Starting the heater, am I doing it wrong?
02-10-2016, 04:49 AM
#12
With my 2016 2.0, I always leave the seat setting on 3. It automatically moves to 2 after 10 minutes. By then, though, it has gotten pretty hot (I wish it moved to 2 after about 6 minutes). It automatically re-sets to 3 when the engine is shut down and re-started.
The new 4 cyl has the exhaust manifold built into the head. There are two separate cooling loops ( block and head) and the new head design gets up to temperature much sooner now. Cabin heat is available relatively quickly after driving away from a cold start.
The new 4 cyl has the exhaust manifold built into the head. There are two separate cooling loops ( block and head) and the new head design gets up to temperature much sooner now. Cabin heat is available relatively quickly after driving away from a cold start.
02-10-2016, 06:13 AM
#13
AudiWorld Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Washington DC Metro
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You probably can change to 6 mins with VCDS. The heated seats along with the heated steering wheel keeps me toasty as soon as I get in. I don't even notice how long it takes for the heater to warm up.
02-10-2016, 01:36 PM
#15
AudiWorld Super User
Not that I have much of a winter here in NorCal, but yes. I used to live in Chicago and I drove with the AC turned on in the winter. It keeps the moisture out of the cabin and prevents the windows from fogging up.
02-10-2016, 01:44 PM
#16
AudiWorld Super User
The AC dehumidifies the air and today it's 17% so running a compressor seems superfluous. In the winter when Windows can fog up on the inside then obviously I would use the compressor.
In my opinion the Auto setting is a guess at what I should want biased by maximum fuel economy. I have never had a car that has an auto setting that is better at knowing what I want than actually what I want.
I am better at selecting the climate control, the automatic cruise control and the active lane assist than any computer but I love toys so I buy them anyway😄
02-10-2016, 02:18 PM
#17
AudiWorld Super User
The exception to this are models that have the Economy mode in Audi Drive Select. If the Economy mode is active, then it influences the AC in order to increase mpg.
You can open/close the vents to control how much air you want blown in your face. If you close the vents it redirects air through the footwell and defroster for a more indirect way of cool/heating the interior, but I seriously doubt you'll do a better job at maintaining the temperature manually. Do you manually turn on/off the heater in your house, too, to maintain a comfortable temperature?
Last edited by superswiss; 02-10-2016 at 02:20 PM.
02-10-2016, 07:02 PM
#18
AudiWorld Senior Member
The climate control uses a variable displacement AC compressor. It is not like the usual fixed displacement compressor which you can hear cycling on and off. Instead, it runs continuously but will vary its output according to the heat load. So if it's cold, the compressor will reduce to a low output, and the engine power required to run it will be low as well. It also automatically shuts off to prevent freezing the system. So I think it's fine to just leave the AC on in winter to dehumidify the air, and it should have very little effect on your gas mileage anyway. I just leave mine on Auto and 74F for the whole year, but I'm in Florida so sometimes we actually need the AC even in winter.
Last edited by newmoon; 02-10-2016 at 07:04 PM.
02-10-2016, 09:59 PM
#19
AudiWorld Senior Member
Back to the OP's question. The reason it doesn't start blowing air at first is because the air would be cold until the car warms up, and no one wants to be blasted with cold air when it's cold.
02-11-2016, 03:26 AM
#20
AudiWorld Super User
Actually, that's not what it is. Auto simply cools or heats the interior as required in order to achieve and maintain the selected temperature. So if you set the climate control at 72 and leave it in Auto, it cools/heats the interior until it reaches that temperature and then it maintains it. Works much the same as your thermostat in your house.
The exception to this are models that have the Economy mode in Audi Drive Select. If the Economy mode is active, then it influences the AC in order to increase mpg.
You can open/close the vents to control how much air you want blown in your face. If you close the vents it redirects air through the footwell and defroster for a more indirect way of cool/heating the interior, but I seriously doubt you'll do a better job at maintaining the temperature manually. Do you manually turn on/off the heater in your house, too, to maintain a comfortable temperature?
The exception to this are models that have the Economy mode in Audi Drive Select. If the Economy mode is active, then it influences the AC in order to increase mpg.
You can open/close the vents to control how much air you want blown in your face. If you close the vents it redirects air through the footwell and defroster for a more indirect way of cool/heating the interior, but I seriously doubt you'll do a better job at maintaining the temperature manually. Do you manually turn on/off the heater in your house, too, to maintain a comfortable temperature?
I have enabled Economy mode in my car with VCDS but have never noticed any difference to the AC operation.
On cooler days I usually select window and floor direction and in the hotter days I select front vents and floor. My car never asks me for my opinion when in Auto.
Here in So Cal we frequently have 30 degree swings per day in temperature and your body has different requirements depending on numerous things. I have been cold when it's 85 outside and I have been warm when it's 45 outside. Again, my car never asks me what I want so I'm constantly changing it.
If your car usage is 9 to 5 and your daily temperature swings are 5 degrees then I understand your point but if you use your car at 1.30 am and then again at 1.30 pm then the constant setting of 72 may not be what you want.