When I run the heater on high to be directed through the dash and foot areas here in Wisconsin, I receive wonderful heat from the dash, but ice-cold air to the feet. What is going on? Do I have a clogged heater core or line? Or could this be an easy fix I could do myself?
View 1 RepliesI have a 2005 VW Golf GL, automatic tranny, 2.0L 4-cyl that has some issues during long drives in hot weather. The 1st incident occurred when I was driving on the interstate in AZ w/the outside air temp around 100 degrees. It was a flat, desolate stretch of road and I had cruise control engaged as well as the A/C turned on. Suddenly it was as if someone had let off the gas pedal, as the car began quickly slowing down from 70 or 75 to maybe 40 or so. I turned off the cruise control & tried to increase back up to highway speed manually, but there was a long lag time before the engine kicked up again. I got it back up to full speed, then moments later it would kick down again unexpectedly as if I had taken my foot off the gas even though I hadn't (and I was still not climbing any hills). The temp gauge was still normal, but I turned off the A/C just in case this was making an unnecessary drain on the engine. Still the car would behave in the same way. I took the next exit, let it rest a bit, then limped along @ a slow speed on the frontage road until the next town. Suspecting it was the MAF sensor, I had it cleaned @ a repair shop before heading back home. It ran normal for a little while during the drive back, but then the same issue.
Back in town, I replaced the whole MAF sensor, since I was told just cleaning it was a temp fix. By this time the outside air temp was cooler, & short drives to/from work went fine. However, the next time I tried taking the car on a long hot drive (from SoCal into NV), the same issue happened again! So maybe it wasn't the MAF sensor afterall (unless the replacement was faulty?). Nevertheless, I took a wet washcloth & wrapped it around the sensor, & this seemed to do the trick to get me back home again. For now I am no longer going to risk taking this car on long hot trips until I can figure out what's wrong w/it & how to fix it. I do plan to take it to a mechanic but wanted to see first if this rings any bells for people on this forum.....??
2nd, (possibly related?) problem:
Today as I was coming home, the engine stalled when I tried to take off when the light turned green @ an intersection. I limped it to the other side, pulled over, & tried starting it up again. It started right away & then ran fine. I'd been low on gas but not so low that it should be an issue. I drove the rest of the way (on a highway) to a gas station (several miles) w/o A/C, no problem. I filled it up, did the washcloth trick once again in case that was related to the problem @ all, & drove the rest of the way home just fine. Battery is relatively new (about 2 yrs.) & alternator tested fine. Did not see any corrosion on a recent check of the battery posts. Outside air temp warm today, but not that bad...only mid-80s. Temp gauge read normal.
This is the first winter with my 2012 Prius, and I've been suspicious of the climate controls. Today, my passenger complained that there was not heat going the to feet. I've always worn insulated shoes/pants so I didn't really notice before.
I jacked up my fan, increased the temperature and changed the aim to the feet/knees only. I then put my hand to where the gas pedal is. I couldn't feel any air flow at the feet. There was still plenty of air coming out of the upper side vents that blows towards your chest. The upper vent got hot, but not the feet.
Why there's no/little airflow to the feet? I'm thinking of checking my carbon filter but it is too cold be pulling out parts. I'm now suspicious if my car's air direction function works properly.
I have a 2002 Passat that is only blowing cold air when it is supposed to be heat. I have checked the following items:
1. Both heater hoses are hot at the heater core which would indicate that the core is not restricted.
2. Air has been bled at the heater core and the antifreeze is at the correct level.
3. Car thermostat is operating correctly and maintains a steady 190 to 195 degrees.
4. When temperature control lever is moved from "cold" to "hot" the air noise definitely changes like a damper is moving but there is no change in air temperature. This is a manual control with cables (not digital read-out).
From what I have read so far I am convinced that there is a problem with the blend door but referring you back to #4 (air noise change) I believe that the cable is moving the damper. Can the blend door be accessed on this car without removing the center console? Can it be accessed through the glove box area?
My daughter drives a 2005 Passat station wagon, has a small child and one on the way. She has had intermittent problems with the car just not wanting to crank. After sitting 15-20 minutes it will crank. But the wait and not knowing if it will crank is taxing me and her. Especially since she has another one on the way. She has taken it to a reputable mechanic. They kept it for 3 days, cranking it on and off without a problem, and told her they couldn't find anything.
