I have had the air con re gassed as it would not get really cool inside the car, but to no avail and everything else has been checked and working (dealer checked) is there anything else to check or do???

I have checked with a thermometer out side temp yesterday 26.5 inside 20 with air con on full

I do not have climatic control though I would like it if it can be retro fitted

My superb was like a fridge with it running

Edited 22 May, 201016 yr by skippy41

I have had the air con re gassed as it would not get really cool inside the car, but to no avail and everything else has been checked and working (dealer checked) is there anything else to check or do???

I have checked with a thermometer out side temp yesterday 26.5 inside 20 with air con on full

I do not have climatic control though I would like it if it can be retro fitted

My superb was like a fridge with it running

Hi Skippy

You say the inside temp is about 20, but what is the temp as it comes out of the vents, thats where it is usually measured.

I think the usual drop is a bout 5 degrees, so from 26 to 20 is poss about right, with a vent temp about 5 degrees

Radiotwo

Have you replaced the pollen filter.This is situated underneath the glove box,gets clogged up easily and really effects the a/c's performance.I have the standard a/c in my Octy,compared with the Furby it takes slightly more time to start cooling probably,most probably due to the car being bigger,but once it's coooling,it's more like a freezer than a fridge ....

Have you replaced the pollen filter.This is situated underneath the glove box,gets clogged up easily and really effects the a/c's performance.I have the standard a/c in my Octy,compared with the Furby it takes slightly more time to start cooling probably,most probably due to the car being bigger,but once it's coooling,it's more like a freezer than a fridge ....

Yes it was changed at the last service 3 weeks ago I say fridge but its more like gas mark 1 I had the thermometer next to all he vents over an hour and 20 was the lowest

I can get hold of a climatic control unit from the scrapers what else would I need to get it working

Edited 22 May, 201016 yr by skippy41

From what I've read on this forum it's not feasible to retrofit climate control due to the very high cost although it's not something I've looked into as I'm much happier with the manual controls after having a car with climate control.

What does the air feel like coming through the vents with the aircon on?

John

Was the AC topped up or was the gas vacuumed out and refilled?

Ideally, it should be vacuumed and then filled by weight not pressure. There should be a label near the LP port that gives the weight of R134a and oil. On my Mk.1 Octy it is 750g R134a+50g oil.

Mine was done it the last 2 weeks.

I've just checked my vent temp. It was 3.9degC with 24degC external. With the fan on 4, I had it down to 15degC in a few minutes and it was still dropping, albeit quite slowly.

HTH

Was the AC topped up or was the gas vacuumed out and refilled?

Ideally, it should be vacuumed and then filled by weight not pressure. There should be a label near the LP port that gives the weight of R134a and oil. On my Mk.1 Octy it is 750g R134a+50g oil.

Mine was done it the last 2 weeks.

I've just checked my vent temp. It was 3.9degC with 24degC external. With the fan on 4, I had it down to 15degC in a few minutes and it was still dropping, albeit quite slowly.

HTH

Surely it ought to get into the low 60's F? Just got back from southeast USA, had a little Mazda3, and if felt like you could make ice cubes in the cupholder if you wanted to.

Surely it ought to get into the low 60's F? Just got back from southeast USA, had a little Mazda3, and if felt like you could make ice cubes in the cupholder if you wanted to.

15degC is 59degF so yes it does

Surely it ought to get into the low 60's F? Just got back from southeast USA, had a little Mazda3, and if felt like you could make ice cubes in the cupholder if you wanted to.

Hi

The problem is they don't use R134a , sorry I don't what they do use but it gets the temp a lot lower than here

We are more worried about the CFC's than them.

Radiotwo

Hi

The problem is they don't use R134a , sorry I don't what they do use but it gets the temp a lot lower than here

We are more worried about the CFC's than them.

Radiotwo

The US used to use R12 but it was not more efficient than R134a which most systems now use. In fact many users have converted from R12 to R134a.

The main reason for better performance is the higher capacity systems. The standard fill in the US is 3lb (1362g) - almost twice the capacity here in the UK (750g).

Edited 22 May, 201016 yr by rwbaldwin

How about the a/c compressor.We've replaced quite a few at work.I'd say it is the second common failing mechanical part besides the turbo on the diesel models......what about the plumbing ?.Could there be a leak somewhere ?.

Managed to get it cooler by letting it run for half an hour then used the recycle switch, made a massive difference, thermo dropped to 15 with outside temp at a giddy 28 showing

For sure its a pollen filter issue or some sort of blockage.

