Old Yeti, new owner.

[KLF]

Hello there  

 

I traded my T5 4motion to a 2010 TDI 170 4x4 Yeti last week. Wonderful little thing  This is Experience trim (top spec in Finland back then) - no idea if that name was used anywhere else. For me the important things were parking sensors, multifunction streering wheel, automatic AC and xenon headlights. 

 

There are few quirks or features however... 

 

First off, Until friday I had no warm air coming in while driving. Temperature on friday was finally +2C and when I slowed down to 40kph I got some warm air.  

AC on Auto, it defaults to +22C and blows cold air. If I put both sides to MAX, I get some warm-ish air. Is this normal below freezing temperatures? This is on 80+ kph speeds. 

 

Second, I'd like to replace the standard radio (no bt) and I'm fine with an android headunit. Is there something that I should definitely know before doing it. I will probably let a professional do it, I'm good at taking things apart but not so much putting them back together. 

 

Third. Since I resemble a gorilla (short legs, long back) and have arms of a t-rex, my right knee rests heavily on center console and the arm rest is way too low. I have been thinking about a small padding that I could cover with faux leather and glue on the side of the center console. Since the console is black already it should not be really visible. For the arm rest, the gap between my elbow and the arm rest in top position is like 4-5cm at least. I've grown to like the arm rest in my previous A4 and A6 cars, especially since my commute is now about one hour each direction. 
 

Last (for now) I'd really like some extra light for high beams. My brother has an extra led bar and I was wondering if someone has seen or made a roof rack/basket and  light install? A single light bar has been road legal here in Finland for a few years now, so that part is fine. 

 

I'm taking the car to a garage next week, dealer who sold the car is paying to check the heating issue and actually the front tires were worn out so I might score couple replacements for free. 

Windshield is also cracked and the left rear light cluster for some reason is misaligned, which has caused paint to chip off in the rear hatch. All those will be fixed for free also. I hope I'll get them fixed before he realizes what a p.o.s the T5 was...  

[rover220]

does it get to temperature on the gauge? whats the oil temp reading?

[KLF]

Yes it does. Slowly, but it gets there. Analog gauge shows about 90, digital was 85C. 

I need to check that more often while commuting next week, last week I was more interested in fuel consumption figures.   

 

My commute is 55km/45min each way and most of it is 80/100kph roads. I only got actually warm air once I got closer to my home and under 40kph. 

I know that "modern diesels do not get hot in winter", I just need to know if this much cold is normal or do I need to complain to the seller  

 

Unfortunately original owner did not check webasto for this, as it would heat during driving also. Now I'm thinking if a Binar 5s or similar would be wise aftermarket purchase, it does the same but is cheaper. 

[Urrell]

1 hour ago, KLF said:

Analog gauge shows about 90, digital was 85C.

Analogue gauge is water temperature digital is oil temperature that takes a lot longer to get up to temperature.
You should be getting plenty of heat at that.

Edit: does it make any difference if you turn A/C off?

Edited 24 January, 2021 by Urrell

[Expatman]

How long does it take for water temperature to reach 90?

[KLF]

2 hours ago, Urrell said:

Analogue gauge is water temperature digital is oil temperature that takes a lot longer to get up to temperature.
You should be getting plenty of heat at that.

Edit: does it make any difference if you turn A/C off?

reading this makes me already smarter than I look. Or something. Technically I knew that, it just doesn't translate into real life
 

I visited my parents today. Outside temp +1C and during about 15km drive 110kph oil temp reached 79C. Another 5km slower roads it got up to 81 before I reached my destination. 

Heater temp was set to 22C and auto, I am not certain if the ac button was on or off. 

[KLF]

1 hour ago, Expatman said:

How long does it take for water temperature to reach 90?

That is hard to say. It apparently works similar to my A4: first the gauge doesn't seem to move at all. Then there is a slight movement and when you check it next, it points to 90. At that point you have no idea how long it took The difference is A4 is pushing warm air after few km and I can take my gloves off. 

