[TusharK]

Volkswagen has rolled out a “technical update” for the Virtus’ air-conditioning system.



One of the common complaints of most Virtus owners was the poor performance of the air-conditioning system. It seems the word has reached the higher-ups at Volkswagen, who have finally directed the technical team to rectify the issue.

Virtus owners have been notified regarding the update through an SMS. As per the message, owners are requested to visit their nearest VW dealer for the update, which is expected to improve the AC performance.



Volkswagen is offering the update free of cost. It is also said that the job could take around 30 minutes to an hour.

The Volkswagen Virtus was launched in June last year. The car is based on the MQB-A0-IN platform and is available with two engine options: a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that makes 113 BHP and 175 Nm and a 1.5-litre TSI engine that puts out 148 BHP and 250 Nm. Transmission options include a 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic and 7-speed DSG.

Thanks to Nikhil for sending this image in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Link to Team-BHP News

[SanjitVigneshS]

I received this message yesterday for my Taigun 1.0 too.

I'm however yet to check with the service center if this "complementary" update can be done as part of my next service or if it is only valid for a certain period.

[Col Mehta]

Really a good news for a lot of VW 2.0 owners, including Taigun (?) as well who suffer from POOR air conditioning in their VW/Skoda cars. Hopefully this will bring some respite to their ordeal.

Requesting owners to share their stories here post update.

[AtheK]

Even my Vento AC has always been on the weaker side, even we experienced the same while test driving the Tiguan also, guess it was some trait in VW family.

[07CR]

Any update if the same is being rolled for the Skoda vehicles? I found the AC in Kushaq and Slavia to be equally poor.

[CoolFire]

My Kushaq went in for first annual service and received an ECU update. AC is better now, but still below par. Service advisor claims that one more update is to come soon and that will make it fine. I am not convinced but waiting for that. The power window issue also still unresolved. Everything else fine for me.

[ryzen7@5800u]

I'm a little confused. What exactly is this "performance update"? Are they tweaking some ECU parameters regarding AC compressor shut-off at high engine loads, or at low engine speeds, or something entirely different? I don't think any hardware components can be swapped in 30 minutes.
If so, why was this not the original behaviour of the ECU? Would an added AC load in low speed situations (like traffic) cause excess heating and sluggish throttle response?

OT: How bad is the AC in the 1.0TSI engined cars? Can it keep up with a 50 degree Celsius summer? Is it better with the 1.5TSI?

[vj196]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Any update if the same is being rolled for the Skoda vehicles? I found the AC in Kushaq and Slavia to be equally poor.

There is. Got the AC update done along with my first annual service of Slavia earlier this week. Although i had not received any message, i remember seeing members posting (in another thread) about similar SMS received from Skoda asking to contact their dealer.

If your service is due anytime soon, you might get the update done along with it, or a quick phone call to the dealer should help you.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by ryzen7@5800u

If so, why was this not the original behaviour of the ECU? Would an added AC load in low speed situations (like traffic) cause excess heating and sluggish throttle response?

Its quite normal for manufacturers to carry out updates over time based on customer feedback. Perhaps they did not do enough AC testing before the vehicle hit the road and they are course-correcting now.

I am pretty sure that whatever update they are pushing out would have gone through their cycle of tests and there should be no issues around excess heating, etc.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by ryzen7@5800u

OT: How bad is the AC in the 1.0TSI engined cars? Can it keep up with a 50 degree Celsius summer? Is it better with the 1.5TSI?

AC is pretty bad. It couldn't perform well in the 35 degree Celsius of Pune heat, let alone 50. This is about 1.0 engine. The 1.5's AC is better, but still nothing compared to my ecosport 1.5 tdci AC.

[Osteon206]

Received a similar message from VW for the Taigun. I’ve not faced issues with the AC so far though. I even got a call from VW Mysore to come in for the update. VW have nicely called the recall as an update. I will be getting it done the following week.

I’m hoping they fix the one touch driver window operation soon. My friend with the Kushaq also has the same issue. Also surprisingly only VW have rolled out this ‘update’.

My Kushaq friends haven’t received any message from Skoda. I found this surprising considering all 4 MQBA0IN cars are manufactured on the same assembly line.

Originally Posted by ryzen7@5800u

OT: How bad is the AC in the 1.0TSI engined cars? Can it keep up with a 50 degree Celsius summer? Is it better with the 1.5TSI?

Hi Ryzen7. In reply to your query, I own a Taigun 1.0 TSI MT - have driven 39k km in 13 months and have never found the AC to be inadequate. Car spends maximum time in Mysore. But have driven extensively at Goa, Pondy and some hotter places in Tamil Nadu. I haven’t had any issues with the AC. But a friend of mine with the Virtus 1.5 GT has complains with AC performance - he feels it’s inadequate with a full load when he’s at Mangalore. Even he hasn’t had issues when driving alone or with one passenger within Mysore. I’ll update regarding our experiences following the service Center visit.

[The Rationalist]

What I don't understand is why couldn't VAG use AC's used in Maruti or Ford cars. They are absolute chillers, with Ford ones the better according to my experience. It's just plain arrogance that they are sticking with the same vendor even after there is so many complaints against the cooling efficacy. No update can change the inherent weakness of the current AC's. What's the point of having a car if you have to struggle in Indian summers?

[shancz]

Originally Posted by Osteon206

But a friend of mine with the Virtus 1.5 GT has complains with AC performance - he feels it’s inadequate with a full load when he’s at Mangalore. Even he hasn’t had issues when driving alone or with one passenger within Mysore.

This is an important observation, the issue seems more like a function of load and heat and to me seems like a "feature" intended to prevent the load/heat from breaching a certain threshold beyond which it could either lead to other system generated errors which would make the car stall or reduced FE as the turbo petrol would use even more fuel to cool down ?

For folks who haven't encountered it, could you try to increase the load and drive around congested areas to see if it happens ?

PS : Just a wild guess and a hypothesis at best and I don't own any of the affected vehicles but this issue intrigues me.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Osteon206

. Car spends maximum time in Mysore. But have driven extensively at Goa, Pondy and some hotter places in Tamil Nadu. But a friend of mine with the Virtus 1.5 GT has complains with AC performance - he feels it’s inadequate with a full load when he’s at Mangalore.

There is a noticeable difference in load when you compare dry versus humid conditions. Mangalore or the entire coastal belt down to Kerala is high on humidity. Climate Change has also resulted in these places now being hotter than it was. There is a difference of almost 10 degrees in the morning if you were to compare December temperatures between Mysore and Mangalore. The AC needs to work over time to maintain cabin temperature (Forget freezing the occupants).

[hrman]

Nice to see VAG providing some relief to one common complaint.

My own personal experience with my (now sold) Skoda rapid was mixed. The AC generally felt not as effective as compared to a Maruti or Hyundai in my early early years of ownership, when I used to give it for servicing to Skoda.
During the much later part of my ownership, specifically from the 9th year onwards, I started feeling the AC had become more powerful. I was getting it serviced at an Independent garage - Carsmith and then Bosch CoCo. This was more evident after Covid. There was no AC gas charging done and no software update done. I didn't even get the post Dieselgate software update from Skoda due to the many issues of reduced power and higher FE reported on this forum. But it appeared the AC had matured over time