[Dhruv29]

Update:
The A/C problem is occurring more frequently now. Cooling coil freezing up, A/C gas loud hissing sound when starting the car, weak cooling. Only the dealer in Motinagar, New Delhi has proper fitment to connect the car with A/C gas evac machine. None of the dealers in Gurugram has proper attachment. I'm waiting for the part to arrive since 3 weeks. But to no avail. This is terrible planning by VW India that they are not able to provide proper tools for their reliable "German Quality" CBU car. I'll have to now take my car all the way to Delhi for this stupid problem.

I had raised A/C cooling issue during the time of Gearbox replacement but as usual my concern was ignored and A/C was deemed fully fit when i picked the car after Gearbox replacement. I was informed by the Technician that air filter was fully choked which is strange that i gave the car back with fully functioning system, what i suspect is that cooling coil froze during there drive after gearbox replacement and ice melted when they opened filter for cleaning. Every other parameter such as gas quantity was within check. (Strangely they didn’t have the proper equipment to check) but still were able to judge that Gas is within spec.

I took the car back and during long drive I experienced no airflow from any of the vent and video recorded it as well. Next day i took the car back to S.C for thorough checkup in front of me where they informed me that they don’t have connector which connects there EVAC machine with Tiguan allspace. I asked then how were you able to tell that A/C gas is within spec? They had no answer. I was told to either take the car to Moti Nagar, Delhi workshop or wait for 2-3 days till connector was available.

I opted to wait as 15K service was also near. I took the car back for periodic service after 15 days and to my surprise the part is still not available! Now it’s been nearly 25 days since i faced A/C freezing issue. Being fed up with usual response of S.C that part is unavailable, i took the car to VW Moti Nagar, where to my surprise 2 other Tiguan Allspace with the same concern was in line for repairs.

One was ready for testing after complete A/C system replacement other was waiting from 20 days waiting for its turn for diagnosis! God knows when my car will have its turn for diagnosis. I obviously took my car back because already there is a car before me which isn’t even touched yet. It would’ve been 20-25 days of downtime for waiting for parts and diagnosis easily!

Why is VW acting so poorly in such widespread issue of there so called German Quality Indian Flagship! Where workshops are not equipped to handle same concern from different owners. And only one workshop in Delhi/NCR which already has Tiguan Allspaces lined up for repairs. God help Tiguan Allspace owners.

[ajmat]

I am surprised that no Kodiaqs have this issue unless Skoda have made a specific design change.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, Dhruv! Moving your post out to a new thread as it's a new issue. Will add to homepage later this week .

@ BHPians, if you should spot any post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!

I will be sending this thread url to some people I know at VW. Hopefully, it helps in solving your problem.

[Axe77]

Wow! It is really poor form that even a diagnostic tool is not available, let alone a part replacement. 20-25 days down time is simply unacceptable. This when VAG collectively are doing minuscule numbers. I wonder what is the state of their readiness as they are on the cusp of doing far greater total volumes with the likes of Taigun / Kushaq being launched. Will getting even basic service appointments then be a challenge? Are they truly geared up to deal with the numbers? If there is anything beyond oil change and routine service how seamless an experience will it be for customers.

It’s one thing to buy into a car / brand that’s prone to problems. At the very least, if reliability is a known problem, HQ should ensure they can offer customer friendly service, go the extra mile on warranties, and provide these solutions “promptly”.

[viXit]

How did you know it was freezing?

I was informed by the Technician that air filter was fully choked which is strange that i gave the car back with fully functioning system,

Sounds legit. And how did he remedy this?
Did he change the cabin AC Filter?
But do you drive in dusty environments a lot? A new filter can't choke so easily so soon.

what i suspect is that cooling coil froze during there drive after gearbox replacement and ice melted when they opened filter for cleaning.

Not sure if a clogged filter can be effectively cleaned. I've only heard of the AC Filters being replaced. Unless they didn't have stock of the filter. Which is not unimaginable seeing the shameful state of affairs. Bet they didn't expect a new car to have AC issues so soon.

Every other parameter such as gas quantity was within check. (Strangely they didn’t have the proper equipment to check) but still were able to judge that Gas is within spec.

Definitely bluffing.