View 3 RepliesCEL came on. No performance issues or noises coming from the car this time around. I did notice that after parking and killing engine, there is a faint exhaust-type smell though. I took the car to my local Advance Auto Parts and had them hook the car up to their computer for a diagnostic. Two codes came up.
1: P0431, warm-up catalyst efficiency bank 2 below threshold pending
2: P0431, warm-up catalyst efficiency bank 2 below threshold confirmed
The AAP employee didn't have anything to add to the code readouts. I'm concerned that this is a catalytic converter issue, and if that's the case, a repair would likely cost more than I'm willing to put into the car at this point. It has just over 125K miles on it.
I own a 2005 Volkswagon Passat, and took it to my mechanic yesterday to get a sticker and my new summer tires put on. When I picked up the car, the passenger side speaker is no longer working. About a month ago I took my car to a specialist to have an aftermarket radio put in for me that I got for my birthday so I can listen to my iPod. Why my passenger side speaker is not working anymore? Does it have anything to do with what my mechanic might have messed up when putting the new tires on?
View 5 Replies2005 VW passat... I bought this car used. I was told the front engine mount needed to be replaced. When it was replaced, the vibration began. The mechanic used an after market mount. He replaced it with a VW mount and also replaced the two side mounts for the transmission with VW mounts. The vibration was still there. I then took it to a VW dealer and they confirmed that the mounts were installed properly and could not identify the cause. I took it to a third mechanic who made some adjustments to the front mount and that reduced the vibration somewhat. After a few months, the vibration increased and I took the car to another VW dealer. He said the front and side mount needed to be replaced. That was done and still the vibration continued. What else could be going on to cause this problem. Carfax indicated no accidents or body repairs.
View 14 RepliesI'm experiencing a weird problem with my Passat (2000 TDi 110), where the brake pedal is buzzing at my feet when braking from slow speeds. If I am doing around 5-10mph and lightly apply the brakes, it sometimes buzzes in the peddle and I can't apply full pressure (this can be tricky when behind another car!), but if I take my foot off the pedal or wait around 3 seconds, the buzz and pressure restriction goes and then I end up braking quite sharp as the pressure releases. The buzz is quite audiable and can be heard by others in the car and sounds quite electronic. Pads and Discs are fine, they will need replacing soon, but this issue has been going on for a while, so I don't think it's related to them.
View 1 RepliesAs stated in the title, my feet stay cold for a long time after the car fully warms up, and I can't feel much if any airflow under the dash. I tried going from auto to directing all flow to the floor, zero change, even with the fan on high.
View 11 RepliesI have a 11' VW Routan and just started having the following issue:
Minimal amount of heat, even after the temp gauge indicates that the engine is up to operating temperature. On cold days the car warms up fine and sometimes I get very hot air heat (normal) coming from the vents then all of sudden the air goes cold or lukewarm. I need to stop the van, turn off the ignition and restart the van for the heat to come back. But every once in a while; while the cold air is coming out, it does hot again. What the problem(s?) might be?
I have a 2008 VW Jetta 2.5s. In winter i have noticed that my car takes too much time to heat up when the AC is turned ON. Generally, if i drive for 5 minutes and the temperature of the engine comes to the center ( in the temperature dial on the dash board), the hot air starts coming out. Is this normal. I haven't noticed this in other cars. Do i need to check anything?I do have the coolant liquid full.
View 12 RepliesMy 2005 GTI has been decelerating while I'm driving on a certain section of the freeway. It's a steady incline for about 1/2 a mile, the altitude changes (my ears tend to pop). The car starts to decelerate, I take my foot off the pedal for a couple of seconds and then press the accelerator and it's usually fine.
However, a couple of weeks ago it totally stalled out on the freeway, it restarted fine. I took it into the shop the next day, my mechanic is not 100% sure what the problem is, he replaced the crankshaft sensor. Turns out it's not the source of the problem, I am still decelerating on the freeway. I had a tune-up and new battery installed a month ago, so I don't know what the problem is.
