Heat Only on Driver Side - clogged heater core

I have taken mine into Heritage VW in Owings Mills, MD twice and both times they insisted on my paying the $140 diagnostic fee before entertaining the idea of replacing the heater core, with no reimbursement for the diagnostic fee.

I took it to Orange VW, in California. No diagnostic fee. Performed TSB on the heater core and they contacted VWoA directly and requested a goodwill warranty since I am just out of warranty and they approved it.

I am happy with this dealership.

Hey all, I just wanted to comment. I found this forum before I took my vehicle in for this problem to be diagnosed so I was able to use some info I had read here to question my dealer about the issue so thank you.
I have a 2014 Passat tdi with almost 90k miles so I'm way out of warranty. My local dealer Don Jacobs here in Lexington, KY replaced my heater core "under warranty" after they opened a case with VWoA. I was originally told that VW was going to pay 75% of the $800 or so bill but when I showed up they handed me an invoice for $0 and told me all was taken care of. As much as I want to beat up on the stealerships this one has been ok to deal with. They would not let me keep the old heater core because they might have to return it to VW but they did tell me that I should probably do a complete coolant flush every 50k or 60k miles from now on even though it's not in the manual to do so. Oh one last note, I think it has helped my case because I have let them maintain the vehicle since I purchased it new from them so when they go to VWoA it gives me a fighting chance. Thank you all for the forum. Great info!

blakec03, thats great. I only got VOA to pay 80% my part is 20%. Had all services done at Fox VW. in Rochester,MI. Great service dept they do very good work. Pleaded with customer care rep to get it all covered, she would only do 80-20. The car is being repaired today. 90000 miles on it. They teased me with a 20% off cooling system coupon, I showed up this am and was quickly told can't use it. I get shuttled home and on my email from VW is a $20.00 off coupon for same ***?

I just decided to handle this problem. I've known about it for 6 months. Took mine into Huber VW here in Fredericksburg, va. They contacted VW of America for me, and called about an hour later and said VW would be picking up the tab. 2013 SE with 48000 miles on it. I would say overall I am very pleased with how volkswagen has handled my case.

I have 2013 tdi passat, heater core replaced.( initial symptoms- no heat from passenger side vent). 2 weeks after heater core was replaced, passenger side vent only release hot air even if temp is lowered to 65 degree. Looking under the hood, ice frozen on return low pressure line all the way from the evaporator to the compressor.
anyone has similar experience? what might be the problem? is it related to initial heater core replacement done by the dealer?
any input appreciated.

My wife drove our 2013 Passat TDI SE, with 103k miles, and I sat in the passenger seat this past weekend and I noticed cold air on my feet. I switched to the vents and noticed the passenger side was cold and the drivers was warm, not hot. I have not taken it to VW yet but I bet it's the heater core, just as everyone else here. I just had a water pump leak about a month ago, so we did the timing belt ahead of schedule, to the tune of $1100.00. I know at some point the DPF will have to be replaced, which will be expensive and VW has no real plan on a true fix for the heater core, which may happen again. All this and the devaluation of my vehicles from being lied to, I think I'm done with VW. I have 2013 Passat TDI, 2012 Golf TDI and a 2012 GTI but not for long.

Actually, after driving the car 40 miles to the dealer today for the coolant flush, no heat to speak of came out anywhere. Once there I pointed that out to the service advisor and asked what good it would do to flush the system if the heater core needs to be replaced? He agreed and they took it back and determined that the heater core is indeed blocked. I just got off the phone with VW Customer Care, so we will see what happens.

I finally ended up taking my Passat to the dealership for the heater core. 45k miles, so definitely out of warranty. It was covered 100% by VW, no diagnostic fee charged. They performed the TSB. Karen Radley VW in Woodbridge, VA. As far as dealerships go, I highly recommend them. The service department has always been great with me.

Replaced Heater Core and Mileage Dropped

VoA just replaced the heater core in our 2014 Passat TDI with 51,000 miles at no charge. MPG appears to have dropped. Any ideas as to why mileage would have dropped? Engine temperature is 190*--same as before the core replacement.

sowegatdi said:

VoA just replaced the heater core in our 2014 Passat TDI with 51,000 miles at no charge. MPG appears to have dropped. Any ideas as to why mileage would have dropped? Engine temperature is 190*--same as before the core replacement.

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1. Your right foot is no longer numb from the cold and is more active
2. When they change the HC, if they "flush" it it usually involves a lot of letting it idle to get to temp during the several coolant exchanges/chemical cleaning cycles. Takes a while for these to get warm at idle.

I just left VW of McKinney, Texas with a BLU warmer replacement and Heater Core replacement for my 2014 Passat with 57,000 miles. After reading numerous posts on the TDI forum, I contacted VoA and they covered everything! Thank you guys for all your help and guidance.

VWof A is not being "nice" in covering individual heater core replacements. They fear a huge recall for the heater core issue.

So my car did this twice (no heat on passenger side) and it reset when I restarted the car. The second time I literally stopped at the gas station and turned it off when I went inside. When I came out, the heat was fine. Very hot in fact, so it looks like my heater core is fine but I have a blend door issue.

