TDI auxillary heater - Cold Weather

[Chris43]

Little tip for any 2.0TDI drivers (assuming the feature reads across from the 2.0tdi fitted to VW cars)

In my previous Golf 2.0TDI (184PS) there was a 2KW auxiliary electric heater fitted that supplemented heat from engine when the coolant was cold to help warm the cabin quicker.

To activate the heater:

Ambient has to be less than 3°C
Turn climate control to Auto
Set the AC button to on
Stop/Start is disabled

As soon as the engine coolant reaches a set temp the heater is turned off. From threads I read on the VW forum you need to have a decent charge on the battery as well. In the golf you could hear the relay click when the heater was activated and within a minute or so warm air could be felt coming in to the cabin.

This little feature was not mentioned in the car manual and it seems counter intuitive to turn the AC on when its cold.

Maybe somebody with a 2.0 tdi 150PS or 184PS could confirm?

On the Golf the auxiliary heater wasn't fitted to the 1.6TDi

 

[Ormesome]

I have this on my 1.6tdi A3. Great feature. Its -5 here but the cars cabin warmed up within a few mins. Oil temp took ages longer so without this feature I would have been freezing for a good 10mins I reckon. At the traffic lights I tested the on & off feature in the settings and the most I can see is the revs going up to about the 1k line, no clicks. I would say the click is prob your air con coming on maybe to take away any moisture in the air? mine is left on all the time so thats maybe why I don't hear it.

 

[Chris43]

Pleased to hear the auxiliary heater is on the A3 as well. I never understood why VW didnt put instructions on how to activate it in the driver manual.