My VRS is only three months old and i have to say that the air con feels cool but not cold. my old VRS mark one and also the last car a lexus was to be honest getting to the point of being painful if you held your hand there for two mins or so. this one feels cold but not as cold

My VRS is only three months old and i have to say that the air con feels cool but not cold. my old VRS mark one and also the last car a lexus was to be honest getting to the point of being painful if you held your hand there for two mins or so. this one feels cold but not as cold

Yep mine's the same... Previous Ford Focus and before that Honda Accord would get cold, i.e. you'd run it for a couple of mins after car been in blazing sunshine all day and you would immediately feel cool nad refreshed.....

In my new (3 months old) Octavia it can run for 20 mins or more and it feels cooler and gets the level to a reasonable level of coolness (eventually) but is a long way from being cold and I can still get out feelign sticky and warm.

Playing with the re-circ seems to make a small difference but pretty negligible....

I suspect there is something wrong with those system. My '58 plate vRS cools very well. Saturday afternoon it had been parked for a few hours in sunshine and within 10 mins of setting off it was certainly cold enough inside. If you hold your hand by the vent it becomes uncomfortably cold after a minute or so.

Would it be possible to retrofit climatic control IE change over from dials and switches to the digital readout

Would it be possible to retrofit climatic control IE change over from dials and switches to the digital readout

Not without considerable expense and difficulty.

It will not improve the cooling capability of the system, just the finesse of temperature control.

retro-Fitting of Climate control is a No-go im afraid.

It's not just a case of swapping the panels you need

New Wiring - Climatic runs off a cable Climatronic runs off about 8

New Fans - Climatic has 4 speed Climatronic has 9 speed

New Vents - Climatic is controlled by a Wire Cable Climatronic is controlled electrically

New Panel - Obviously for the digital readout

New Compressor - Different compressor to take into account the different fan speed and that fact you can have a 4 deg difference on either side of cabin

I looked into it a while back and i stopped asking questions when the price started going upwards of £4k just for fitting. You would have to remove the whole dash to re-wire everything in and it would take about a week of solid work to get it all in.

retro-Fitting of Climate control is a No-go im afraid.

It's not just a case of swapping the panels you need

New Wiring - Climatic runs off a cable Climatronic runs off about 8

New Fans - Climatic has 4 speed Climatronic has 9 speed

New Vents - Climatic is controlled by a Wire Cable Climatronic is controlled electrically

New Panel - Obviously for the digital readout

New Compressor - Different compressor to take into account the different fan speed and that fact you can have a 4 deg difference on either side of cabin

I looked into it a while back and i stopped asking questions when the price started going upwards of £4k just for fitting. You would have to remove the whole dash to re-wire everything in and it would take about a week of solid work to get it all in.

Hi guys, just been reading this thread, i've got a 61 plate Octavia 1.8 TSI Estate, its a fantastic car, really quick and comfortable, but the aircon is crap!

Mine is a company car and i've got it going in to the garage on Thursday to have the air con looked at and also the petrol cap pencil switch has broken and needs adjusting each time before you can close the petrol cap.

As i've said, mine is only a 61 plate, but the air con feels just like having a non aircon car on cold blower, its terrible, i've had cars in the past whereby when you get out of the car after having the aircon on you can feel the heat hit you when you get out of the car where the air con inside the car is so cold, but not this car, the inside temperature only feels a couple of degrees less than the outside.....

Have always found the aircon a bit limp in the Octy, even when brand new.

Can anything be done to improve it?

I find it's the placement of the vents and the centre ones never seem to blow as hard as the outer ones. I've even taken the dashtop box out to see if it was all connected as it should be and it was. The centre air vents are very poor even a full power compared to my Mrs Astra H, that thing blows a gale on full speed, it can literally make the interior tooo cold on even the hotest day we had last year when the outside reading was 36.

It does get cold and keeps the cabin very cool on a scorching day but it rates about 7/10 compared to the Astra's 10/10

Agreed, even after my new compressor, drier and a regas a few weeks back the AC feels quite feeble compared to other cars I've had in the past. The MKIV Astra had EPIC air con, in fact it hurt it was that cold. Hell, even the Citroen Xantia AC was better, despite having an AC clutch so sudden it would make the car jerk when it came on. In fact even the wifes Fabia has stronger AC and that's never been re-gassed and has 90k on the clock.

The AC on the Octy is just plain crap IMO. Prone to failure, and weak as wee wee when it's 'working'. Well done VAG.

Edited 28 May, 201214 yr by Chrispy