MK6 AC Warm most of the time

MK6 Golf said:

At the dealer as I type. They shipped in the new compressor. I am told that is was the only one in the country.

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That's a lie. Perhaps they said that to make you feel better.

These are available from wholesalers, they just come in a Sanden box, not a VW box. There are 3 of them in STL right now.

MK6 Golf said:

Oh, I previously posted that I did not hear the high speed fan anymore. i heard it again after I turned off the car. Other than that, both fans are spinning and moving lots of ait. The variable speed is working too.

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While it's quite possible in the heat of AZ to have an elevated coolant system temp, the fans running after the car is shut down usually indicates that you shut down during an active DPF regen.

The mechanic said that the computer showed the Refridgerant Control Valve working properly, but the comprerssor wasnt going through its full range of displacement. Apparently, this compressor is special made for this particular car.

They are performing a new and extensive flush procedure before they can evac and recharge the system.

See the thread on the MK-V subject list.
I don't know how they can know the RCV is good , but the compressor is not adjusting displacment. That is the exact thing the RCV does!
Read the delayed and valve posts about changing the valve and ICE-32 addition.

Good luck,

JDB

You understand the compressor is a variable-displacement compressor, right?

I have an appointment with the Audi dealership on Tuesday to address A/C issues I am having. It is slow to cool down after sitting in the sun all day, on my commute home it takes the 2 miles to the highway then getting on the Hwy. to really cool. Also at times, on the highway, it will slowly go away. The fan speed keeps getting higher trying to compensate, if I shut off the A/C for a minute or two it comes back. The other thing I noticed is that the air coming out of the vents gets super cold before the drop out. More to follow. 2010 A3

Ac is blowing cold - even in the 115 deg Arizona summer heat! The comprssor evidently was the problem, as there were metal flakes throughout the system. The mechanic even changed out the condensor to make sure I didnt have any more problems. Big thanks to Glen (service writer), Joe (technican) and Bruce (service director) at Larry Miller Volkswagen in Avondale Arizona for fixing it. My faith in the Golf TDI and in VW is restored. I love a happy ending!

Glad to hear you got this sorted out

If anyone thinks their AC is not as strong as it should be, I advise taking it back within warranty. My AC compressor blew (loud hissing sound while cruising at 80km/h, 10 seconds later no AC) and I am having it replaced on warranty.

This will take a few days, apparently the only one available is in L.A.! (I am in Eastern Canada). My nearest dealer (Volkswagen d'Outaouais) handled it very nicely. I had a loaner car, and I didn't even buy it there.

Michael
2011 Golf TDI DSG

One symptom I see is that the delay noted in the MK V forum will come when the system cycles from being colder and satisfying the demand.
It then dials back the RCV to reduce the output and takes a while to come back on line.
Perhaps the resetting of the adaptation will fix this.
See ths threads on A/C on the MK V lists.

Follow-up: The ac is blowing around 40 deg. I noticed that the system (climatic) turns the vents to recirculate automatically until the cabin is really cool. Even with the recirc button off it seems to cycle between outside air and recirc. to maintain inside temp. Is this Normal?

I did experience a flapping noise from under the car at speed - the technician didnt replace all the fasteners on the bottom plastic pan (not sure what its technically called). A trip back to the dealer To replace the missing fasteners.

Overall Im pleased with my Golf. Im NOT unhappy with VWoA, but the process could have been more painless. Thanks to everyone who shared in this forum.

MK6 Golf said:

I have a 2011 Golf TDI with 38,000 miles. Recently the AC (Climatic) blows warm, humid air about 50 % of the time. The AC never really gets cold (about 65 deg). I had the charge checked by recovering the R134a and weighing it (it was perfect), replaced the expansion valve and evacuated and recharged the system. No difference.
I did notice at the begining of summer that the fan stayed on (high speed) one time after I turned off the engine, which I know is normal on some modern vehicles. I've not heard the fan run on high speed again.
What do I do next? The dealer wants $147 per hour and there are no service manuals available for this year yet. I absolutely love the car, but after owning it for six months and having issues already I wonder if I bought the wrong car.

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I had similar problems with my a/c on my 2010 Golf with about 13000 miles. The dealer replaced the entire system - compressor, condenser, and pretty much all the other bits. This was done under warranty. No cost to me and they threw in a fee loaner car for the few days it took gEt parts and do the repair.

MK6 Golf said:

I have a 2011 Golf TDI with 38,000 miles. Recently the AC (Climatic) blows warm, humid air about 50 % of the time. The AC never really gets cold (about 65 deg). I had the charge checked by recovering the R134a and weighing it (it was perfect), replaced the expansion valve and evacuated and recharged the system. No difference.

I did notice at the begining of summer that the fan stayed on (high speed) one time after I turned off the engine, which I know is normal on some modern vehicles. I've not heard the fan run on high speed again.

What do I do next? The dealer wants $147 per hour and there are no service manuals available for this year yet. I absolutely love the car, but after owning it for six months and having issues already I wonder if I bought the wrong car.

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My A/C compressor started to fail at about 20K and now at 30K the dealer is currently working on my car by replacing the faulty unit with a new compressor.

They extended my warranty by a year which is nice

Read my issue here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...TDI-Thread&p=76627100&viewfull=1#post76627100

Thank God I leased this car

Follow-up: My Golf just rollerd 100,000 miles. Last fall the A/C started to blow warm again - exact same symptoms. I had it checked by the dealer and the charge was correct. I'm so sick of these A/C issues on my VW.

