2003 Allroad 2.7t, NO HEAT!!!
 

Please help! I live in the chilly Midwest! I need heat!

Well, I bought my allroad with about 80k miles on it after wrecking my A6 Avant 3.0Q... I really like the allroad a lot more, but I am experiencing a lot more problems. My biggest problem is the I need to replace the torque converter. At the moment though, I need to get the heat fixed since it is winter & I have very limited ability to defrost the windows. The heat doesn't work at all at any engine speed, wether highway driving or sitting at idle. Everything else seems fine, but this has been an ongoing problem. The AC actually works, but nowhere near as good as it did on my A4 & A6 did.

FYI, my AR currently has about 103,000 miles...

Is this the fan diverter problem I've read about? I've read some vague comments about this, but haven't seen anything that seems to expand on it.

Thanks,

Airwalk

One more thing... If I'm driving with the environmental system completely off, & turn it on, it blows warm air for about 10 seconds. Then, it just blows cool air. I have been running the system on "HI" as well.

Could be blend door, air bubble in heater core, heater core plugged, or thermostat stuck open. Do a search. It's been discussed several times here and in the A6(C5) forum.

Could also be a problem with your climate control unit.

Start eliminating problems one by one or else take it to the shop. You definitely need heat.

Is the engine temperature normal, or does it stay cool?

Do you have heat when not driving, just idling?

I get no heat. Period. I've had it in the shop, but my mechanic said everything is normal... To him, that means everything that isn't automated. He's an old curmudgeon. :-)

The engine temp does stay normal & no, the air is cold wether I'm driving or idling. It does seem to work better(barely luke warm) if I don't use the heat on "auto" & just set the fan speed to about 3 notches up. If I set it to auto, it just blows real hard, but only cold air.

I am also seeing a lot of foam up on the dash... Likely coming from the defrost vent? When I saw this, I assumed there might be a blockage? Or did the blend door motor get jammed by the foam? I'm very unfamiliar with this system in the car as this is the first time I've ever had this problem... I've had an A4, A6Avant & now this Allroad. So, I know how hot the heat can blow.

Also, since my AC seems mediocre...???

If both the lines going into the firewall to the heater core are hot, then it is more likely a climate module or blend door problem. Mediocre A/C would point to this as well.

I assume that the A/C problem is in the summer. The A/C won't work when it gets too cold outside.

Yes, thanks for your help. I believe the problem is definitely narrowed down. I'll check everything, but I'm pretty sure it's either the control or the blend door.

You are right, the AC problem is in the summer... It works better than the heat, but neither the heat nor AC work as they should. Thanks again.

Blend door motor?
 

Does anybody have any good advise as to how to access the blend door motor in a 2003? I thought I read that I could get to it through the glove box...

FYI, the lines coming from the heater core are both nice & hot. So, I'm steering toward the blend door motor. If that's not it, maybe the thermostat or vacuum. I'm trying to fix the easiest thing first! I'll keep everyone posted!

On to the thermostat...
 

Blend doors motors are behind the glove box & look to be working well.

Since I've been going thru this recently, I'll throw in my $.02 to a fellow midwesterner (although I'm an East Coaster now):

I've posted on this exact thing ad nauseum for the last 3 months (search my posts) since I've been a new allroad owner.

The problem is most likely a blocked/clogged hearer core, especially if "everything" else checks out. The reason you're getting a momentary blast of warm-ish air is because the hot coolant will slowly and reluctantly flow thru your clogged core, but as soon as you extract the heat off by turning on the blower, the coolant doesn't circulate with enough volume, or fast enough, to replenish the core with new, hot coolant. So your heat remains tepid and pathetic.

If you find some other reason, or come up with a fix, PLEASE let us all know, because there are several of us watching these "heater" posts for a cure other than a core swap. Unless I read of some other cause, I'm swapping the core myself after i survive this winter.