I took the car back and during long drive I experienced no airflow from any of the vent and video recorded it as well. Next day i took the car back to S.C for thorough checkup in front of me where they informed me that they don’t have connector which connects there EVAC machine with Tiguan allspace. I asked then how were you able to tell that A/C gas is within spec? They had no answer. I was told to either take the car to Moti Nagar, Delhi workshop or wait for 2-3 days till connector was available.

Sorry that you have to wait so long, just wanted to add this.
Some troubleshooting steps. Turn off AC and run only the fan, does the air flow well?
If yes, does it stop once the AC is turned on?
or
Does it not flow regardless?

What are the conditions when there is no proper airflow?

I woke up one night with loud crackling sounds coming from my home window AC unit. Being a window AC, it has a curtain over it that can get sucked onto the intake and block the airflow. Turns out, the crackling sound was of the THICK sheet of ice breaking. Less airflow and no heat transfer between the room air and cooling coil, led to a lot of ice formation on the cooling coil. I believe a clogged filter can do the same for your car AC

[Dhruv29]

How did you know it was freezing?


Sounds legit. And how did he remedy this?
Did he change the cabin AC Filter?
But do you drive in dusty environments a lot? A new filter can't choke so easily so soon.


Not sure if a clogged filter can be effectively cleaned. I've only heard of the AC Filters being replaced. Unless they didn't have stock of the filter. Which is not unimaginable seeing the shameful state of affairs. Bet they didn't expect a new car to have AC issues so soon.

Some troubleshooting steps. Turn off AC and run only the fan, does the air flow well?
If yes, does it stop once the AC is turned on?
or
Does it not flow regardless?

What are the conditions when there is no proper airflow?

Diagnosis was simple, after driving the car for 1-2 hours. i can notice steady decrease in air flow from all the vents and rear vents. Then i had to switch off A/C after 1-2 minutes air flow gets restored.
This cycle repeats till the time my journey is completed.
Also, If a car is parked, you could see much higher water flow from the A/C drain on the road.

The air filter. was just cleaned and not replaced and that filter was changed just 6,000 km/ 3 months back. I gave the car with proper working A/C flow, it can't suddenly completely choke within 5 days. But yes Delhi/NCR is dusty but it's monsoon season as well so dust in air is quite low.

But recently I had my car serviced last week with all filters/oil changed. And again i faced coil freezing issue on a long drive and had to use A/C on/off cycle again and again to get air flow back.

Also the cooling is not up to the mark for a "7-seater". If i stop at a traffic light it gets weak, sometimes it doesn't.
I have to drive my car at cruising speed to get expected cooling with temperature at "low" all the time with passengers complaining about cooling of the car.


Do check out the video i took last month:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvrfY4B3w40

[sagarpadaki]

The main reason for ice formation on Evaporator coil is low refrigerant level. And the refrigerant does not go low unless there is a leak. They need to hook up the Robinair machine to your car and evacuate the system and vacuum check the system for at least 30 mins to see if the system holds the vacuum. If it does not hold then there is leak somewhere in the system and just refilling the refrigerant will not solve the problem

[Dhruv29]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

The main reason for ice formation on Evaporator coil is low refrigerant level. And the refrigerant does not go low unless there is a leak. They need to hook up the Robinair machine to your car and evacuate the system and vacuum check the system for at least 30 mins to see if the system holds the vacuum. If it does not hold then there is leak somewhere in the system and just refilling the refrigerant will not solve the problem

It is most probably low refrigerant issue because the loud hissing sound for 3-4 second when switching on A/C/ starting car, weak cooling which improves when engine is running steadily at 2k RPM and above. All of it points to a leak in system or a weak A/C compressor.
VW dealers in Gurgaon can't hook their machine to my car due to different connector required for Tiguan Allspace. Only 1 dealer in New Delhi has it and that dealer is already swamped with 2 Tiguans A.S. One is getting fixed, other is waiting to get fixed from VW Engineers who came specially for these issue. I don't know when my car's number will come for it to get fixed as there is no point in letting it rot at a dealer waiting for work to be started. They'll take their own sweet time for diagnosis as well as part procurement.
Out of 9 months of ownership, it has been in the workshop for total of 20 days and I'm looking at giving away my car for additional 15-20 days after it's scheduled for being diagnosed and they are able to find the fault and order replacement parts. Hopefully i don't have to run from person to person like i did last time when it was having its DSG replaced.