Still sounds like a RCV valve problem if it is on your nickle.

How about the ambient temp sensor for the A/C?

Still sounds like the RCV read the thread on delayed A/C.

Hot Air

146,027 miles and my Trusty VW has been blowing warm air out of the A/C vents for awhile. Just like your symptoms, cold then hot then cold. No codes, all pressures within normal ranges on high pressure and low pressure sides of the compressor.
I'm so sick of this issue...

1AFH said:

.
I'm so sick of this issue...

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Yeah, I would be too, that's why I would have just fixed it the very same day I noticed it. Not that big of a deal...

OK, I followed the recommendations from this website and purchased the RCV, vacuum pump and a set of gauges. The RCV was the culprit. I have cold air again with no delay. Suck it VOA!

What did VOA have to do with a component failure of your Japanese compressor?

Oilhammer, VOA isnt recognizing there is a problem with the component. Just look at the "delayed air conditioning" thread of all the people with the same problem. I supposed it is unfair to consider the dealership that diagnosed a faulty ac compressor and want to charge me $1800 to replace it as part of VoA. But I dont think so.. All of them are making lots of money from this defective control valve. I'm just thankful that my ac is cold in this Phoenix heat . 40 deg air on the morning commute. 45 deg air in 112 deg ambient. The compressor works fine. Again: :-D
Btw, my Sanden compressor says "Made in Poland". Is it japanese or Polish? Or did japan outsource labor to Poland?

VOA has most certainly recognized there is a problem: there is a TSB for it!

Sanden is a Japanese company.

Can you post a copy of the TSB?
The dealers seem to be unaware of the problem and the fix and having the replacement part.
The stock answer is $1500 - $2000 and replace a bunch of parts. vs. try the RCV.
This not only VW, but all of the A/C repair people. Safe bet replace everything then if there is an issue it was all replaced and not their fault.

The TSBs say nothing about replacement of the RCV (Volkswagen does not list it as a replaceable part).

And there are several TSBs, ranging from checking/replacing the refrigerant pressure sensor (p/n 1K0-959-126-D... I know that one by heart, LOL) as well as replacement of the compressor, condenser due to contamination, which does have you remove and inspect the RCV for debris.

But this of course varies because they have used multiple compressor manufacturers, but they are usually Sandens.

Dealer techs won't have a clue unless you hand it to them. They cannot think beyond what the system they have in place says to do. If you have an ALH TDI with a DTC for a fuel temp sensor, you get a whole new pump ($1400 part). It will be installed wrong (M&P), they'll reuse things they should not reuse, and if you're lucky it will run for a while, after they've had your car for a day and half (because the first attempt they had the belt so far off it wouldn't even start). Now you bring the car to someone who actually knows the car, and CAN think outside the box and for themselves, they'll buy a $17 fuel temp sensor, an $8 seal, and inside of 15 minutes have your car fixed with no mess, no worries.

I am getting so sick and tired of dealing with dealers messing these cars up, taking people for fools, and overcharging or selling things these cars don't need, that I just want to scream. Then every day to come on this site and read about the same thing happening all across the country, it makes me want to feed kittens into a woodchipper.

I thought you said there was a TSB on the RCV not part of a troubleshooting TSB on the overall system.
The replacement of the RCV fixes a lot of the problems and if it were available as a replacement part in the US like it is in Europe perhaps many $$ would be saved.
Of course this is not the goal of many gealers or shops.
I ubderstand that if the repair is not successful then it might reflect poorly on the shop and therefore the reticence. The loss of revenue might also be a factor.

JDB

It is available from Volkswagen in Europe? Do you have a VAG part number? Because I have looked in Euro ETKA and could not find it.

Folks in this country have been able to source some of them from aftermarket places. But even then, they are not available for every brand compressor, and the one brand, Sanden, has two versions that use two totally different RCVs. One has a snap ring, one has a little ear with a bolt. Also, in my experience, the RCV actually fails because of metal filings stuck in it (one of the TSBs addresses this). And my concern would be, where did those filings come from, and are there any more? Or is it just a case of leftover component assembly debris that eventually collected at the RCV, and once it is cleaned out and the failed RCV replaced, there won't be any more issues.

I did not note the part number, but when I was searching I think it was for a Sodka and available in Europe, but no help for me.
I found the part from a Chinese supplier and bought one. The fine particles you can see on the screen are pretty normal for most systems as they break in. The problem is really the finer bits that make it through the screen.
I am not convinced that this is the real problem since I dissassembled the valve and inspected carefully past the screen internally and could find nothing with a 10X glass.
I personally think that the low grade lubricant used ends up sticking the valve or as likley several turns of the coil short and it loses the force it takes to pull in the solenoid.
Either way this seems to be a very common problem and it would help to have parts available.
Mine had swarf in the screen and has worked flawlessly since replacement way back in this thread.
Every mechanical system generates swarf on startup, some more than others.
This is a problem with poorly polished hydraulic systems and servo valves. In that case the problems are caused by dirt so fine that you cannot see any with that 10X glass. Carefully cleaning the valves with carb cleaner and putting it back together often clears the problem. Adding polishing filters keeps it away.
The RCV seems to be filter and replacing it solves the problem.

Compressor still going strong and making cold air. I did have to replace the recirc flap motor, but all is well.