^^^ corrected, you mean ???  ........ 

Took my car to the garage, and the mechanic found the air matrix completely blocked. Left it with him to unblock using chemicals and other methods he claims to specialise in for £120. It’s a time-consuming process but less hassle than removing the whole dashboard to replace the air matrix.

26 minutes ago, automass said:

Took my car to the garage, and the mechanic found the air matrix completely blocked. Left it with him to unblock using chemicals and other methods he claims to specialise in for £120. It’s a time-consuming process but less hassle than removing the whole dashboard to replace the air matrix.

You don't need to remove the dashboard. It's just 1 piece of trim in the passenger footwell.

Nothing fixed, Rather I feel like my headlight (driving light) beam is slightly up high. Is it possible to get headlight beam adjuster messed up during his fiddling with the hoses. It is LED headlight btw. Ran diagnostic with OBDEleven, no ereor found.

On 14/01/2025 at 17:39, gs86 said:

I have the same issue. I was about to order a new heater matrix but I've read several posts where that was replaced and it didn't fix the issue, it turned out to be the heater control valve had failed. I have one arriving in the next few days so I'll update once I've replaced it. 

Any update gs86. what car is it yours?

On 25/01/2025 at 23:23, automass said:

Any update gs86. what car is it yours?

New heater matrix has fixed the issue. It's a bit of a fiddly **** of a job. Drained the coolant, removed the glove box, trim, footwell vent and blower motor, got the old matrix out...that took about 1.5hrs....then another 3 hours ****ing about trying to get the clips that connect the pipes and matrix back on.

 

To be honest I got an "upgraded" heater matrix that is made of copper and brass and apparently won't block, but the lip on the pipes is about 1mm bigger than the original, so if you have the original style matrix it probably won't be as bad. 

 

But, I have a warm car again! 

18 minutes ago, gs86 said:

To be honest I got an "upgraded" heater matrix that is made of copper and brass and apparently won't block, but the lip on the pipes is about 1mm bigger than the original, so if you have the original style matrix it probably won't be as bad. 

 

'Upgraded' being the term now used to described badly designed aftermarket parts? 😁

1 minute ago, SuperbTWM said:

'Upgraded' being the term now used to described badly designed aftermarket parts? 😁

Well it's on now and working so I don't care :). You could argue that the original is badly designed as it blocks all the time. 

Can anybody tell me the part number of my Heater Matrix. I tried to find it from autodoc but they are saying there are two types and i have to know which one is mine.

thanks in advance.

You'll need to check mate. Its either a valeo unit or denso unit. Take off the trim piece in the passenger footwell and check. 

Hiya all, I have a similar issue in my 2018 245 VRS estate.

 

I have cold air blowing from the drivers side only (RHD) and hot air everywhere else.

 

No codes show up on a scan and ive checked the flap motors and they seem to be turning absoloutey fine.

 

I have checked the pipes on the heater matrix and they are both scolding hot to the touch.

 

*Warm* air blows out the drivers side after about 30/40 mins of driving and also works perfectly fine when the temperature is above 7-8 degrees. It's nowhere near as hot as the passenger side even when it's working.

 

I have no discoloured coolant and I'm not loosing coolant, silicate bag is also intact.

 

I am using G13 Coolant.

 

Does anyone have any ideas about what else I can check before I go and chuck it at skoda and get them to fault find themselves?

 

Also I've read up that apparently G13 Coolant itself can cause blockages and they have now gone to G12 Evo? Is this true and is it something I should do along with removing the silicate bag?

 

Many thanks for any and all replies from a cold VRS owner

I couldn't manage any garage to replace the heater matrix. they are very busy with lots of job in hand. I am thinking that i should give it a go. I was looking for youtube video but couldn't find exact car as me (1.4tsi 2017, split headlight) . does any one know if all this models are same or different opening. any heads up about this job will be appreciated. thanks in advance.

1 hour ago, automass said:

I couldn't manage any garage to replace the heater matrix. they are very busy with lots of job in hand. I am thinking that i should give it a go. I was looking for youtube video but couldn't find exact car as me (1.4tsi 2017, split headlight) . does any one know if all this models are same or different opening. any heads up about this job will be appreciated. thanks in advance.