P.S: I think the gearbox issue will return back. Yesterday, After returning from New Delhi to Gurgaon. i noticed RPM fluctuate every 5 seconds when maintaining a steady speed. I noticed this behaviour last time before powerloss and engine noise episode. Only, this time i didn't experience powerloss/engine noise.

Please ignore the KM mark in video below because the video was taken before DSG was replaced. This time i was not able to a proper video where RPM fluctuation is visible but the behaviour is exactly the same. It can be noticed at 0:07, 0:12 second mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=578p1A3bD90

[sandeepmohan]

Here's something you can do.

The engine compartment on your car should have a label noting the type of refrigerant used and the specified quantity that should be present in the system.

Approach a reputed (or local) car AC workshop and have them check the pressure in the Low line. That should match or come close to what is specified on the label on the hood. This is only to understand if its low or high refrigerant levels. If the problem is beyond this, you want to wait for VW as the car is under warranty.

Cooling coil can freeze under high and low refrigerant levels. I suspect they may have over filled the system when you reported low cooling or lack of air coming out of the vents. The ac compressor tends to cut out when the pressure in the line goes too high as well. Its a safety measure.

Set air direction manually to check if any one direction has more air flow than the other. Could also be the flaps acting up.

The fluctuating rpm could well the the Ac compressor acting up or on its last legs. Not necessarily the gearbox, as you just had it replaced.

Based on your location, I assume the environment is dusty. Check for debris on the condenser. If flow of air is restricted, it can cause low cooling.

I hope its not a case of a system leak as that will involve ripping apart the dashboard to gain access to the cooling coil.

[RJK]

Could be premature for a new car but pls look into the evaporator coil. If that coil fails, gas leaks out very slowly. I faced similar problem with my 7.5yrs old Innova, it wouldn’t cool when the car was stand still and eventually the cooling just stopped. Culprit was found to be the evaporator coil.

I have sympathies for you, first the trouble with Lexus ownership (hopefully that’s sorted out) and now this with VW. I hope you can get a break (but knowing its a VW, I am skeptical).

Cheers

[Clayton Crasto]

First check if the compressor is cutting off at all. A good AC technician had once told me that the freezing issue you described can occur if the compressor is not cutting off, which is due to a faulty cooling sensor.

[pramods]

Originally Posted by Dhruv29

Diagnosis was simple, after driving the car for 1-2 hours. i can notice steady decrease in air flow from all the vents and rear vents. Then i had to switch off A/C after 1-2 minutes air flow gets restored.
This cycle repeats till the time my journey is completed.
Also, If a car is parked, you could see much higher water flow from the A/C drain on the road.
...

Just one suggestion, would you please use the AC in manual mode by setting the air speed and see if it works as expected.

Auto mode uses lots of sensory data and results in a very inconsistent experience[if you are driving with direct sun light, the speed and cooling is better. With no direct sun light the cooling gets worse. The sensor also gets the internal temp and humidity which can also behave directly]

Different climate zone temp setting can also have very inconsistent cooling impact. Please check the AC in manual mode for a longer duration and see if the results are different.

VW/Skoda cars AC are anyway weak compared to other cars.

-Pramod

[JP_800]

Hello Dhruv,
Sorry to hear about the A/C issue in your new car. It sucks to drive without A/C. Does the A/C cool properly when there is air flow? then it might not be a refrigerant quantity issue.


Just a technical input.

The cooling coil or Evaporator, which is its technical name, usually has a sensor mounted on it to inform the HVAC control module it's temperature. Based on the input from this sensor and along with the cabin air temperature sensor the HVAC control module cuts off and re-engages the A/c compressor to maintain the temperature you've set at the front control panel. This evaporator mounted sensor also helps in preventing it from freezing, usually when the evaporator temp is at about 2 degrees Celsius, the compressor will be cutoff, if the temp is set at the lowest setting. and is reengaged when the temp rises to about 7-8 degrees. If this sensor is kaput or sending a higher temperature reading than normal, the compressor will not cut-off and evaporator temperature will go below zero degrees and then ice will form from the condensed water on the evaporator.

