Air Conditioner is WEAK

It's been over 90 here the last 2 days, mine is blowing ice cold, also my widows are tinted so that helps a bit having the wagon.. No complaints

Funguy said:

I think so also. Could that be because of the new refrigerants?

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Also everyone is "tweaking" the last drop of any improvement(s) - or compromises to get up to the next higher MPG on the MONRONEY.

There has been plenty of discussion about inconsistent AC systems over at vwvortex. If you have a VCDS you can check to see if you have "Hot Country" enabled. It seems like there are some cars sold that had it enabled and others that didnt. Reading through the thread below, people have reported getting cold air much faster after making the VCDS tweak.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?7974521-2015-GTI-VCDS-AC-quot-Hot-Country-quot

Instructions from the link above:

1) Open VCDS
2) Go To Select Modules
3) Under the "Installed Modules" window - select number 08 - Auto HVAC
4) After the control loads - select Coding - 07
5) Click the button for "Long Coding Helper"
6) Press Tab or arrow down key until you see "Byte 12" selected
7)Under the drop-down for "Bit 4-7" select "10 Temperature Adjustment: Cold (Hot Countires)"
8) In the top-left corner of the window - select the "Exit" menu item
9) Press the "Do It" button to save the new setting
10) If all goes well - you should see a popup "Coding Accepted"

I haven't done this myself or checked what my setting is since I am happy with how my AC performs. Might check just to see what my settings are just for kicks.

demagxc said:

There has been plenty of discussion about inconsistent AC systems over at vwvortex. If you have a VCDS you can check to see if you have "Hot Country" enabled. It seems like there are some cars sold that had it enabled and others that didnt. Reading through the thread below, people have reported getting cold air much faster after making the VCDS tweak.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?7974521-2015-GTI-VCDS-AC-quot-Hot-Country-quot

Instructions from the link above:

1) Open VCDS
2) Go To Select Modules
3) Under the "Installed Modules" window - select number 08 - Auto HVAC
4) After the control loads - select Coding - 07
5) Click the button for "Long Coding Helper"
6) Press Tab or arrow down key until you see "Byte 12" selected
7)Under the drop-down for "Bit 4-7" select "10 Temperature Adjustment: Cold (Hot Countires)"
8) In the top-left corner of the window - select the "Exit" menu item
9) Press the "Do It" button to save the new setting
10) If all goes well - you should see a popup "Coding Accepted"

I haven't done this myself or checked what my setting is since I am happy with how my AC performs. Might check just to see what my settings are just for kicks.

Click to expand...

Good idea. Prior to reading your post, I was going to suggest attempting VCDS tweak of trying the VCDS tow setting as per the post: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=478382 It is understood that that energizes the radiator fan more which gets air moving across the condenser. The Hot Temp countries probably does the much the same.

The AC is less effective when the car is sitting still such as at a stop light because of the reduced air flow across the condenser. Add to that heat that it might pick up from the radiator and the decreased compressor speed = reduced efficiency.

demagxc: That is amazing. Has anyone here seen if that tweak works not just for cold faster but ultimately colder.?

demagxc said:

There has been plenty of discussion about inconsistent AC systems over at vwvortex. If you have a VCDS you can check to see if you have "Hot Country" enabled. It seems like there are some cars sold that had it enabled and others that didnt. Reading through the thread below, people have reported getting cold air much faster after making the VCDS tweak.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?7974521-2015-GTI-VCDS-AC-quot-Hot-Country-quot

Instructions from the link above:

1) Open VCDS
2) Go To Select Modules
3) Under the "Installed Modules" window - select number 08 - Auto HVAC
4) After the control loads - select Coding - 07
5) Click the button for "Long Coding Helper"
6) Press Tab or arrow down key until you see "Byte 12" selected
7)Under the drop-down for "Bit 4-7" select "10 Temperature Adjustment: Cold (Hot Countires)"
8) In the top-left corner of the window - select the "Exit" menu item
9) Press the "Do It" button to save the new setting
10) If all goes well - you should see a popup "Coding Accepted"