I've just ordered a heater matrix for my 2018 octavia, you either have a denso or valeo system and they are different pipe layouts.

 

This video shows you how you can gain acess to the matrix to find part numbers for your vehicle.

 

 

 

This process is for a LHD vehicle but for the RHD cars there are more videos on youtube.

Thanks KyleHa. How much did you order it for? Are you gonna do it by yourself? 

I bought my heater matrix from here.

 

https://www.skoda-parts.com/online-store.html

 

But it hasn't arrived yet, so I can't comment on whether it will be okay or not. It was the cheapest genuine part I could find for €226 (£188).

 

I'm fortunate enough to have a family member who is a mechanic and ive enlisted his aid in replacing the matrix, coolant expansion tank and replacing the coolant.

 

However before initially asking him I was going to do it myself as it didn't seem too big of a job for a DIYer such as myself, and there are a few detailed videos on YouTube to follow.

 

I bottled it basically and asked a professional 

 

I'm not 100% sure that it is my heater matrix that is causing my issue but I have no fault codes and all the flaps/motors seem to be working as they should so I'm starting here.

Sounds like a solid plan! 👌 €226 for a genuine heater matrix is a decent find—hopefully, it arrives soon and does the trick. Nothing wrong with calling in a pro when needed. Some jobs are just better with an experienced set of hands! 🔧🔥

For me, I’d go for the cheapest option. I found one on Amazon for £90.78. Spoke to the sellerover the phone and they said, they source it from a reliable dealer. So the quality doesn’t seem compromised. My coolant was already flushed as a first step in diagnosing the issue. My mechanic showed me one of the hose pipes being colder than the other, which is how he pinpointed the heater matrix blockage. Did you try checking the hoses and feeling the temperature difference? Might help confirm the issue. 🤔🚗

 

N.B: I've checked the video. the part was given to me doesn't match with this one.  My car is 67 plate (auto). Well, even if my part doesn't fit, at least i can give the old one a try unblocking with oneshot(haha) and then return the new part.

Edited 12 February, 20251 yr by automass

Yes I did feel around the heater matrix and both the pipes where hot, one scalding and the other slightly cooler but still hot.

 

If this doesn't do the trick I'm going to have a look into this "N82 coolant valve" which apparently seizes up and somehow stops heating working.

 

But that's a job for future me if this doesn't work out and would require a little bit of research into what it actually does and if I even have it.

 

I was going to go down the route of a cheaper heater matrix but I felt safer just going with the genuine part as I know what I'm getting, I doubt there is much difference if any between any of the aftermarket matrix.

 

Once it's all done I'll post back with the results and how easy it was to get it fitted 

The heater matrix has arrived, along with a foam strip—guessing it's there for a snug, rattle-free fit! Now just waiting for a dry, sunny day to get this swap done. ☀️🔧🚗

Guys, just wondering do I have to empty the coolant to replace the heater matrix. all the youtube videos i have watched they never showed about coolant being emptied. if yes then is there any drain plug for octavia mk3 (2017) to empty the coolant?

Edited 17 February, 20251 yr by automass

Finally got around to replacing my heater matrix today! Found an exact video on YouTube that matched my car, and wow, it was a lifesaver. My original heater matrix was partially blocked, and now, with the new one swapped in, it’s blowing hot air like a champ! 🥶➡🔥

Had to remove the blower motor—just three Torx screws, so no big deal. But... I unnecessarily bent a clip too much and snapped it. 😩 Oh well, it’s still solid with the screws, so I’m not stressing over it.

The only thing bugging me now is the heater matrix connections. The top one clips in (see pic), and the bottom one is a push-in with a ring clamp. Never seen this clip before! When pushing the bottom one in, I got that satisfying click, but the top one? Nothing. Then I realised the clip holds both parts tightly together. Hope I got it right! 🤞

Let’s see how it goes! Uploaded some pics—no video, though.

Edited 18 February, 20251 yr by automass