Cold air from heaters

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goodbuzzman1

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Hi. i recently purchased a 2017 s3 sportback. After a couple of days it became apparent that the interior heating isnt working correctly. My previous s3 would have relentless hot air after about 3 minutes but this one not so much..
Heres my issue:
This one seems to take a good 8 minutes to get even a little bit of heat.
The main problem is the drivers side is only luke warm (through dash vent, window & footwell) even when the engine is up to temperature. Im pretty sure the passenger side is not as hot as it should be however it is certainly warmer than the drivers side.
Something to note, the previous owner said that the water pump was done just before i bought it. Could there be an airlock in the coolant system?

Bar an airlock i guess im looking at flaps or heater matrix right? I have VCDS, is there anything i can check with it?

any advice welcome.
Thanks
 
goodbuzzman1 said:
Hi. i recently purchased a 2017 s3 sportback. After a couple of days it became apparent that the interior heating isnt working correctly. My previous s3 would have relentless hot air after about 3 minutes but this one not so much..
Heres my issue:
This one seems to take a good 8 minutes to get even a little bit of heat.
The main problem is the drivers side is only luke warm (through dash vent, window & footwell) even when the engine is up to temperature. Im pretty sure the passenger side is not as hot as it should be however it is certainly warmer than the drivers side.
Something to note, the previous owner said that the water pump was done just before i bought it. Could there be an airlock in the coolant system?

Bar an airlock i guess im looking at flaps or heater matrix right? I have VCDS, is there anything i can check with it?

any advice welcome.
Thanks
Click to expand...

First port of call would be to check for airlocks in the system.

You could also try to see if the silica gel pouch in the coolant header tank is still there / intact as when these burst the contents can clog up the heater matrix.

Rule out any air locks first though.


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Ah yes, the old silicone bag. I will check that. Do you know the best method to bleed the air out?
 
You have the main 4 reasons already.

As you have VCDS its also worth checking the air temp sensors in the ventilation system as well, in case one is giving strange readings and confusing the system.
 
Check all the pipes in the bay to see if they're hot, when the reservoir is hot that is, if they are then it's clearly circulating fine, then I'd be looking at the flaps motors as that is one culprit for sure.
 
NHN said:
Check all the pipes in the bay to see if they're hot, when the reservoir is hot that is, if they are then it's clearly circulating fine, then I'd be looking at the flaps motors as that is one culprit for sure.
Click to expand...
 
I had exactly the same fault with my 2017 A3 S-Line 1.5ltr and took it into Hawco Highland Audi for investigation.

I have taken out an Audi warranty (with a £100 excess) since the manufacturer’s warranty expired, and this was the first time I have had to call on it.

They found a V188 pump not working which was replaced under warranty. Unfortunately, this made no difference to the lukewarm heat output on the driver’s side.

Further investigation found the heater matrix was blocked on the driver’s side. They sent me an Audi Cam video with the heater matrix on the workbench filled with hot water. A digital thermometer showed that the driver’s side of the matrix was ambient and the passenger side was 40c

Needless to say, the heater matrix isn’t covered by the warranty, and a new one was quoted at £1250

Thanks to Hawco Highland Audi, they were able to negotiate an Audi contribution towards the matrix. Total bill just under £500 which includes the £100 excess. Without the warranty and goodwill from Audi it would have been £2k

I can now feel the heater working after a mile or so with the outside temp at 0c. I do wonder if this is a design fault, my car just had a new cambelt fitted at Highland Audi and presumably a new water pump and anti-freeze which never cured the poor heater.

Perhaps we will see more cars needing a new heater matrix at five years old, my car has done 57k
 
Thanks for the reply. I just checked the heater matrix pipes this morning, the top one is hot but the bottom one not so much. I’m going to just bite the bullet and buy a new matrix and fit it myself
 
goodbuzzman1 said:
Thanks for the reply. I just checked the heater matrix pipes this morning, the top one is hot but the bottom one not so much. I’m going to just bite the bullet and buy a new matrix and fit it myself
Click to expand...

In case you need pointers.




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I’ve also been reading that on some Audi models, there is a bleed hole on the heater matrix pipe? Does anyone know if this exists on the 8V?
 
valenta said:
I had exactly the same fault with my 2017 A3 S-Line 1.5ltr and took it into Hawco Highland Audi for investigation.

I have taken out an Audi warranty (with a £100 excess) since the manufacturer’s warranty expired, and this was the first time I have had to call on it.

They found a V188 pump not working which was replaced under warranty. Unfortunately, this made no difference to the lukewarm heat output on the driver’s side.

Further investigation found the heater matrix was blocked on the driver’s side. They sent me an Audi Cam video with the heater matrix on the workbench filled with hot water. A digital thermometer showed that the driver’s side of the matrix was ambient and the passenger side was 40c

Needless to say, the heater matrix isn’t covered by the warranty, and a new one was quoted at £1250

Thanks to Hawco Highland Audi, they were able to negotiate an Audi contribution towards the matrix. Total bill just under £500 which includes the £100 excess. Without the warranty and goodwill from Audi it would have been £2k

I can now feel the heater working after a mile or so with the outside temp at 0c. I do wonder if this is a design fault, my car just had a new cambelt fitted at Highland Audi and presumably a new water pump and anti-freeze which never cured the poor heater.

Perhaps we will see more cars needing a new heater matrix at five years old, my car has done 57k
Click to expand...
Yeah I’m in the same boat as you here I’ve got a 2017 with no hot air.
valenta said:
I had exactly the same fault with my 2017 A3 S-Line 1.5ltr and took it into Hawco Highland Audi for investigation.

I have taken out an Audi warranty (with a £100 excess) since the manufacturer’s warranty expired, and this was the first time I have had to call on it.

They found a V188 pump not working which was replaced under warranty. Unfortunately, this made no difference to the lukewarm heat output on the driver’s side.

Further investigation found the heater matrix was blocked on the driver’s side. They sent me an Audi Cam video with the heater matrix on the workbench filled with hot water. A digital thermometer showed that the driver’s side of the matrix was ambient and the passenger side was 40c

Needless to say, the heater matrix isn’t covered by the warranty, and a new one was quoted at £1250

Thanks to Hawco Highland Audi, they were able to negotiate an Audi contribution towards the matrix. Total bill just under £500 which includes the £100 excess. Without the warranty and goodwill from Audi it would have been £2k

I can now feel the heater working after a mile or so with the outside temp at 0c. I do wonder if this is a design fault, my car just had a new cambelt fitted at Highland Audi and presumably a new water pump and anti-freeze which never cured the poor heater.

Perhaps we will see more cars needing a new heater matrix at five years old, my car has done 57k
Click to expand...
I’m in the same boat as you 2017 1.5tfsi and cold air I was just on the hunt to see what could be the cure and looking at all the threads this will be my answer I will need to get in contact with highland Audi and see what’s what.
 
I ordered a heater matrix from Audi. Should have it the next day or two. Will report back after I fit it
 
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goodbuzzman1 said:
I ordered a heater matrix from Audi. Should have it the next day or two. Will report back after I fit it
Click to expand...
What was the price for a new matrix? Are you replacing the header tank too? I see a lot of people doing this aswell just as a precaution. And supposedly the new tanks don’t come with the little baggy inside.
 
Did our Golf 7 today.

Nice hot air from all the vents now.

A top tip is to clamp the coolant In / Out pipes at the bulkhead in the bay.

Around 200ml of coolant comes out when disconnecting the bottom pipe.

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