[Expatman]

The water temp gauge on my Yeti progressively rises and doesn’t act like yours, it reaches 90 in about 10 minutes. Of course mine is a petrol engine and you have a diesel which are notorious for slow warm up so it might just be the nature of the car. In which case you might want to think about blanking off some of the radiator airflow to enhance warm up - particularly if you are only doing relatively short distances.

[Frenchtone]

There is a method to recalibrate the heating system in the Yeti, it was covered recently(you need to push heater buttons}, but I cannot find or remember which, someone may be along presently who has that knowledge!

good luck

[oldstan]

The procedure needed to 'reset' is in the topic shown here.

 

I did the reset and it didn't seem to have much effect.  I have to admit that I did nothing further but the heater seems better now.  It's now winter and it does warm the cabin satisfactorily - which is good enough for me. Maybe, at the time, it simply wasn't cold enough to get the heater to get particularly hot.

Edited 25 January, 2021 by oldstan

[KLF]

@oldstan thank you  I'll check that asap. 

I left the Yeti to a garage today, they will check tomorrow several things which the dealer has agreed to pay. One thing worth noting was that today when I literally floored it down the motorway ramp I briefly got warm air and it faded to cold when I reached steady speed and lower rpm. 

 

@Expatman I'm pretty sure my gauge actually works normal too, I'm just focused on staying on the road. 

[Expatman]

5 minutes ago, KLF said:

... when I literally floored it down the motorway ramp I briefly got warm air and it faded to cold when I reached steady speed and lower rpm. 

 

That's strange as you would expect warm air when you were cruising on the motorway - I assume the garage are going to check it? It could possibly be one of the baffle valves that direct the air is not opening to allow warm air to enter the cabin?

[Greenliner1]

Also worth checking if it has a silica bag in the header tank. They are known to burst on VW vehicles and block the heater matrix, lots of posts about it see below. Not sure if it is fitted to yours.

 

At least the garage should be able to sort it out for you.

 

Hope you enjoy the car.

 

 

[KLF]

15 minutes ago, Expatman said:

That's strange as you would expect warm air when you were cruising on the motorway - I assume the garage are going to check it? It could possibly be one of the baffle valves that direct the air is not opening to allow warm air to enter the cabin?

That is the main issue and why dealer told me to take car to that specific garage. 

It has now been around 0 to +2C, I wouldn't dare to think how cold it would have been two weeks ago when temps were at -26 or so. It should be getting colder within a week, so I hope this gets fixed by then or I "have" to drive quattro to work again.   

 

My old VW T5 had similar issue, until the system was bled for air properly. This summer the engine was replaced, guess if there were any warm air coming after that? 

There are multiple possible answers. I hope guys find the correct one tomorrow. 

[widdershins]

At -2C you should be getting warm air long before 45 mins driving.  I have a diesel 4x4 yeti and find that even at recent temps of -9C I'm turning the heater down after about 10-15 mins of driving on a mix of local roads and motorways at speeds starting at 20 and increasing to 70mph.

[kenfowler3966]

The Bluetooth unit was located beneath the seat on mine in the uk Elegance spec.

when I upgraded my phone about 2013 though it would not work with the new phone properly, probably even more out of date now?

[KLF]

Car is still at the garage, although the reason is timing. I could have picked it up at wednesday but then there is another hassle to take it back when new windshield arrives. When I booked the service I was not aware of that this particular garage could also fit new windshield. TPMS error has been fixed and I have two new winter tires. 

 

I have also booked new appointment at official Skoda dealer here for next friday so they can take a look at the heating issue. I got the permission from the dealer to do so since the garage dealer usually uses could not fix it. Once all this is done, I still take the car for the painter at dealers expense. I almost feel sorry for the guy who sold me the car. Almost. 

 

 

[Urrell]

On 24/01/2021 at 00:37, KLF said:

Since I resemble a gorilla (short legs, long back) and have arms of a t-rex, the arm rest is way too low

Why not just lift the arm rest to a suitable height?

[KLF]

35 minutes ago, Urrell said:

Why not just lift the arm rest to a suitable height?