There is a way to confirm this. Get a cheap thermometer with a probe. Close all the side vents and rear vents, keep only the center vents open and insert the probe into one of the center vents. Start the engine and switch on the A/C. Keep the temperature at the lowest and fan setting at the slowest speed. Air recirculation mode should be ON. Watch the temp reading on the probe. The compressor should cut off( you can note this with noise and a slight increase in engine rpm as it is relieved of some load, or by visually checking on the compressor) at about 5-10 degrees Celsius vent temperature. If it's not cutting off, you have the culprit, which is the sensor not sending correct temp reading to the HVAC module. There can be two reasons for it

1) The evaporator fins are is choked with dust, the sensor also coated with the dust and consequently it's not able to read the correct temperature of the evaporator. It'll always read a higher temperature than usual. From your input that the air filter was completed choked with dust, there is a high probability for this. Try to remove the cabin air filter and have a look if you can see the evaporator from the gap. If you can't see, then your dealer will have to take apart the entire dashboard to access the evaporator and inspect it.

2) Or, the sensor itself has failed, which is a rare possibility in a new car.

[JP_800]

Hello Dhruv,
Sorry to hear about the A/C issue in your new car. It sucks to drive without A/C. Does the A/C cool properly when there is air flow? then it might not be a refrigerant quantity issue.


Just a technical input.

The cooling coil or Evaporator, which is its technical name, usually has a sensor mounted on it to inform the HVAC control module it's temperature. Based on the input from this sensor and along with the cabin air temperature sensor the HVAC control module cuts off and re-engages the A/c compressor to maintain the temperature you've set at the front control panel. This evaporator mounted sensor also helps in preventing it from freezing, usually when the evaporator temp is at about 2 degrees Celsius, the compressor will be cutoff, if the temp is set at the lowest setting. and is reengaged when the temp rises to about 7-8 degrees. If this sensor is kaput or sending a higher temperature reading than normal, the compressor will not cut-off and evaporator temperature will go below zero degrees and then ice will form from the condensed water on the evaporator.

There is a way to confirm this. Get a cheap thermometer with a probe. Close all the side vents and rear vents, keep only the center vents open and insert the probe into one of the center vents. Start the engine and switch on the A/C. Keep the temperature at the lowest and fan setting at the slowest speed. Air recirculation mode should be ON. Watch the temp reading on the probe. The compressor should cut off( you can note this with noise and a slight increase in engine rpm as it is relieved of some load, or by visually checking on the compressor) at about 5-10 degrees Celsius vent temperature. If it's not cutting off, you have the culprit, which is the sensor not sending correct temp reading to the HVAC module. There can be two reasons for it

1) The evaporator fins are is choked with dust, the sensor is also coated with the dust and consequently it's not able to read the correct temperature of the evaporator. It'll always read a higher temperature than the actual value. From your input that the air filter was completed choked with dust, there is a high probability for this. Try to remove the cabin air filter and have a look if you can see the evaporator from the gap. If you can't see, then your dealer will have to take apart the entire dashboard to access the evaporator and inspect it.

2) Or, the sensor itself has failed, which is a rare possibility in a new car.

[Dhruv29]

Update:
I left the car for diagnosis/fix at VW Motinagar, New Delhi on 16th August.
Today i was informed that A/C compressor and drier will be replaced and is placed on order. Also, no refrigerant leak was noted during investigation.
I have the following doubts which i raised to S.A as well:
- Why only Compressor is being replaced? If compressor has failed general rule of thumb is to replace Condenser as well. Why only compressor and drier assembly is being replaced?
Suppose if a compressor is failed outside of warranty, VW or infact any company won't just replace only compressor but will recommend to replace condensor as well as drier, expansion valve. To this i was replied that only compressor and drier replacement approval has been given.
- What will happen if compressor again fails after a period of time? Would i have to again face downtime of 15-20 days.
- Even if these parts are replaced, i think it won't fix cooling coil freezing problem.

My car is exhibiting same symptoms noted in another Tiguan where V.W replaced all A/C system. Are they doing hit and trial method with my car? Does VW not care about downtime a customer is facing due to there "Diagnosis/fix" method?
I genuinely have lost all the trust in this brand.