[noopster]

bala80, I don't think you need to sweat it. The climatronic kicks in slowly rather than a conventional AC. At least I have never turned it off and there doesn't seem to be any additional load on the engine when starting, since the AC comes on after about a 20 second lag after the engine is cranked.

If there is any downside to this method, someone please let me know.

The way to switch off the AC is as souravc said. My biggest grouse with the climatronic is that there is no On/Off button. They could have had it similar to he On/Off on the stock ICE system (push button on the blower knob). But they don't have this, so you have to turn the blower knob all the way counter clockwise till it switches off.

[souravc]

Originally Posted by bala80

Thank you for stepping in (again!) to help me Souravc.

I get what you are trying to explain me. My question is - Should I switch off the A/C (Blower) before shutting off the car? I usually do it as a practice in the manual A/C cars to avoid the additional load on the engine during startup.

If I do switch off the blower fan - when I start it back should I configure my preferences all over again?

What is recommended? I prefer the first option - since I always drive the car with A/C on - but I dont want to be doing it if this is going to damage the system.

If you switch it off then the memory would save the last known setting , which is blower set to zero i.e. ac switched off . IMO you can safely switch off the ignition without turning the blower to zero and my reasoning is as below . You would notice that when the ignition is turned on (with the AC not being switched off when the ignition was last switched off) , the AC switches on with a pretty noticeable time lag of quite a few seconds - this allows time for the engine to start prior to the automatic starting of the AC . Thus the ac draws power from the engine only rather than the battery
(this is one more practical logic built into the Vento which goes unnoticed )
In my Swift , i switch off the ac prior to switching the ignition off as when the engine is restarted the ac switches on immediately so when the engine is cranked the battery gets loaded with the ac power drawdown over and above the engine load which is not adviseable .
Hope this clarifies .

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by bala80

My question is - Should I switch off the A/C (Blower) before shutting off the car? I usually do it as a practice in the manual A/C cars to avoid the additional load on the engine during startup.

If I do switch off the blower fan - when I start it back should I configure my preferences all over again?

What is recommended? I prefer the first option - since I always drive the car with A/C on - but I dont want to be doing it if this is going to damage the system.

Mr. Bala80 first of all congrats on purchasing the VW Vento.
I would recommend which ever the type of AC would be in a car let it be manual or ACC(Automatic Climate Control), it is always better to switch off the AC before turning the ignition off. Because when you start your car again the AC starts as soon as the car is started which puts load on the cars engine/battery.
So always switch off the AC before turning off the ignition. I too own VW Vento TDi HL. What I do normally is switch off the AC before turning off the ignition and when I start the car again I just press the AUTO button on ACC in my Vento and the AC starts again without putting any initial load on car during/after starting. What ever temperature you set is remembered by the ACC after switching off the car.
Hope it helps.

[souravc]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Because when you start your car again the AC starts as soon as the car is started which puts load on the cars engine/battery.

Rohaan, i disagree with you on this point , Vento's AC starts with a time lag of quite a few seconds which is enough for the ignition to be switched , engine to be cranked and started and only then the AC switches on .
Try it out once .

I would though agree that turning off the AC before switching off the engine is a good habit ( something which I don't follow since I don't want to work the settings everytime) which takes care of the situation where there is a mis-start.

[bala80]

You are correct Souravc. I tried this today and the A/C starts only when the engine is running (No switching off the blower during shut down). When the key is in the ignition position (engine not cranked), the climatronic display shows the setting before shut down, however blower doesnt turn on.

Very practical feature indeed.

Also - though I was late by a day - Ownership thread is up -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...to-tdi-hl.html

Comments and feedback most welcome.

Originally Posted by souravc

Rohaan, i disagree with you on this point , Vento's AC starts with a time lag of quite a few seconds which is enough for the ignition to be switched , engine to be cranked and started and only then the AC switches on .
Try it out once .

I would though agree that turning off the AC before switching off the engine is a good habit ( something which I don't follow since I don't want to work the settings everytime) which takes care of the situation where there is a mis-start.

[bala80]

I have a question for the fellow vento owners on the "Anti-pinch" feature. While the one touch up/down feature works as designed, they are not rolling back on detection of an obstacle during winding up. I tried it on all the windows and there isnt any anti-pinch feature. Is this feature not available in the recent manufactured cars or Am i missing something here?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by bala80

I have a question for the fellow vento owners on the "Anti-pinch" feature. While the one touch up/down feature works as designed, they are not rolling back on detection of an obstacle during winding up. I tried it on all the windows and there isnt any anti-pinch feature. Is this feature not available in the recent manufactured cars or Am i missing something here?

It works fine in my car. It's not very sensitive. It will kinda bang the obstacle and roll back. I tried with my finger and kinda hurts a bit. I expected it to be very smooth. Not bad but kids will definitely get a shock.

[plain.vanilla]

Originally Posted by bala80

I tried it on all the windows and there isnt any anti-pinch feature. Is this feature not available in the recent manufactured cars or Am i missing something here?

Pinch guard safety for all four power windows is only available in the HL. Thats what you have, right?

[bala80]

Thanks for your response Naveen. I had my hand right in between when the glass was winding up, and it just didnt stop at all!

I guess One more thing to report during the inspection service then.

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

It works fine in my car. It's not very sensitive. It will kinda bang the obstacle and roll back. I tried with my finger and kinda hurts a bit. I expected it to be very smooth. Not bad but kids will definitely get a shock.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by bala80

Thanks for your response Naveen. I had my hand right in between when the glass was winding up, and it just didnt stop at all!

I guess One more thing to report during the inspection service then.

Bala, please don't test anti-pinch with your hands
If it’s not working, better to report it at the earliest. Hope it’s not like an unannounced deletion – like how Skoda took out some features from Laura Ambiente trim.

[bala80]

I very much suspect so (more than a faulty mechanism), however I dont have a way to validate this.

Mine was manufactured in June and hence can only cross check with others, who are waiting for delivery/took delivery recently.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Bala, please don't test anti-pinch with your hands
If it’s not working, better to report it at the earliest. Hope it’s not like an unannounced deletion – like how Skoda took out some features from Laura Ambiente trim.

[naveen.raju]

Anytime Bala. Yes, it's best to test it with something else. Am not sure whether this is available only in HL as "plain vanilla" had mentioned. Just check with the dealer.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by bala80

I very much suspect so (more than a faulty mechanism), however I dont have a way to validate this.

Mine was manufactured in June and hence can only cross check with others, who are waiting for delivery/took delivery recently.

They still have it mentioned in the VW India website. Here is a snapshot

[gaurav911]

Bala, I really hope that VW has not deleted the anti-pinch feature of the Vento. In my opinion it is an excellent feature. Moreover, i guess none of the competitors have it; so it is a sort of an exclusive benefit available only on the High line. In fact so many reviewers have criticized Vento for the lack of features and praised Verna for having a lot of them. In my opinion (comparing the Verna Sx with Highline) , the Vento is better equipped - in terms of having crucial and important features. Anti-pinch is one such feature which is strongly feel should continue to remain.

Took the test drive of the Vento a few days back. The SE demonstrated the anti-pinch feature, first on his hand and then later on mine - it worked quite well.
The only thing is that it works when you use the one touch up feature on the window. It does not work when you hold on to the power window button for rolling the window up.

[bala80]

Mine is a HL only and it doesn't work. By the way the broucher and website still mentions "leather wrapped steering" in the feature list. Its no more available in the HL models and hence my suspicion.

Originally Posted by vb-san

They still have it mentioned in the VW India website. Here is a snapshot