A/C Problems.... I'm TIRED of THIS!!!

[ThreePointOhh]

Need some opinions guys. so i've taken my car to the dealer 3 times in one year for the A/C. first time, it wasn't cold, i told them about it. changed o-ring and recharged the system.

few months later the compressor seized, got a new compressor. blah blah blah. still not very cold but it wasnt that warm.

had a very hot day so i took it to them them one more time... they claimed it's fixed now. it should be cold. well there were no more extremely warm days after that because it was september.

Today it's 95 degrees, and the a/c is of course not that cold. Cool-ish but not cold enough. if there's more than 2 people in the car, we're very uncomfortable.

Anyone having a similar problem? Is it common for the A4 to not have very cold a/c. I know it's a common problem on the q7. anybody find a vag fix for this or something?

[Silverstreak98]

I have this same problem in my B5....maybe add more freeon?

[ThreePointOhh]

POS has been charged everytime i go to them. I just dont get it...

[manhertm]

Well, joint the club, I just paid $1500 for a new ac compressor, dryer and o-rings. I'm suing my warranty company.

[NVR STSFD]

When mine was not running very cold, I just took it off the auto function. Now I am comfortable with the temp set at 74 degrees, once the initial heat is gone when I first enter the car. Don't know if you have already tried this, but it worked for me.

[Maverick]

I have the similair issue, It's just not freezing cold you know

[A4p]

try to drive in the highway maybe the ac would produce more cold air.

[kwimberly]

Just to add to your data set, mine gets very cold, very fast. Best AC I've had. I keep it at 66 with the fan at about 3 or 4. I don't use Auto. It's weird though, even when I put the fan on 3 or 4 bars, sometimes I notice it's at 1.

It's VERY hot in Orlando right now. Bad AC is not an option!

...going back outside to check the grill and jump in the pool...

[old guy]

POS has been charged everytime i go to them. I just dont get it...

Ask the shop to check the A/C controller setting. I believe it is in the Comfort/Conv module under 08 Auto HVAC. Go to the adaptation channel 11 to lower the temperature setting offset calibration. The values are arbitrary integers from 1 to 4 with 4 being the lowest temperature. The values used will not effect the temperature shown on your display. If the setting is at 1 or 2 changing to 4 should provide a lower cabin temperature. I believe this adjustment is only available from model year '04 on. I see yours is an '04 so it's worth a shot.

Cheers!

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^what do u not know??

[Pete4 1.8t]

Mine is pretty lame too....with a black interior it's unbearable. About two years ago the climate control head unit was replaced due to peeling under warranty could this have anything to do with it? Another thing I notice is that for some reason the drivers side always blows colder then the passenger side, even when they are set on the same temperature, what's the deal with that???

[old guy]

Mine is pretty lame too....with a black interior it's unbearable. About two years ago the climate control head unit was replaced due to peeling under warranty could this have anything to do with it? Another thing I notice is that for some reason the drivers side always blows colder then the passenger side, even when they are set on the same temperature, what's the deal with that???

It sounds like you have problems with your flap settings. You will have to find a competent shop familiar with the VAG AC settings to sort this out. Here is a link to give you an idea as to what this entails: Clicky click

[old guy]

^^what do u not know??

How to cure my AZ addition when I'm driving an '03 Mercedes.

[Burtonnboarda]

i was freaking out about mine not being cold while i was still in chico (100+ on normal summer days) and then i just took it off auto and hit the arrow (im thinking recirc) button and bam.. cold air :] haha i felt like an idiot after dieing for weeks but now im always happy

[lookaught]

My AC is also rather weak. If it is over 80 degrees, I keep it set to LOW and just adjust the fan speed to get to a comfortable temperature. The Auto function is worthless, I think that perhaps the cabin temp sensor is bad, as I have this problem in the winter with the heat as well... it will blow burning hot air for a long while before it will cool off, even with the temp set low. Its really annoying... the most annoying feature of the car to be honest.

[wolfdog]

Hmm, at the risk of jinxing myself, mine works fine on auto or otherwise. I never turn it to ice cold, though. I only want to be comfortable.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

mine has the same freakin problem the passenger side is always warmer, but then they're even!

[PRY4SNO]

When I first picked up the car, the A/C was so frigid I could only use it in short bursts. Say a half hour or so.

Then I had to take my car to the Sewickley Car Store, and it hasn't worked since. I drove at least ten thousand miles over three weeks last summer in 100+ (37C+) weather rockin' the hillbilly A/C. It was BRUTAL.

When I had it looked at after the SCS debacle, I learned that all three seals blew and the compressor basically imploded... not exactly a regular occurrence (IE, SCS was responsible... but wouldn't pay).

So I picked up a used one off eBay for a mere $220 + shipping and had it installed and the system recharged. Nada. My mechanic says it must be a switch... what-the??? So next time he tries to fix it, the whole system has to be recharged. Again.

Anyhow, take me out of the "functioning A/C" category and place me in the "had meat-locker quality A/C" category.

PS

Thanks again to OG for the wicked support... I'll ask my guy to do that free before swapping the switch and recharging the system.

[drmarcj]

Mine is blowing nice and cold (yes it does get hot enough in Canada to need AC... sometimes...)

Anyway: didn't I read somewhere that the auto temp control only turns on the AC when the outside temperature is above some threshold (hence it doesn't automatically turn on the AC in the wintertime)? Maybe the problem is it's reading outside air temp wrong, and is thus not running the compressor enough?

I seem to remember someone complaining about this being the source of their AC woes, way back when.

[ThreePointOhh]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Thanks old guy for the suggestion. I'll see if i can get that working. do you need the full version of vag-com to do that?