Do you ever feel any cold air, seemingly coming from outside the car like a draft, when your hand is on the gear stick (or in the ash tray). I've noticed it recently because it has been so cold outside and I have had the heating on full.

Its not cold air in the footwells is it?

When I set off on cold mornings I have all of the hot air on the windscreen, this means the footwells will be full of cold air and believe it or not this cold air can 'slosh' about in the footwells when cornering and the like, it can be felt when your hand is on the gearstick/handbrake.

You also feel the cold air when the footwell heating comes on from cold.

yep , i have felt this , car was warm as well , very strange , and it is round the gearlever area.

Leak in pipes to jumbo box or rear vents?

I get this aswell had it into the garage and they can't find anything wrong everything seemed fine. I suppose air is going to get in somewhere at some point. I've had the bloody thing apart too to see if i could find where it came from but to no avail.

HTH

Carl:thumbup:

Had this on my MK3 Golf and now on my Octy. I remember on the Golf I stripped it down and nothing wrong. It always happened going round corners and thus just put it down to cold air coming from the footwells...strange but maybe a VW trait??? I know it never happens on our Ford Fiesta.

I do seem to notice it more when I am going around roundabouts enthusiatically.

I think I have worked it out. The cold air is trapped in the ash tray. I presume the ash tray is fairly air tight to prevent it stinking the whole car out if it were used and left with ash in. So when the car is sat outside all night, all of the air in the car cools down, when I get in and stick the heaters on, the air in the ashtray remains the same temperature.

I put my hand in this morning and it was really cold, took the tray out and left the lid open, waited a few minutes and the ashtray gap wasn't feeling draughty anymore. I was concerned I had an hole letting a draught in somewhere, happy now that I haven't.

Its the footwells

I noticed it again this morning going round a sharp 90 about 3 miles from my house.. It also happens when the footwell heating kicks in as the air from the outlets forces the cold air up and out of the footwell. My ashtray lid is open most of the time as my bluetooth set lives there so I know it isn't that.

Me too - and in my previous Astra. the 'sloshing' of cold air in the footwell sounds about right, but I wondered if maybe the cornering was moving a sprung 'gate' that diverted the air flow between vents?

I also get this and on other cars it has been suggested that an airlock in the coolant system can cause similar problems, but I wouldn't have thought it would be that on relatively new Octavias.

It's definitely not the ashtray as mine is always open, so the only other theory that seems to fit is cold air in the footwells.

All of the dampers are motorised so shouldn't be affected by cornering.

I think I have worked it out. The cold air is trapped in the ash tray. I presume the ash tray is fairly air tight to prevent it stinking the whole car out if it were used and left with ash in. So when the car is sat outside all night, all of the air in the car cools down, when I get in and stick the heaters on, the air in the ashtray remains the same temperature.

I put my hand in this morning and it was really cold, took the tray out and left the lid open, waited a few minutes and the ashtray gap wasn't feeling draughty anymore. I was concerned I had an hole letting a draught in somewhere, happy now that I haven't.

That would make sense to me......

Have this problem on my passat when i turn a corner v. strange.

I had a problem with cold air in the passenger footwell of my 54 Octavia hatch, it turned out to be the plastic cover on the underneath of the passenger-side dash had come loose; the heater trunking seal had moved and it was letting cold air in from the outside.

It's just a slide and click panel so I guess it worked loose on its own, pushed everything back and it was fine - although the rest of the car was a dog !! - the only one of the 6 Octavias and Superbs I've owned.

But just traded it in with a leaky Turbo, needing a new cambelt and full 100k service and the dealer gave me £500 less than list for an A1 example..... and £1k off the sticker price (stacked up with Parkers etc.) of their demonstrator and fitted cruise control free as well. Considering I was looking at a £2k bill, I saved myself about £4k. Times are tough in the trade at the mo as we all know!!

Cheers

I've noticed this in my vrs but also in my last two cars, an Impreza and a Golf so I doubt it can be the ashtray, and it can't be the jumbo box as I don't have one.

It feels like it's coming from the gear stick; cold air from the footwells is my current favourite theory, but I very much doubt it's anything to worry about.

I've noticed this too especially when going round corners and when i've been snug and warm only to get a blast of cold air. Will see if it happens on my new VRS LE when i pick it up next week :)

How come I have noticed it with the jumbo box air shutter firmly closed, its the colder and more dense air sitting in the footwells. Stick your hand into one on a cold morning and you'll notice the difference.

SInce I put things back together, I've left this closed, and never felt the draught since.

The vent is closed on mine. Why would I want cold CDs?

Anybody get a lot of hot air coming from the passenger seat? I do :thumbdwn:

Anybody get a lot of hot air coming from the passenger seat? I do :thumbdwn:

It can be cancelled out by turning the stereo up :P

Its not cold air in the footwells is it?

When I set off on cold mornings I have all of the hot air on the windscreen, this means the footwells will be full of cold air and believe it or not this cold air can 'slosh' about in the footwells when cornering and the like, it can be felt when your hand is on the gearstick/handbrake.

You also feel the cold air when the footwell heating comes on from cold.

Hi -

Just want to thank you for your advice. My problem is exactly as describe in this thread i.e. cold air flow around gear lever when taking sharp corners. I wouldn't have ever imagined cold air in footwells however I tested it today and I can say the theory of "cold air in the footwell" has proven to be the problem for me. Fristly I do not have any air conditioning just simple basic fan heater. So by turning the fan direction to 1/2 window and 1/2 floor I no longer feel any cold air coming from dash around gear level, most notably when taking sharp corners. When the car heats up after around 10 mins I can change the settings back to full window or any other setting and no more cold drafts.

Excellent.

Thanks,

octojoe.

Edited 25 February, 201016 yr by octojoe