Poor Air-Con.....

[Berisford]

It's been 20c here today and the first real test of the air-con in the Karoq - am I impressed? No, I am not!

 

My Golf knocks out 4c within the first 2 minutes and it's coming up for 10 years old.

 

The Karoq ponces about taking a good minute to even think about bringing the temperature down and then takes forever and a couple of miles at 50 - 60mph to come down to 10c.

 

It normally bottoms out around the 10c mark but then other times I might see 8c, but it settles down to 10 - 11c, either way, not the result I was expecting.

 

I'm off down to Italy in July, I suspect it might well struggle! Might have to take the Golf.......

 

These temperatures I quote are recorded from a probe 20cm into the central face vent with the others closed, blower set to 2 and the control set to 'face' in both vehicles.

[xman]

Check the aircon operating mode in the infotainment, it can be set to various levels,

Operating modes Automatic mode works in three modes - moderate, medium, and intensive. Setting the different modes is carried out via the function surface on page 114. D» Fig. 150

[Berisford]

It's set to 'Intensive'........

[xman]

I guess you'll need to open your windows and wear lighter clothes  

 

Maybe a trip to your dealer is called for.

[Ootohere]

@Berisford

So what is the actual interior temp that can be achieved with the A/C if the ambient temp is 20*oC plus & the vents are open including to the rear?

& what do you want it to be?

I am happy with a VW Group car if i get 16*oC or so in the car, so the likes of up to a 10*oC drop from the outside temp.

Edited 18 April, 2019 by Skoffski

[Kenny R]

I’m not sure what your trying to achieve here. Why not set the temperature to a comfortable 19-20 deg set to auto and ac on 24/7 365 and the car will be comfortable no matter what the temp is outside without fiddling.

[Berisford]

10c at the vent is not ‘cold’ in my book........I’ll have a word with the dealer.

[Ootohere]

10*oC is not cold at the vent, but then 10*oC is not the temp you are trying to bring the cars interior to.

If you get in a car sitting in the sun and it is 40*oC inside you want it 25*oC cooler maybe, and if at 25*oC 18 or 19*oC of a drop.

 

Does the A/C achieve that?  Just not as quick as you might like though.

 

63 pence each all the way from China.  So handy.

Edited 19 April, 2019 by Skoffski

[Berisford]

39 minutes ago, Skoffski said:

 

63 pence each all the way from China.  So handy.

 

 

Yes, I have similar - after digging around on the interweb last night it seems the face vents may not be the best place to check output temperatures as there is a (unconfirmed) theory that the air from those vents may not be as cold as they could be, insamuch as, they are purposely run less cold so as not to chill the hands / arms too much.

More testing to be done me thinks........

[Ootohere]

Easy test is, 

Check the ambient temp, (Air temp / about 5-6 feet above the ground, and the ground temp is the grass temp, so at ground level.)

then check the cars interior temp as it is sitting,

start the car,

drive with A/C on set to low and see how long until the interior temp is comfortable, or at a particular temp in various places, like at feet and head heights. 

 

Total time of experiment maybe 10 minutes.   Not Rocket Science really.

[Berisford]

2 years on it’s still ****e - Skoda dealer says there’s nothing amiss with the pressure and the air-con system now used is the best achievable under the latest EU directives.
 

For me the ‘rocket science’ mentioned above by the member from Tayside is to take our 11 year old Golf if it’s going to be warm…………..

[xman]

R1234yf gas as used in the latest cars is less effecient than the older R134a gas.

 

Could be faulty or poor expansion valve.

 

Could be the dealer hasn't investigated properly and perhaps a heater flap is not fully shutting off the heater when you dial LO

 

Could be the variable pump is deliberately restricted output to meet WLTP/RDE carp.

 

Could be undersized for the glass area of a Karoq

 

Could be just lazy/incompetent dealer

 

Could be lots of other things, but check your pollen filter, (as briskodians often say)

[Goggles]

“https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/innovation-and-technology/technology/10-tips-on-how-to-use-air-conditioning-properly/

 

I suspect the a/c controller thinks it knows better than you what you want, I think you can use OBD to increase both cooler and fan output.

 

From above Skoda link:

"If you want to be sure you’re making the most beneficial use of the air-conditioning, your best bet is to keep to a temperature of around 22 °C. When it’s really hot, perhaps go for an even higher temperature so that there are no shocks to the body caused by the big difference in temperature when you get out of the car,”

[Breezy_Pete]

That's brilliant. How to make your aircon work better? Ask it to do less!

[pragmatix]

On 19/04/2019 at 11:47, e-Roottoot said:

Easy test is, 

Check the ambient temp, (Air temp / about 5-6 feet above the ground, and the ground temp is the grass temp, so at ground level.)

then check the cars interior temp as it is sitting,

start the car,

drive with A/C on set to low and see how long until the interior temp is comfortable, or at a particular temp in various places, like at feet and head heights. 

