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A\C cool...but not cold

jaxwithanx

New member
Location
Houston
April 2017 I bought one of the released 2015 TDI's Sportwagens. As summer approached I thought the A/C was a little wimpy but it always technically worked just didn't get super cold. I live in Houston, so fully expect a good 10 minute period of time to properly get to temp but it never has been able to cool down the cabin enough.

Basically it cools enough to not really notice during fall and spring but once it gets above 85-90 degrees it will cool the car down enough to keep you from sweating but you can guarantee your backside will be warm enough to keep it a little swampy. You can hold your hand right up to vent at full blast during any part of the year and it never feels icy.

So this year it finally seems a little worse or maybe I'm just in worse shape and I wanna do something about it. Of course I'm at 50,000 miles now too, so like any idiot would, I wanted to wait until it was out of warranty.

It could just be low on refrigerant and this Saturday I'm going to the dealer to get my spring recall done and will have them check. But considering I've never noticed a drastic decrease in the 2 years I've been driving it, I don't think it has a leak and like I said, it's always been wimpy. But no weird sounds or intermittent hot air or anything to make you think something wasn't working properly....just inadequately cool air.

So that leaves me with thoughts on the expansion valve or the compressor solenoid? Anyone else with some ideas? I can go buy a cheap set of gauges if someone genuinely knows the system and tells me what they need. During my reseatch, I recently just learned about the OBDeleven code for 'hot country' which I'll be enabling soon but I know that's not my core issue here.
 

MonkeyMD

Autocross Champion
After you fix any issues with your AC, if you aren't tinted, get a quality ceramic tint including windshield. Texas heat compounded with Houston's humidity is no joke. Tint will make a huge difference.
 

JVWranicar

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Kansas City, MO
Funny you bring this up. I have recently been thinking the same thing about my '17 GTI SE. Cool air but not icy cold. Then I recently got a ride from a friend in her 2012 Jetta and the AC was much colder. I'm still under warranty for five more months so considering bringing it in soon for a possible warranty coverage.
 

fretburnr

Ready to race!
Location
Chicago, IL
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
There is a coding setting for "hot country" or something along those lines that may not be enabled. It kicks the AC system up a serious notch. I did it for the humid Chicago summers and it helped a lot.

Cars intended for sale in your area should have had that setting enabled, but they don't always. Also, since you got one of the reworked/released '15 TDI models, yours may have originally been intended for a cooler part of the country.
 

Snitt

Ready to race!
Location
Ohio
There is a coding setting for "hot country" or something along those lines that may not be enabled. It kicks the AC system up a serious notch. I did it for the humid Chicago summers and it helped a lot.

Cars intended for sale in your area should have had that setting enabled, but they don't always. Also, since you got one of the reworked/released '15 TDI models, yours may have originally been intended for a cooler part of the country.

Agreed. I set it on my R using VCDS, and it's made a night and day difference. My air starts blowing cold within two minutes, even on 90-degree days. Vortex has a thread on how to set it here. Alternately, Googling "VCDS hot country" will yield several how-to's.
 

Bäsemödel

Go Kart Champion
Location
Lancaster PA
I'll have to give that a try... I too have been experiencing less than ideal AC in my car...
 
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