens/closes different passageways for hot/cold air through the vents, I think it's called a blend door actuator or something like that. Electrical components failing can be an expensive repair because motors are usually on the pricey side. Maybe look into getting one second hand at a car breakers if that is the issue.

Fargo Boyle

colm_mcm wrote: »

What car is it?

Sorry, that info would probably help alright, it's a 2014 seat leon 1.6 tdi

Toyotafanboi

Fargo Boyle wrote: »

Sorry, that info would probably help alright, it's a 2014 seat leon 1.6 tdi

Oh dear.

I'd say your another victim of the infamous silica bag issue.

Need to flush the coolant system, replace the heater matix and expansion tank.

con747

Fargo Boyle wrote: »

Sorry, that info would probably help alright, it's a 2014 seat leon 1.6 tdi

A thread on it here. https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057931325#

colm_mcm

Teabag of doom.

Fargo Boyle

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Oh dear.

I'd say your another victim of the infamous silica bag issue.

Need to flush the coolant system, replace the heater matix and expansion tank.

Well this doesn't sound good, eek 😬😬😬

Fargo Boyle

con747 wrote: »

A thread on it here. https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057931325#

That was painful reading but thanks.

Fargo Boyle

Thanks for all the replies folks. Sounds like that's what it is alright, coolant was dark colour when I checked bottle. Feck it anyway, wonder if my mechanic will be doing black Friday deals! One last question, should the car be parked up straight away?

Toyotafanboi

No, usually ok to drive once the temp is ok on the dash. It does get worse over time though, so definitely get it sorted. I've seen them having to get EGR coolers, main rads, water pumps and the whole works as things were just too blocked to flush clean. That's not unusally the case now but it can happen.

the boss of me

Don't want to hijack the thread but I'm driving a 2016 1.2tsi Octavia. Would the "teabag of doom" * be fitted to my car as well ? Or is there any way of checking ?

* Love the description ðŸ‘

Toyotafanboi

Yeah, it would have it too.

It should say "mit silikat" on the expansion tank.

the boss of me

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Yeah, it would have it too.

It should say "mit silikat" on the expansion tank.

Thanks .. I'll try and remove it before it causes any problems..

colm_mcm

Some have the teabag built into the walls of the coolant bottle.

CoBo55

the boss of me wrote: »

Thanks .. I'll try and remove it before it causes any problems..

Easier and less risky to just buy a new expansion bottle and a litre of coolant, obviously one without the silica:pac:

colm_mcm

The new bottle is only €27.

the boss of me

The "silica" logo isn't actually printed on my expansion tank. I can't see anything in there so I'm happy enough that I've dodged that particular bullet.. thanks for the replies.

CoBo55

Finally got off my butt and looked at my own. It has the dreaded mit silika written on the outside it looks like a double skinned expansion bottle, the coolant doesn't look too great either, it's brownish in colour it was originally purple. Does the double skinned bottle give trouble too?

Fargo Boyle

right folks,

quick update on the problem in OP above. Car has been with my mechanic the past few days (was supposed to go in december but got covid, mighty craic). Anyway, he suspected the water pump was the issue which was duly replaced along with timing belt. Problem not solved. Next he replaced the radiator heater. Problem not solved, very warm heat now on passenger side apparently, mild heat on driver side. im now 800 quid down and still at more or less square one. apparently the heater matrix is a nightmare to access and would cost a fortune on top of exoisting bill. To be honest i just want rid at this stage but still owe a sizeable chunk on it and wouldnt feel right selling on with a known issue outstanding. Any advice on best course of action? Would a dealer take a punt on it if i was upfront about issue?

LollipopJimmy

A new mechanic would be the first corrective action i would take. The issue is a known one and he went nuclear without addressing the actual fault.

Fargo Boyle

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

A new mechanic would be the first corrective action i would take. The issue is a known one and he went nuclear without addressing the actual fault.

yeah, this goes without saying. Not a happy camper right now :mad:

Toyotafanboi

I would consider the heater radiator and the heater matrix two terms for the same component so we probably need some clarity there.

The heater matrix is handy accessed in the Leon, less than an hours work.

The problem is if he has replaced the heater rad/ matrix already and you still have bad heat it's now because the new radiator is also blocked.

There is a very specific process to correctly flushing those coolant systems and often it needs to be done more than once to get the desired effect. You need to flush the system properly before fitting a new rad or it will just block up again and again.

Fargo Boyle

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

I would consider the heater radiator and the heater matrix two terms for the same component so we probably need some clarity there.

The heater matrix is handy accessed in the Leon, less than an hours work.

The problem is if he has replaced the heater rad/ matrix already and you still have bad heat it's now because the new radiator is also blocked.

There is a very specific process to correctly flushing those coolant systems and often it needs to be done more than once to get the desired effect. You need to flush the system properly before fitting a new rad or it will just block up again and again.

yeah sorry, he said he replaced rad matrix today as it was easily accessed. Problem is some flap or something thats buried somewhere behind dash. what a nightmare. pain in me face with the whole thing tbh.

Toyotafanboi

Yeah, look, i doubt that that is the fault.

A few years ago, when this issue first started surfacing and all the affected cars were still under warranty we used to see that, particularly in Golfs, which are effectively a Leon with a different outfit on.

