aftermarket A/C

[woosh73]

My 2006 works extremely well actually better than the rexy . Probably best thing to do is to go to an Automotive A/C specialist to check for leaks it's pretty easy they use a dye in the gas.

[pixl]

Car went in last Friday for its 15k service, thought I would bring it up again. The service manager took it for a drive around the block on a 26 degree day and said to me, "You're right, there's something wrong with that..."

Got it back yesterday (different person) "We had it checked and it couldn't be faulted"

Took it to a radiator/air con specialist this arvo to enquire about getting an aftermarket unit. Very helpful bloke, he brought out a thermometer and stuck it down the vent. "I don't want to sound like a smart arse, but that's bloody cold at 3.9 degrees"

He went on to tell me how most cars average around 5-6 degrees. I tried to explain to him that I've been driving for just over an hour today in 26 degree weather (29 on the display) with the air con on full an recirc on and I'm sweating. "I don't know what to tell you mate, but this thing is ice cold. I can't recommend an aftermarket unit because it'll be very expensive and I guarantee it won't be as cold as this."

I couldn't really argue with the guy as I saw the numbers myself -- he reckons it's all to do with it being a black car.

I'm going to try a few other places tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.

[DeanB]

What's your tint like ? I see on your sig that it is "ICT Tint" ... what's its heat rating and also the light %

I used to have a dark blue car (Swift GTi) and I'll admit it was hot sitting in the sun, but once the aircon was running (about 5min) it worked fine.

[noone]

How do you have the vents balanced? If I want cold, I usually have the 2 middle ones pointed at me, partially blocked (to even out the balance to the side vents). With the passenger side closed and drivers side pointed at me, thats about all the air flow you can focus.

Is the airflow good? If its cold, but not getting through, could be the issue?

[seangti]

Also bear in mind that if you have it directed to your feet (as I always do), it also sends air to under the front seats for rear passengers. Quite frustating as I'd like to block it (back seats used for passengers perhaps twice in 12months), but it is what it is.

[DarkCloudNebulae]

My 2008 does a great job of staying cold, as good as the regassed car I had previously... I can suggest one thing though, I am not suggesting you don't know but I know of people who has both argued with me and just plain didn't know that if you close the recirculation its gets HEAPS colder. I can remember being dumbfounded when I was told, "no, if you take air from outside it will be cooler, as the air inside is hot..." they didn't get that if you are cooling 35C air all the time and not progressively cooling the air down by recirculating that it wasn't going to be as cool. Just a suggestion I can think of.

Also I have read that some A/Cs are filled with the wrong amount of (to much) refrigerant, and this can cause issues. I think it was on this forum and to do with Polos. Also have read about a lot of AC part failures in the Polos, I cant remember specifics, but it seems that a fair few had faulty parts. I have noticed with the Polo that even on a ~24-25C day the car gets hot ver quickly if its closed off. While if I have the windows open its fine, as soon as I rely just on air in the vents (open to outside) it still can't cool the car (silver model) so I get the impression the Polo makes alot more heat than my old car.

I have also had problems with almost stalling with the AC on, it feels more like the accelerator pedal response is changed, I find you have to give it much more pedal before it even starts to increase RPM, and this goes away a few minutes after the AC has been on, like its something to do with the learning part of the ECU? I don't find it affects the power very much in my car.

My AC also gets colder faster when at speed rather than at a standstill when first on. its ok once its cold though. This however has happened with every car I have had, and I would imagine that due to the Europe design, they dont really build it for 40C+ days...

DCN

[Bubu]

This topic has been discussed in many threads and the concensus is that the air con in the Polo struggles on the hotter days.

I complained about mine when I had it serviced. They said it had an incorrect amount of gas in it. They drained it and regassed it and it performed only a bit better but was still struggling on hot days above 30deg. My car is also tinted at 20% plus the factory glass of 3% which makes it 17%.

I have not tested the output temp on my air con, yet. But if its coming out of the vents around 3.9 degrees then I would think the problem is elsewhere. The most likely to be from heat transfer. As I pointed out in another thread the boot floor gets hot on inside the car just above the muffler. This could be the reason why the air con struggles to keep the cabin of the car cool. There could also be other places where heat can transfer from, maybe through the firewall off the turbo its self?

Either way im interested in fixing this problem. Any input you guys have may help.

[xc17ed]

Can anyone recommend a good air con person around Bankstown/Hurstville or any other surrounding areas, with it starting to heat up I'm noticing the Polo has terrible a/c. I'd like to get it checked, re-gassed, etc.

[JIMTRON]

I have to agree with everyone who thinks the aircon is poor. I have a red polo, so it shouldn't be too bad in the heat but on a hot Melbourne day the a/c really struggles. I got the best tint film for heat rejection that i could find installed and it helped a lot, but it is still average at best.
I think the problem is not the temperature of the air coming out of the vents, but the quantity of air pumped out. It doesn't seem to pump a lot of air at all. If the air is indeed colder than average at 3.9degrees, then it can only be the quantity of air that is not sufficient.

[rs73]

seems like VW purposely put a lower powered compressor in Polo so that it doesn't zap too much engine performance when it's on?

or is it they've just basically underestimate the Australian summer heat condition across all models they've sold down here?

a tint is a good idea though...