I haven't done this myself or checked what my setting is since I am happy with how my AC performs. Might check just to see what my settings are just for kicks.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Just checked both of my Washington DC area-purchased Mk7's and both were set to "00 Temperature Adjustment: Normal". I set both to "10 Temperature Adjustment: Cold (Hot Countries)" and will see how it goes. I rarely use A/C outside of June-August, so when I do use it, it is in a "hot country" situation.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

Thanks for the info. Just checked both of my Washington DC area-purchased Mk7's and both were set to "00 Temperature Adjustment: Normal". I set both to "10 Temperature Adjustment: Cold (Hot Countries)" and will see how it goes. I rarely use A/C outside of June-August, so when I do use it, it is in a "hot country" situation.

Click to expand...

I think I saw on the news that you are pretty hot there right now! I am hoping that this will be a solution. If it is, that would answer why there are so many different opinions on how well the A/C's on these cars are performing.

I ran a couple errands in the 15 GWS, S, 6M this evening. Where the car was parked in the shade, the ambient temperature was 92. With the air cond, w/ fan on full, in recirculating air mode, at idle, immediately after start, again with 2 minutes at idle, the center air dash vent ducts was putting out air about 30F lower than the air/surfaces in the car.

As I drove a bit, things got interesting. As I moved out to the higher temp areas, 94F per the MFD, at highway speed & the engine temp warmed up, 55+, the air outlet temp. remained at about the -30F temp differential.

When I moved the vent control from the vent only to the footwell/vent the temperature differential decreased slightly, to -31F (probably more air over the evaporator) & at one point -32F approaching Peter's MKIV.

When I got of the the limited access & hit the first stop light, the temp. differential steadily increased surpassingly fast. During the stop light cycle time, car stopped, engine at temp, mid 90F outside temp, with the vent in the vent/foot well mode, the air outlet temps increased 7F to 9F depending upon the stop light cycle. Put another way, with the engine hot, radiator hot, the car not moving, etc. the temp. drop differential decreased to about 20F to 22F. (I was reading 41F outlet temps when moving w/ 71 inside air temps. At the stop light, the outlet air typically when up to 50F). Moving away from the light, the air outlet temp slowly came down, much slower then it went up. Coasting & the car moving with minimal engine load helped the air temp decrease significantly.

So, as suspected air movement over the condenser is important on these cars. It would be wise to try the VCDS tweaking so that the rad. fans run more for air movement over the condenser, & probably help in hot conditions & in traffic, use hyper-muling techniques, see the light turning ahead, coast, engine brake into it to keep the car moving.

As an added note, radiant heat comes off the dash. As suggested elsewhere, a light colored dash cover might help,

I know this image is tiny, but for some reason I can only get it to show as a thumbnail.

What it shows is the temp in the vents of IBW while sitting in an 85 degree shop with the A/C on full. Air coming from the vents was about 36 degrees. After a little more tweaking Chill got it to 32 degrees.

Not sure you're talking about the same thing, Bob, but if so this is about a 50 degree drop compared to the temp in the car, which wasn't moving, engine was idling, and it never had a chance to cool down inside. Not sure if the GSW would be able to do something similar. I drove the car around this morning and it was 90 and sunny out. I kept the fan on 1 and had the vents pointed away from my face.

Good info, Bob. Thanks.

Funguy said:

Wow, 32 degrees!! I remember my sister's 78 honda civic would freeze up (literally a block of ice) if you set the compressor too cold! I liked that you could could actually adjust the compressor on those cars rather than now where the compressor cycles don't change and you have to introduce HEATED air if you are too cold. Seems wasteful. I end up doing what the previous poster said, turning the a/c on and off if it is too cold

Click to expand...