If only it would rise high enough

Seat at the lowest position and arm rest at highest, there is still like a 5cm gap between my elbow and the arm rest. 
I've had couple B6 A4:s and a C6 A6, I had no problems with the arm rests in those. Easy to find good driving position. 

[Expatman]

7 hours ago, KLF said:

 I have two new winter tires. 

 

I assume the other 2 tyres were “winter” tyres otherwise you are going to have an unbalanced car and you need to check insurance cover. it is generally required that 4 winter tyres are fitted because of their different characteristics to summer tyres which could significantly upset the roadholding characteristics.

 

 

[KLF]

On 01/02/2021 at 00:23, Expatman said:

I assume the other 2 tyres were “winter” tyres otherwise you are going to have an unbalanced car and you need to check insurance cover. it is generally required that 4 winter tyres are fitted because of their different characteristics to summer tyres which could significantly upset the roadholding characteristics.

We play by different rules here, summer tires are illegal in winter conditions anyways. I have two complete sets, one for summer and the winter tires I currently have in place. 

I don't think the garage would swap wheels front to back though, so I have to do it later myself (I want new tires in the rear). 

 

[Schtum]

3 minutes ago, KLF said:

 

I don't think the garage would swap wheels front to back though, so I have to do it later myself (I want new tires in the rear). 

 

 

Interesting...  I always want new ones on the front.  I'd rather manage a bit of oversteer than terminal understeer.  Equally, in snow and ice, more tread on the front should provide better traction and braking.  

[KLF]

On 02/02/2021 at 01:50, Schtum said:

 

Interesting...  I always want new ones on the front.  I'd rather manage a bit of oversteer than terminal understeer.  Equally, in snow and ice, more tread on the front should provide better traction and braking.  

This explains it best. 

 

I would rather drive on the limit with worse front tyres than unexpectedly lose control in the rear end. Difference is that in the video control is lost at slow speeds. With worn rear winter tyres same happens but at higher speed, for example driving 80kph into a slight curve. 

 

Regarding the heater problem, I left my car at the dealer on friday. First day result is simple (the previous garage should invest to VCDS..) temperature sensors in both left and right air vents showed around +84C readings. Unfortunately for me, they had none at stock so Yeti will stay there. 

 

When I drove Yeti to the dealer, outside temp was about -20C and the preheating warning light started flashing, in the middle screen it said contact service or something. Also there were smell of oil when I stopped at red light. 

According to the dealer, there were two issues found when they scanned fault codes. First an EGR error and second a throttle flap (whatever it is in english...) stuck, which might have been frozen when I drove. 

 

My old A6 (3.0tdi ASB) had the flap mechanism broken once, the gears are plastic and teeth were sheared off. I wonder if Yeti has similar construction and it could be rather easily checked? Idea is of course that if it was actually broken before I bought the car, seller pays the repair. Same for the EGR, mechanic will check it next week and most probably it is also seller's problem. I have a feeling that he is not going to profit too much on this particular sale. 

[KLF]

I got the Yeti back last week. It has been running nicely since then. 

 

Heating issue was fixed. A simple VCDS check would have revealed the problem in the first garage if they had one: both temperature sensors in the air vents (or something like that) were faulty and showed about +85C temperature inside cabin. One day to find the issue at official dealer, one day to fix it. Between those two days: ~2,5 weeks to replacement parts arrive.

 

The engine warning lights etc were probably all because something froze. Official dealer fitted top grille cover (they did not have bottom cover in stock) and they will bill the car dealer for it, suits me fine  I have to remember to order bottom cover before next winter. 

 

Now there is still the light cluster fix and some painting left, which the car seller has agreed to pay. 

 

My friend noticed that passenger door is sagging a bit, that probably is nothing alarming and I hope it can be fixed by adjusting. 

I also ordered a cargo net for the parcel shelf, seems like a good place to store small shovel and snow brush for now.  

 

 

[JoeSchmofo]

This is my roof light bar install... I’m pretty pleased with it. There is other useful threads on here which will inform about how to wire it in to full beams. The wire runs down  the inside of the (handily placed) black A-pillar trim.

 

The roof rack behind it is for my surfboard.