VAGcom scan says:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 08: Auto HVAC (J255) Labels: 5K0-907-044.clb
Part No SW: 561 907 044 M HW: 561 907 044 M
Component: Climatronic H03 0404
Revision: 00001K01
Coding: 0010001012
Shop #: WSC 09003 957 00200
ASAM Dataset: EV_ACClimaBHBVW411 A01001
ROD: EV_ACClimaBHBVW411_VW41.rod
VCID: 2149C97F30017F365E-8074

2 Faults Found:
9473393 - Motor for Right Temperature Flap
B108D 71 [008] - Actuator stuck
Intermittent - Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00000001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 41
Mileage: 176163 km
Date: 2016.03.04
Time: 17:11:36

13701888 - Function Restriction due to Faults in Other Modules
U1113 00 [008] - -
Intermittent - Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00000001
Fault Priority: 6
Fault Frequency: 2
Reset counter: 14
Mileage: 173426 km
Date: 2016.02.13
Time: 10:13:33

I notice I get great ac from all dash holes, but only heat in driver side... Core or flapper?

Sent from my s-off'ed m7 with CM11

Jason... Bad core.

50pascals...If you're at all handy I'd suggest the following:

Remove the underdash panel. Remove the two screws holding the plastic plenum in place and put the component aside. You'll now be able to see and get at a black plastic cover which protects the coolant piping and secures the heater core and aux heater in place. Your culprit is very likely (as you view the component) the top right fastener. It will be one of five or six bright (don't remember) screws holding the assembly in place.

Should this screw not be bottomed when installed, then the blend door actuator will bind due to contact. Blend actuator is a plastic arm. Been there. Done that. It's somewhat of a pain but really an easy fix.

Easy to diagnose before you get too serious. Start the car and call for heat alternated by cool. You should see the arm moving freely back and forth.

You said bad core but to investigate the blend door?

And module isn't complaining of anything....

Sent from my s-off'ed m7 with CM11

Jason,

Bad core. Not much to investigate. Blend door will only be an issue after the core is replaced and only if the core and covers aren't properly installed.

Well, in that case, I do replace it, I'm planning to fab an inline filter. I don't care if I spaghetti get extra line somewhere near the battery or air filter housing with elbows.

This **** is getting old fast.

Sent from my s-off'ed m7 with CM11

Hahahahahaha.

Early morning. I read it as 50 pesos! As in cost! Not you quoting someone else. I scrolled up and it makes sense.

Unbelievable.

Sent from my s-off'ed m7 with CM11

My heatercore is plugged again 1 month and 800 miles. I told them it would take multiple flushes, individually I think their fine people. It's the corprate policies that they are forced to follow that make them incredibly ignorant, and difficult to reason with no matter how nice you are when you tell them what most other people are experiencing.

VW Corp being jerky and only agreeing to pay for 80%. 70K miles on the car and we've now escalated to VW EXEC level with the same response. Very aggravating when it's a defective part and nothing we could have done would have made this not happen. The local dealer will hear about it on Sat.

In all our cars, we've own 6 VWs and driven 950K miles. They are causing a lifetime customer to look at other brands for pretty short money.

same here, my 2 week old NMS had water inside the headlight, they said its completely normal as they are vented and denied my warrenty claim. Today 60k miles later the bulb light is on and they said the headlight blew due to water droplets falling onto the bulb and that I need to buy a new fixture as the seal has failed.
absently the worst customer experience ever

jrm said:

same here, my 2 week old NMS had water inside the headlight, they said its completely normal as they are vented and denied my warrenty claim. Today 60k miles later the bulb light is on and they said the headlight blew due to water droplets falling onto the bulb and that I need to buy a new fixture as the seal has failed.
absently the worst customer experience ever

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Yep - their customer service is absolutely awful.

Changed my coolant with only 30,000 miles. The coolant was actually acidic already, the color was off and precipitates had started forming. Something is definitely wrong here. Some are saying excess flux in the heater core but I get the feeling that no one really knows. Could also be this new G13 coolant? One aggravating factor is the tiny amount of actual coolant in the system. I don't think there is more than 5 liters in there.

We need someone to check their coolant circuit after a dpf delete with super low miles ( less then 20k), and is up near 80s+

Im curious if extreme heat of the egr system is causing issues....

Sent from my s-off'ed m7 with CM11

I agree with this guy, regeneration is toasting our coolant-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG7ni0lEr94

I'm about to pull my core out. I just need to double check if it's doable without killing the entire dash.

Sent from my s-off'ed m7 with CM11

jrm said:

I agree with this guy, regeneration is toasting our coolant-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG7ni0lEr94

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So if that's the case, why isn't regeneration toasting the coolant on all of the other commonrail TDIs? Not saying it it's possible - just trying to work through the process of what's different.

it is, my friends 2012 Jetta just clogged up last week exactly like that video explains. I also have friends with other brands such as PSD's and MB's they seem to be having issues all related to coolant after 50K