There would be no heat, you'd flush the system once, fit a new heater rad and you'd have good heat on the passenger side but still weak heat on the driver side. Reason being, the system is still sludged and the new rad is already blocking up and not giving full heat. We've seen cars where every single part of the cooling system had to be replaced, the sludging was that bad.

I'd guarentee if you have weak heat on the driver side now, over a period of a few weeks you will go back to a point of no heat at all.

Whatever you do, dont go spending money on flap motors behind the dash or whatever he is recommending. It won't help.

Fargo Boyle

yeah no, i think that's it now, I've thrown enough money at it. no money left to put in anyway. would a dealer take it off my hands part exchange do you think?

colm_mcm

Get a garage who knows what to do on the job, trading in the car will cost money too.
Even if you financed the repair over a year or two, it would be much less money than trading up, at least your own car will have a new timing belt etc.

Toyotafanboi

Agreed. This is a relatively straightforward repair to someone familiar with the issue.

VW themselves clearly advise that it can take numerous flushes even when using the correct flushing process and cleaning agent. Any sludge at all still in the system will block a new rad and put you back to square one. Running a garden hose or power washer through the system wont clean these like it would traditionally with older cars.

The usual thing would be to do two system flushes one straight after the other with the correct cleaning agent, then with the matrix bridged out, fill the car with just water in the cooling system, drive it for 10 or 15kms, drain the water and see how it looks, if it's clean, fit a new matrix, if it's not, do two more flushes and run it on tapwater again and so on and so on until you get clean water.

There's no reason why someone cant fix this properly for you for a couple of hundred euros.

colm_mcm

So is the water pump and matrix likely to be goosed now or would it be salvageable?

TheBoyConor

Fargo Boyle wrote: »

right folks,

quick update on the problem in OP above. Car has been with my mechanic the past few days (was supposed to go in december but got covid, mighty craic). Anyway, he suspected the water pump was the issue which was duly replaced along with timing belt. Problem not solved. Next he replaced the radiator heater. Problem not solved, very warm heat now on passenger side apparently, mild heat on driver side. im now 800 quid down and still at more or less square one. apparently the heater matrix is a nightmare to access and would cost a fortune on top of exoisting bill. To be honest i just want rid at this stage but still owe a sizeable chunk on it and wouldnt feel right selling on with a known issue outstanding. Any advice on best course of action? Would a dealer take a punt on it if i was upfront about issue?

Don't give that useless bollox a penny. He obviously hasn't got a bulls notion what he is doing and is just randomly replacing parts hoping he gets lucky.
If I were you and he got smart we me over not paying I'd have no problem roaring the place down.

Go to a different mechanic, preferably one who specialises in VW type cars

Toyotafanboi

colm_mcm wrote: »

So is the water pump and matrix likely to be goosed now or would it be salvageable?

Matrix is ****ed, 100%. The veins are so fine, once they start blocking, there really is no return.

Unless it's really really far gone in terms of sludging the rest of the stuff like the main rad water pumps, EGR etc should be salvagable.

There are two keys to success with this IMO.

One is using the real VW cleaning agent as it allegedly has "stuff" in it to break down and dissolve the sludge. I think the kit isn't too expensive. Flushing with water or generic rad flushes is a waste of time.

The other is to follow the correct flushing and bleeding sequence. There is one mechanical water pump and 3 electronic pumps on most of the 1.6's and activating them in the right sequence and properly bleeding the system each time is key to getting the cleaning agent into every crevace and also emptying all the contents from the system. As in if you have pump 1 running but pump 2 isn't, how will you ever get the debris between the two out?

After that just keep flushing.

Have seen a handful needing a rake of stuff replaced where no amount of cleaning would do. The only upshot to the OP's predicament is that he's had two coolant changes recently so thst should have taken some amount of crud with it, which may have helped with some level of damage limitation.

CoBo55

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Matrix is ****ed, 100%. The veins are so fine, once they start blocking, there really is no return.

Unless it's really really far gone in terms of sludging the rest of the stuff like the main rad water pumps, EGR etc should be salvagable.

There are two keys to success with this IMO.

One is using the real VW cleaning agent as it allegedly has "stuff" in it to break down and dissolve the sludge. I think the kit isn't too expensive. Flushing with water or generic rad flushes is a waste of time.

The other is to follow the correct flushing and bleeding sequence. There is one mechanical water pump and 3 electronic pumps on most of the 1.6's and activating them in the right sequence and properly bleeding the system each time is key to getting the cleaning agent into every crevace and also emptying all the contents from the system. As in if you have pump 1 running but pump 2 isn't, how will you ever get the debris between the two out?

After that just keep flushing.

Have seen a handful needing a rake of stuff replaced where no amount of cleaning would do. The only upshot to the OP's predicament is that he's had two coolant changes recently so thst should have taken some amount of crud with it, which may have helped with some level of damage limitation.

Seems to be an awful lot of crud from a ruptured silica bag or is it coming from somewhere else in the system?

Toyotafanboi

Nobody really knows. For a long time the silica bag was to blame. I think the current theory is now it's the coolant itself overheating in certain pockets of the engine and congealing. No harm to remove the bag regardless IMO.

The coolant model has been revised from G13 to G13+ to G13++ to G13 EVO so they clearly aren't happy with the blend or whatever you'd call it.

colm_mcm

The timing belt would have been due either way I suppose. Hopefully it doesn’t have to be done again.