Something strange happened today. Whilst up until a few days ago I could both hot and cold air from all vents, today when I switched on the air con there was no air coming out of the centre vents. I do not see any obvious reasons as to what could have cause this. The only thing that has happened is that that the level of the coolant has dropped to just below the middle. I am not sure the two are linked so any ideas as to why this has happened?

Many thanks in advance

Might be able to fix it by 'resetting' the flap motors via VAGCOM (the diagnostic software).

Out of interest, did you change off of the face setting to something else, then back again then find out there was no air flow? If so, then to mind it would sound like one of the flaps is stuck in the wrong place.

I do not remember changing the setting from face to anything else before this occurred. Afterwards, I did try all of them but to no avail. Assuming one of the flaps is stuck in the wrong place, is there an easy way to fix this?

I think they can be done by someone with a copy of VAGCOM or VCDS - the computer software used to change settings and control stuff on VAG cars. If that doesn't work, I think they can be done manually, but I think that could be a lot of work.

Also, I assume the fan is spinning?

Sure someone else will be along soon!

Yes, the fan is spinning and I am getting cold air from all other vents. It is just the two vents above the console that do not work. Funnily enough, I can hear a noise as if the air is trying to come out out those vents as well but something is "not allowing" it to do so.

Perhaps, it would a good idea to invest in a fault reader with the VAGCOM software.

Does sound like it might have got stuck then. TBH, I wouldn't buy anything, as the software is about £200 or so I think -and the code readers can't do that kind of thing.

If your based in the UK, best bet is to try a post here Diagnostics & VAG-COM General Motoring Discussions - Diagnostics & VAG-COM at BRISKODA.net - BRISKODA - The Skoda Forums, or to ask someone on here http://briskoda.net/diagnostics-vag-com/vag-com-owners-map/80992/ if they would have a look. Or if thats not possible, try a dealer or garage, but they normally charge.

Well, the vents themselves are moving freely. It's just that there is no air coming out. Given all other vents work just fine, could it be that the system has somehow restricted access? Is it worth also checking the filter?

When you say vents, do you mean the bit on the dash? Cos it's not those that are the potenital issue, its eletricly controlled flaps within the dash itself.

Checking the filter won't make a difference to this, as the air can get through to other parts, but taking it out and cleaning it can't hurt.

So it seems a visit to a garage is almost unavoidable. Any ideas how easy it would be for them to fix this and how much is it should cost?

p.s Thank you very much for all the help and advice.

Your welcome.

And no idea, sorry. Never been to Skoda to get work done, but I think it's charged by the hour, so as it shouldn't take too long, shouldn't cost too much. Thats assuming it's the flaps, and not something more sinister.

You *might* be able to reset them by removing the fuse or disconnecting the battery as you can the windows if they ever go funny - but I am not sure. If you try a search, that might tell you.

http://briskoda.net/fabia-i/heater-controls-problem/44475/

http://briskoda.net/fabia-i/weird-heater-problem/101724/

A very qucik searched kicked those up - kinda confirm your problem, and my point, by people who know more than I do.

Not sure, but I think I had the same problem with my last vrs. The airflow direction knob had no control over where the air blew, it was always blowing at my feet no matter where I turned the dial. The dealer said the motor was broken, and that he would need to pull the dash out to fix - after looking at the price I decided to part company with the problem car. Ive got another vrs and hopefully it doesnt present as much trouble.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the direction flaps are not motor controlled, only the temperature flaps. It looks like there could be a problem within the heater/vent unit, or maybe with the control cable attached to the direction kn0b. I have a horrible feeling that neither of these would be paricularly cheap to fix at a dealer because of the labour involved to investigate and repair. I would try a tentative bodgit fix by gently poking some curtain wire down the vent whilst twiddling the kn0b. I know this sounds daft but you never know your luck.

I know you have said the flaps (slats) on the center vents are open, but there is another butterfly flap about 30mm behind those, whcich is controlled by the wheel on the vent housing. It could be just that is stuck shut which would mean only removing the center vent (lots of info on search) and investigating. Or just poke a knitting needle through and hope!!

Edited 11 October, 200916 yr by kwacka
another thought

The airflow direction knob actually works just fine. It is just the centre vents that do not seem to be allowing any air to circulate through them.

This will be a broken pin for the centre vent distribution lever. Or broken gear on lever mechanism. These are both on the right hand side of the heater unit. It's a dash out job to get at them. Page 80-1 of the Skoda Aircon Service Manual if you have one. Part 17 and part 13.

I am afraid I do not have the Skoda Aircon Service Manual. Would you mind sending it to me if possible?

How easy would it be to fix it?

I am afraid I do not have the Skoda Aircon Service Manual. Would you mind sending it to me if possible?

How easy would it be to fix it?

You can download service manual from Wildfire file hosting (16Mb PDF File), there's a link on here somewhere.

Not an easy job, as the dash has to come out. The centre vent section has to be stripped from the heater, as it comes as an assembly.

If it's a damaged control gear, the alignment is tricky to get right.

A rough estimate would be £50 for parts + 6 hours labour, so roughly £410+VAT depending on garage labour rates.

Edited 12 October, 200916 yr by MoggyTech

The airflow direction knob actually works just fine. It is just the centre vents that do not seem to be allowing any air to circulate through them.

You could save yourself a whole lot of grief by checking the butterfly flap on the center vent, as per the second paragraph of my first post. You could peer through the slats with a torch to see if it's open or not. Always check the easy stuff first.

The good news is that the butterfly flaps are not stuck. Furthermore, I took out the centre vent and there was quite a lot of air flowing around.

The bad news is that there is still no air flowing to the centre cent...

The good news is that the butterfly flaps are not stuck. Furthermore, I took out the centre vent and there was quite a lot of air flowing around.

I presume you mean around the other outlets, not the duct that supplies the centre vent!! Looks like MoggyTech has the answer, not really the best news though.

Funnily enough there is a lot of air flowing around the duct that supplies the centre vent but not the centre vent itself.

Edited 12 October, 200916 yr by Errika1

Funnily enough there is a lot of air flowing around the duct that supplies the centre vent but not the centre vent itself.

Well you have lost me, sounds like an invisible force field has been set up in the ducting.

Does the air distribution flap behind the centre vent open when you turn the dial to face level air? If it doesn't, fault is per my previous post. If it does but no air comes out, there is a blockage in the air flow somewhere. Remove pollen filter and see how dirty it is, and see if there are any leaves stuck in the pollen filter housing.

Do you have kids? You're not going to find a Power Ranger or anything like that down there, are you? Serious...

Well you have lost me, sounds like an invisible force field has been set up in the ducting.

Does the air distribution flap behind the centre vent open when you turn the dial to face level air? If it doesn't, fault is per my previous post. If it does but no air comes out, there is a blockage in the air flow somewhere. Remove pollen filter and see how dirty it is, and see if there are any leaves stuck in the pollen filter housing.

I did not strip out the entire dash so I am afraid there is no way to verify whether the air distribution flap works properly or not. I am hoping it is a case of a simple blockage, otherwise it could be quite an expensive trip to the garage...

In any case there is no point in continuing to speculate as I will have to visit the garage anyway. Thankfully they are a friendly bunch so hopefully they will take some pity

Many thanks to everyone for their suggestions and your invaluable help.

I wonder if the ducting has somehow become detached from the heater matrix?? You'll have to let us know what it was cos we're now all baffled!!