Polo 6R A/C Questions

[Zakarados]

Hi Guys,

I am a little confused at how the Air Conditioner settings work in the Polo GTi 6R.

1. The owners manual advises to only use the air recycle function when necessary due to no fresh air coming into the cabin. Sounds inefficient to be sucking 35 degrees air from outside then cooling it to 18 degrees. Standard practice from every car I have been in has to use recycle air once the air inside the car is cooler than outside.

2. This might be due to point 1, but AUTO mode will only work when air recycle if off.

3. When in manual mode, the fan speed changes intermittently, shouldn't that be an AUTO feature?

4. Related to point 3, when in AUTO the fan speed does not change (only tested this on a 10 minute drive).

5. Is having the A/C controller switched off (by twisting the fan sleep anti clockwise while fan speed is on zero) the same as having fan speed on zero?

I wonder if anyone else experiences these issues, or do I have a faulty A/C controller.

[Veeduby]

Hi Guys,

I am a little confused at how the Air Conditioner settings work in the Polo GTi 6R.

1. The owners manual advises to only use the air recycle function when necessary due to no fresh air coming into the cabin. Sounds inefficient to be sucking 35 degrees air from outside then cooling it to 18 degrees. Standard practice from every car I have been in has to use recycle air once the air inside the car is cooler than outside.

2. This might be due to point 1, but AUTO mode will only work when air recycle if off.

3. When in manual mode, the fan speed changes intermittently, shouldn't that be an AUTO feature?

4. Related to point 3, when in AUTO the fan speed does not change (only tested this on a 10 minute drive).

I wonder if anyone else experiences these issues, or do I have a faulty A/C controller.

#3 - happens to me as well.
#4 - my fan speed does change under auto setting.

[Bassik]

Hi Guys,

I am a little confused at how the Air Conditioner settings work in the Polo GTi 6R.

1. The owners manual advises to only use the air recycle function when necessary due to no fresh air coming into the cabin. Sounds inefficient to be sucking 35 degrees air from outside then cooling it to 18 degrees. Standard practice from every car I have been in has to use recycle air once the air inside the car is cooler than outside.

2. This might be due to point 1, but AUTO mode will only work when air recycle if off.

3. When in manual mode, the fan speed changes intermittently, shouldn't that be an AUTO feature?

4. Related to point 3, when in AUTO the fan speed does not change (only tested this on a 10 minute drive).

I wonder if anyone else experiences these issues, or do I have a faulty A/C controller.

I often thought this as well kinda silly If you ask me I have a habit of switching it over to in cabin recycle air but then notice it disables auto. Another thing which I have noticed which is ridiculous is that when the A/C is off you'll still have the in cabin recycled switch turned off so that means air from outside is still getting inside the cabin. Personally default should always be on recycled and option to let outdoor air in only on manual.

Auto and manual will adjust it according to the temp you set on the climate control. Compare with your temps on dash display, If it's way off it will increase output, the closer it is to the dash temp it will begin to slow down.

[readerr0r]

Auto mostly adjust the vents the air comes out, and still seems to do so when you press recycle (which I also do on hot days).

[ill0gitech]

Another thing which I have noticed which is ridiculous is that when the A/C is off you'll still have the in cabin recycled switch turned off so that means air from outside is still getting inside the cabin. Personally default should always be on recycled and option to let outdoor air in only on manual.

This has been the same with every car I've ever driven. I think I read in an owners manual once that it's more energy efficient that way.

I know in my Magna the only way to stop air blowing in all the time was to kill the fan, and put the car on re-circulate - otherwise it was always blowing air in from outside.

[prcurrie]

3. When in manual mode, the fan speed changes intermittently, shouldn't that be an AUTO feature?

4. Related to point 3, when in AUTO the fan speed does not change (only tested this on a 10 minute drive).

With 3 & 4, in manual mode it will change the fan speed. I think it's to do with the temperature sensors in the car. If it's hot, the car will boost the fan in manual mode so you don't die a slow death.

One thing to note with this system, it does use the outside temperature sensor as a guide. You'll note in winter that 21 degrees can be hot but in summer it's cool.

With the AUTO option, if you move the temp up or down, does the fan speed change?

I stick with manual and it usually gets it right

[Zakarados]

Thanks for the replies, it seems everyone is in the same boat.

Added point 5 to the OP:

5. Is having the A/C controller switched off (by twisting the fan sleep anti clockwise while fan speed is on zero) the same as having fan speed on zero?

[pologti18t]

Recirc should only be used when you need to exclude outside air (air pollution in a tunnel) or you want MAX initial A/C.
You should never drive long distances with the recirc on. Makes sense if you think about it. If no decent amount of fresh air is getting in then the interior environment will slow build with C02 you breath out.

Personally default should always be on recycled and option to let outdoor air in only on manual.

Doesn't each face vent have a control to close/open them?

[koji]

Sorry to redirect the thread, however my girlfriends 2011 Trendline makes an awfully loud noise when the aircon is on, and we are wondering if this is normal amongst the 6R's out there? It just seems way too loud! My girlfriend has had numerous problems from day one with her car and it's really disappointing that she has encountered all these hassles that aren't what you'd expect from purchasing a new car...

[ill0gitech]

The only audible noise from mine is the jet-force of air being thrust into my cabin.

[nomadx38]

You will have to explain "loud" to me. I don't exactly know what you mean by that. When the air con is on the front radiator fan will come on at max speed (and I tend to find its the only time it will ever come on as under normal usage the 1.2 engine runs very cool)

I also find that take off in very hot temps (>35 degrees) sounds a little different but I think that is either due to the heat affecting performance or my DSG which has its own issues...

[koji]

By loud, I would quantify it to be 1.5x the sound of the engine at idle (i'm so sorry for my terrible ability to describe the noise). It is much louder than the engine from both inside and out of the cabin and is the same no matter the temperature is outside etc.

[ill0gitech]

I think it's time to get your girlfriends car seen to under warranty - it's not what I would call normal.