Many modern air conditioning systems (including VWs with Climatronic) will reduce compressor load in most situations when the temperature setpoint is satisfied.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I know this image is tiny, but for some reason I can only get it to show as a thumbnail.

What it shows is the temp in the vents of IBW while sitting in an 85 degree shop with the A/C on full. Air coming from the vents was about 36 degrees. After a little more tweaking Chill got it to 32 degrees.

Not sure you're talking about the same thing, Bob, but if so this is about a 50 degree drop compared to the temp in the car, which wasn't moving, engine was idling, and it never had a chance to cool down inside. Not sure if the GSW would be able to do something similar. I drove the car around this morning and it was 90 and sunny out. I kept the fan on 1 and had the vents pointed away from my face.

Click to expand...

Now that is an impressive drop! Flash freezing. I don't think the MK7 will ever get close to that.

In other venues and cars, people have installed (usually 12VDC pilot solenoid) valves to block/stop water flow to the heater core in summer time to increase the AC efficiency. Hopefully, that level is not needed in the MK7.

Nice research guys. If we had guys like you designing our cars they would be way better than they are now.

Dad didn't get his car back yet so still nothing to report except that the shop felt that the refrigerant was a bit low. I told Dad to ask them on Wednesday whether the car is set for hot country and if that would help. I expect them to say......Huh What?

Does that setting merely run the cooling fan more or does it somehow directly affect the A/C cycle?

VeeDubTDI said:

Many modern air conditioning systems (including VWs with Climatronic) will reduce compressor load in most situations when the temperature setpoint is satisfied.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I never owned any Climatronic cars. I would like it if they all muted the compressor that way.

I did this last night just before the Wife took the car on some errands.

She was happy with the results. While numbers are great to have, SWMBO being happy is enough for me to justify this change.

The real test for me will be this evening on the way home from work. Today is projected to be in the 90s again, and the car is parked uncovered in a parking lot here at the office.

demagxc said:

There has been plenty of discussion about inconsistent AC systems over at vwvortex. If you have a VCDS you can check to see if you have "Hot Country" enabled. It seems like there are some cars sold that had it enabled and others that didnt. Reading through the thread below, people have reported getting cold air much faster after making the VCDS tweak.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?7974521-2015-GTI-VCDS-AC-quot-Hot-Country-quot

Instructions from the link above:

1) Open VCDS
2) Go To Select Modules
3) Under the "Installed Modules" window - select number 08 - Auto HVAC
4) After the control loads - select Coding - 07
5) Click the button for "Long Coding Helper"
6) Press Tab or arrow down key until you see "Byte 12" selected
7)Under the drop-down for "Bit 4-7" select "10 Temperature Adjustment: Cold (Hot Countires)"
8) In the top-left corner of the window - select the "Exit" menu item
9) Press the "Do It" button to save the new setting
10) If all goes well - you should see a popup "Coding Accepted"

I haven't done this myself or checked what my setting is since I am happy with how my AC performs. Might check just to see what my settings are just for kicks.

Click to expand...

Drove the Alltrack in 95 degree temps on Monady, mixed short highway and country roads, total of 20 miles or so. With fans on 3, full AC with recirc on, never saw temps under 40 degrees with a prob in the center vents.

While it cooled the car to a tolerable level, I wouldn't have wanted to turn the fans down to 1-2 which is what I'd rather be driving around with.

I'll have to check the VCDS tweak, cheap fix if it works.

SWMBO! That is why I am spending my time these days renovating the kitchen.

740GLE said:

never saw temps under 40 degrees with a prob in the center vents.

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40 or low 40s sounds good to me. I think that Dad said his car put out air just under 50 with outside temps in the 80s. I will see what readings he gets in the next few days assuming the dealership returns his car today.

For comparison, our 1991 350 SDL is designed to supply 52F air to the vents (similar to what commercial building HVAC systems will supply in cooling mode). It still cools just as well as the VWs because it supplies that temperature at a much greater airflow. The idea behind the higher supply temperature is that it isn't "too cold" on the occupant's skin, but it still provides the total cooling capacity of a system that runs less airflow and a colder supply temperature.