 

Total time of experiment maybe 10 minutes.   Not Rocket Science really.

I can drive mine all day on low and still not get cold my Cmax I could manage about 5 mins before I wa freezing mines back to the dealer again 

[croquemonsieur]

Has the Aircon been serviced.  I'm including an aircon service along with the main car service end of july.  The Karoq is 2 years old MY19 and have it in my head that this should be done every 2 years - maybe I'm overdoing it - any thoughts as to appropriate intervals?  The first car I had with aircon was secondhand and by the time of the aircan service at 5years old the ventilation was getting rather smelly , but don't recall if it was otherwise performing badly.

[Goggles]

Car booked in for year two service and (from dealer) 
Having your aircon serviced every 24 months means you’ll enjoy summer breezes and de-misted windows all the way. Our aircon service covers everything to keep your car’s climate fresh and clean. Our ŠKODA-trained technicians will check pollen filters, seals, components and functionality, decontaminating the entire system to reduce bacteria, and changing the lubrication oil and refrigerant. And they’ll use only ŠKODA Genuine Parts, so you can be confident your car’s working as well as the day you bought it.

[pragmatix]

1 hour ago, Goggles said:

so you can be confident your car’s working as well as the day you bought it.

In my case I hope it would work better, only had the car a month.

[Berisford]

I suspect today’s EU directive air con systems are like EU directive carpet cleaners - poor.

[pragmatix]

6 hours ago, Berisford said:

I suspect today’s EU directive air con systems are like EU directive carpet cleaners - poor.

I Fear you may be right.

[Fux]

this is my second summer with Karoq and have had no issues with keeping the car cool at 35+C temperatures (I just set the air con temp at 21-22C on Auto and all is good) - with these recent european heat waves, its been 29C in basement (-1) of our apartment building where the car is parked. Takes about few minutes for aircon to do its thing and cool down the car. And I have panoramic sunroof so it takes slightly longer then on cars without it.

 

If your car can't keep you cool with the outside temperature being measly 20C, then something is definitely wrong with your aircon, no other explanation.

Instead of the skoda dealer, take your car to a 3rd party service and see what they have to say on the matter.

Edited 5 July, 2021 by Fux

[FabFabFabia]

My 2018 Karoq Edition aircon has never got cold enough for me. Using the Carista app I was able to change the car's internal aircon setting to "for hotter countries" which "may" have cooled the interior down a bit more or I could have imagined it. When I hired a 2020 Skoda Kamiq last year the aircon on that was absolutely freezing as soon as I started up the ignition and stayed freezing throughout the journey. So it can't be EU restrictions on the coldness.I don't understand why the Kamiq aircon is so lukewarm in comparison. My 3-year service is due next month so I'll have the dealer service the aircon and check it over for me. But I've a feeling they will say "it's all working within specification".

[edbostan]

Our aircon units are weedy compared with American units. European compressors are smaller and what with the obsessions with emissions we get barely adequate.

[SurreyJohn]

On 01/07/2021 at 19:54, croquemonsieur said:

Has the Aircon been serviced.  I'm including an aircon service along with the main car service end of july.  The Karoq is 2 years old MY19 and have it in my head that this should be done every 2 years - maybe I'm overdoing it - any thoughts as to appropriate intervals?  The first car I had with aircon was secondhand and by the time of the aircan service at 5years old the ventilation was getting rather smelly , but don't recall if it was otherwise performing badly.

I have never had aircon serviced (or regassed) on our 9 year old Skoda, still produces cold air.   But we very rarely turn it off (and tend to turn it back on following day) it also helps demisting in winter

 

If you turn it off for extended intervals, then starts to smell as bacteria can build up, seems to dry out and fail.   
 

I guess we might use a few pennies of extra fuel, but that is nothing compared to cost of repairs which can be few hundred pounds if you turn it off.    
 

Personally I think the aircon service is a money making scam on a par with offering to change the air in your tyres so they have fresh air.   Completely pointless 

[Phutters]

9 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

Personally I think the aircon service is a money making scam on a par with offering to change the air in your tyres so they have fresh air.   Completely pointless 

I'd take some convincing that this wasn't the case too. The longest I've had a car with aircon is the dozen years I had an Audi allroad from new, and although I probably didn't use the A/C as often as the... erm... purists say you should, it was working pretty much as well when I flogged it as the day we got it.

 

Never had it serviced nor nowt, and neither have I had the aircon in any of the rest of the family's cars done.

 

I can honestly say that I've never dashed my fist into the palm of the other hand and said: 'You know what? I really regret not paying such a lot of money to a dealership for something I don't think needs doing'.

 

Now nitrogen in tyres.

 

That's a whole different ball game...

 

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