Octavia RS Air Con query

[alan_w]

Still trying to understand why my Octavia's aircon is so useless when the temp rises above ~28.

i've noticed on warmer days when climatronic decides to switch to recirc mode (irrespective of whether recirc is set to on, off or auto), airflow through the vents drops by at least half.

Can anyone with an octavia ii advise if recirc mode also drops their airflow by a similar amount? Recirc on other cars i've owned increases vent airflow.

[donweather]

Yep my AC is the same. Crap on recirculate for both air temps and air flow. As I've said before probably one of the worst ac's I've had in a car in QLD.

[alan_w]

This guy in the uk with a Superb has the exact same problem - ineffectual aircon & poor airflow in recirc mode (loud rushing noise behind glovebox): Recirculation mode - Skoda Superb II - BRISKODA.net - The Skoda Forum and Community

I'm going to get the windows tinted to see if that improves the situation.

[Martin]

i've noticed on warmer days when climatronic decides to switch to recirc mode (irrespective of whether recirc is set to on, off or auto)

There is a sensor in the cabin air intake - when it smells fumes etc the climatronic will switch to recirc mode (if you are in auto aircon mode - nothing to do with the recirc setting) - it's easy to damage this sensor, mine does not work

[Skooter]

There is a sensor in the cabin air intake - when it smells fumes etc the climatronic will switch to recirc mode (if you are in auto aircon mode - nothing to do with the recirc setting) - it's easy to damage this sensor, mine does not work

But would that explain why it reduces the airflow? I sometimes manually engage recirc if I see foul exhaust fumes but haven't noticed a reduction in airflow - may be different when the aircon is working hard and fan speed is high - I'll check that on the next hot day (and I'm sure Melbourne has a few more or those left in the box this season ). Is it possible the recirc gate isn't fully engaging?

Since getting the ticket out of the fan (see my thread), the sys is working a treat and we've had 40 deg, so well-tested. Seems odd that others are not so pleased with theirs.

[dArK5HaD0w]

the sys is working a treat and we've had 40 deg, so well-tested. Seems odd that others are not so pleased with theirs.

+1
re-circ, max, auto 1, auto2.....sofar so good

[Martin]

But would that explain why it reduces the airflow?

No - I checked mine today - airflow is the same with recirc on/off

Actually I was wrong - this auto recirc only kicks in when you press the recirc switch twice and light the auto recirc led

[zei20t]

When i turn on re-circ the air velocity goes up. Which is normal, you are cycling air within the cabin, taking air from outside youre pressurising the cabin and the air needs to escape, thus is feels slower.

[alan_w]

It makes perfect sense to me that re-circ should be similar velocity (or higher) than fresh. All my other cars have behaved like this. I'm going to pursue this further with skoda/vw Australia.

For reference my system looks identical to this one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/936z3bek00...vrsconsole.JPG

[Fourwinds]

Well it was warmish again today, so i was able to test the airon on the octavia post-service and flapper motor recalibration. I don't think it's made much of a difference unfortunately.

Hearing from others that they're happy with the aircon in their octavia gives me hope, so i might get them to have another look at it.

I do think it's strange that when toggling between auto, recirc on and recirc off, the only indication i see/hear is the green light going on and off.

Hi Alan,
I have not had my Octavia VRS long either, and had not used the recirculation function, so I just went and tested it. Their is a slight increase in air volume/noise when activated but, if you had the radio up loud I doubt you would hear the change.

Moreover, I was in QLD over Xmas and just recently driving around in the heat wave in Victoria with the A/C set at 21 and the car was cool/pleasant to drive in

[alan_w]

Tried the aircon in an octavia (not new model) at a dealer today. Recirc works as other have described theirs does - plenty of air coming out of the vents in recirc mode. Totally different to mine. I'm going to get the service centre to have another look.

[spud75]

Tried the aircon in an octavia (not new model) at a dealer today. Recirc works as other have described theirs does - plenty of air coming out of the vents in recirc mode. Totally different to mine. I'm going to get the service centre to have another look.

Am curious as to what you find out. When mine is on recirc or auto recirc, the airflow goes down and doesnt cool as well. If I turn recirc off then airflow goes up, and air temp form the vents goes down.

I basically leave recirc off permanently now even on 40+ deg days, except the other day driving through a dust storm.

[alan_w]

Am curious as to what you find out. When mine is on recirc or auto recirc, the airflow goes down and doesnt cool as well. If I turn recirc off then airflow goes up, and air temp form the vents goes down.

I basically leave recirc off permanently now even on 40+ deg days, except the other day driving through a dust storm.

I leave mine off too, but on hotter days, climatronic goes into recirc mode irrespective of the button setting (on, off or Auto), presumably because this mode should cool the car down more effectively (which it doesn't because though the air might be cooler, it only trickles out). So a Catch-22. Goes to recirc mode on hot days, but recirc mode works worse than normal fresh air mode so it doesn't cool the car down.

I'll let you know how I go - I'm going to demonstrate the problem when I drop it off. As the new car in the dealership plus five respondents on this thread report increased or at the very least the same airflow on recirc, it appears to me there is a problem.

[ramac]

That is sad, as mine is one of the best a/cons I have ever driven and last summer here we a number of 40+ days.

[alan_w]

I got my octavia back today, and the aircon is now working great. Air flow in recirc is strong, and much less noisier.

They advised that a "a harness for the dash had fallen down causing a restriction of air flow when recirc button on. Had also damaged teeth on the flap motor".

So they've had to remove the dash and replace a flap motor - apparently 13 hours labour all up, so very greatful it's a warranty job.