My daughter has a 2005 VW GTI which has had a series of bizarre electrical problems. The latest was with the windshield wipers. Sometimes they work properly. Often, when the weather gets damp, they go on by themselves. (This is not a feature - they don't automatically go on when it rains, it might just be humid.) Sometimes, turning the front wipers off will turn the back wipers on. Turning the back wipers on will turn the front wipers off. The other day, she needed to drive 40 miles to work. It was not raining at the time, but it was threatening.
The only way to turn the front wipers off, was to turn the back wiper on. The only way we could get both wipers off at the same time, was to remove the fuse for the back wiper and turn the back wiper on. In the event of rain, she could then turn the back wiper off to make the front wipers go on. We have brought the car to the dealer several times. They replaced the relay twice. They swear they have checked the entire system and can find nothing wrong. The last time it happened, we showed them that it was impossible to turn the wipers off. They have seen the problem, but they still can't fix it.
2005 VW Jetta: The brake indicator light came on in the dashboard. I took the car to the dealer, and they replaced the front brake pads. Indicator light is now off, but I drove away with a new problem: The pedal fades as it comes to a stop. I have to push almost to the floor to stay still. Sometimes the car drifts forward if I'm not consciously pushing down harder than usual on the pedal. The dealer took the car back for a few days, replaced the master cylinder, bled the lines and did not charge me. But the problem is still there. What went wrong?
View 10 RepliesMy car has almost 80k on it. It is a 2005 VW Jetta 1.8T GLI. Been a great reliable car but I've been having a lot of trouble with the front end suspension. I get a horrible wobble in the front end. Translates into the steering wheel and feels like the wheels are wobbling very quickly only under braking. It is much heavier under heavy braking, but still exists even under light braking. I've replace my tie rods after finding a little play in them, checked my CV joints and axles and they looked good. Balljoints seem ok. Struts and strut mounts were replaced and the car has brand new tires that were balanced and aligned and rotated. When I replaced the tie rod, it went away temporarily but is back worse than ever. I'm getting really frustrated with this and the car feels dangerous to drive.
View 19 RepliesMy 05 Jetta TDI is intermittently making a rubbing/grinding noise. Not in stop and go traffic but when I come to a stop at a stop sign, but only just before I come to a complete stop, not as soon as I hit the brakes. The shop that put the brakes on (about 18000 miles ago) looked at pads, rotors and pedal but said it's all fine. Could it be the booster, abs, or something else completely?
View 3 RepliesI recently picked up a 2005 Prius with 129k miles that seems to be in gFor any codes.
With most cars this would usually point to a faulty thermostat but I'm not sure on a Prius. I checked the coolant level and it's fine. I don't hear any gurgling in the dash so I'm guessing there's no air in the system.
My daughter has complained about periods of no heat- fan blows but cold air. Next time the heater works fine. She is keeping coolant level up but does need to add a bit (pint or so) say every other month. Last week during the Chicago snow storm she called and told me the heater (which had been working) blew a bunch of "smoke" into the car and onto the windshield and windows which then froze solid. I assume the smoke meant steam and she did say it had a sweet smell when I asked her.
Car was towed to a SAAB dealer who ran the car for a couple hours and found no issue and then drove the car for a period with no issue. I had my local mechanic also check it in the past for no heat and it also worked fine then. Only thing I can think of is that there might be a small/intermittent leak in the head gasket with an exhaust bubble forced into the cooling system? That does not explain the steam in the passenger compartment though. Could it?
I have an 05 Impala. When I turn the car off, the heat gauge stays where it is. When I start it up again, it stays there until the car warms up and then goes up from where it was. I have found that by turning the key off and on quickly several times it goes down each time to bottom. What can cause the gauge to stick like that?
View 1 RepliesI have a 2005 Escape Hybrid. Last summer, the A/C went out, so when in the fall I finally got around to having the cooling system flushed. Did the trick, and A/C works fine. Now that winter's come along, I've noticed an issue with the heat. All fan speeds work correctly, and the dash controls for heat and cold work properly. But what's odd is that I get plenty of heat when the vehicle is at speed, above about 30 mph. As soon as I slow down below that, or hit a red light, there's no heat. The blower just blows cold air until I am back up at speed again.
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