My 1993 300D has the coldest A/C and the most volume airflow of any car I've owned, although the BMW 335d isn't too shabby either.

My brand new (old) 2015 GSW has an AC issue. On my 30 minute commute home today it didn't come on until I turned it off and turned it on in my driveway. It has a major delay if it ever decides to come on. Plus it seems pretty weak when it is on. Taking it back to the Dealership next Wednesday which is the first available. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.......

Ted Hurst said:

My brand new (old) 2015 GSW has an AC issue. On my 30 minute commute home today it didn't come on until I turned it off and turned it on in my driveway. It has a major delay if it ever decides to come on. Plus it seems pretty weak when it is on. Taking it back to the Dealership next Wednesday. This sucks because I was planning my first major road trip, with my son, in the car to Cincinnati this weekend and now I think I"m staying home. Thanks VW. Your AC sucks. :-(.

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Your symptoms sound identical to what I described above as the same RCV problem VW has been plagued with for years.

Ted Hurst said:

My brand new (old) 2015 GSW has an AC issue. On my 30 minute commute home today it didn't come on until I turned it off and turned it on in my driveway. It has a major delay if it ever decides to come on. Plus it seems pretty weak when it is on. Taking it back to the Dealership next Wednesday which is the first available. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.......

Click to expand...

Please let us all know the diagnosis.

Ted Hurst said:

My brand new (old) 2015 GSW has an AC issue. On my 30 minute commute home today it didn't come on until I turned it off and turned it on in my driveway. It has a major delay if it ever decides to come on. Plus it seems pretty weak when it is on. Taking it back to the Dealership next Wednesday which is the first available. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.......

Click to expand...

Storing vehicles for months IS a hazard.

Part I do not understand is: We do not run the A/C for 5-7 months at a time. But nothing (generally) go bad for years.

These car were "sitting" for at most, 30 months(?)

TED, let us know what happens.

2015vwgolfdiesel said:

Part I do not understand is: We do not run the A/C for 5-7 months at a time. But nothing (generally) go bad for years.

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That's why I use A/C at least once every couple of weeks in the winter, usually in the form of defrosting the windshield. Keep that compressor lubed up and exercised!

Saw something similar with my Gen4 4Runner. It was a best practice to engage 4Hi and 4Lo once a month or so as some people who went a year or more would get a stuck actuator and couldn't engage 4wd.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

That's why I use A/C at least once every couple of weeks in the winter, usually in the form of defrosting the windshield. Keep that compressor lubed up and exercised!

Saw something similar with my Gen4 4Runner. It was a best practice to engage 4Hi and 4Lo once a month or so as some people who went a year or more would get a stuck actuator and couldn't engage 4wd.

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Yes.

Forgot to say, I too, do use the A/C in the winter (from time to time) to clear the windows.

On the newer cars I think the A/C Compressor is engaged when the HVAC is on defrost and the outside temperature is above 45. So odds are it's getting use during the winter regardless.

Update: Took my "new" 2015 GSW in for the 1,000 mile check-up on Saturday and the dealer recharged and tested the system. It seemed better yesterday in our humid 85 degree weather. Hopefully that's fixed it! I'll know for sure in mid-August.

Good Luck. I remember the humidity over there. Hope you'll be chilled!

I enjoyed reading this thread. I just got my HVAC cert. about a month ago so my mind was enjoying the read. Bob is on point with his contributions. I bought my 15 wagen just before the emissions thing broke.... like 3 days before. As the temps rise this time around here in south Texas I have started to question the A/C a bit. However it does put out a nice temp dif. One thing that I thought about was humidity. We all have to factor that into play. I think thats what bob was getting at with all the "feels" and "seems" people said. If your like me and live in a humid ass area temp ranges will "feel" different for sure.