Do you get much air movement from rear vents?

[satz]

hi all

just wondering whether you guys can feel much air coming from the rear vents when the AC / Heater is running? I've got the Climatronic

Even when I run on fan speed 4 or 5 there's barely any air movement from the rear vents (and I've checked that the vents are open!)

I've even tried just setting the 'face' setting without 'feet' setting.

I thought the air would come out like it does on a Commo or Falcon's ones....

cheers

S

btw, on a related note...if you don't select one of the Face, Feet, or Windscreen settings, then where does the airflow come from?

[Maverick]

You won't get the huge rush of air like you get in a commodore or falcon because the AC system is not designed to blow you away but to cool or heat the car in a subtle manner. The ducting to the rear seats/under seats is limited in size and air will take the path of least resistance which is the bigger ducting to the front vents.

There are also four vents under the seats, check these as well as IIRC you will have air coming out of these.

[satz]

The airflow is barely even noticeable through the rear vents even with my hand next to them! ANd that's only with "FACE" setting and fan speed about 4 (out of 7)
I even tried it with all front vents closed, and there was still not much air from the rears

In fact I think the rear passengers can feel more from the centre front vents

I dread to think how it's going to be in summer

[Maverick]

The airflow is barely even noticeable through the rear vents even with my hand next to them! ANd that's only with "FACE" setting and fan speed about 4 (out of 7)
I even tried it with all front vents closed, and there was still not much air from the rears

In fact I think the rear passengers can feel more from the centre front vents

I dread to think how it's going to be in summer

Is there an issue there or are you creating one?

The air exits the rear of the car through openings behind the rear bumper, the air comes in through the front of the car. It travels from the front air vents/rear air vents to the rear of the car where it exits. Even in recirculate mode some fresh air is introduced and exits from the rear. It doesn't matter if the air all comes from the front vents as it will still work it's way to the rear seat passengers, the rear vents are located under the seats (two on each side) and two in the middle to supplement the air from the front vents.

Even if you like to have air blowing onto your face with the vents facing you the rear seat passengers will still get cold air. As I said earlier the system is not designed to be inefficient like the Falcon/Commodore systems but is instead designed to cool in an efficient manner.

If you really must have more air from the rear middle two vents try blocking the underseat ones.

[satz]

no, not trying to create an issue. Hoping in fact there won't be any problem when summer rolls in.

I don't want to block the floor vents, but might close off the front centre vents a bit and see if that gives some airflow from the rear vents. Was just wondering whether this is 'normal' on the Golfs, or if it's another problem to try to get fixed under warranty

I've only had the car for a few weeks

cheers

S

[Russ59]

I have an 08 GT TDI which also has the climate control a/c, you don't get a huge rush of air coming from the rear vents. I have driven mine through 2 summers so far with 40 + deg days on several occasions, not once have I had a complaint from a rear seat passenger about a lack of cooling air. If you haven't already done it' you'll find it even more beneficial if you have window tinting on your car, (darkest legal) it makes a huge difference. I wouldn't worry about the a/c operation come summer, I'm sure you'll be more than happy with the results

Just noticed you have a sunroof also, make the most of that in summer too

[satz]

Getting some warmer days here, and i can say the rear vents are pretty inadequate...

[Umai Naa!!]

Given that the system of ducting runs from the left side under the dash, and snakes it's way through the centre console, I'd say they do ok for the distance they are from the blower fan itself.

Even if you deem them inadequate, there's no realistic way to improve on them.

As Maverick has eluded to, you're comparing apples to oranges bring the likes of a Commodore into the debate.

[satz]

what's so 'apples and oranges' about comparisons with Falcons (they're cars too aren't they?)

...and Honda accords, and even the Passat has far stronger (and cooler) air output from rear vents

:0

[Umai Naa!!]

Design principals. A smaller car like the Golf doesn't need a huge roaring turbine under the dash.

[satz]

Agree that a car should have its AC unit suited to its size, but it should still provide enough cool air in the rear seats!

And I think its AC unit is pretty noisy anyway

[spiff]

if you have climatronic, do you have the dashboard diffuser vent too?
try shutting that off.
for that matter, try shutting the vents off one-by-one (center front, sides) and see where the airflow goes.
path of least resistance as was mentioned earlier, i find that the rear centre vents aren't strong, but nobody sitting in my backseats has ever complained.

[satz]

Hi
I always have the diffuser shut off, and also did try closing off the other vents. That does improve airflow to the rear, but obvsiouly at the expense of front passenger's comfort.

The compromise I've done now is to reduce the front centre vents airflow, but keep the outboard vents on full open.

I still get complaints from the rear passengers about the lack of airflow....


cheers

S

[Guest0608]

The mk5 do have very limited flow as Ive had to look into this before, being at a dealer with many mk5 golfs around its easy to check...........they are all the same, very slight flow of air all the time..,. this is not a fault, design feature... the climate and climatronic systems are designed to bring the whole car temp to what you set it, not just the temp coming out of the vents....................vwtech

[bazzle]

Sadly the Golf MkV does not have a very capable aircon system in my experience (shared with others I know) period...
Of all the cars Ive owned and from the many new fleet and customers vehicles I drive (NOT Commordores or Falcons) its pretty weak. My dealer apologised and just says thats how they are.

Bazzle