Passat R36 wagon - newbie

[thissink]

Have had the awesome R36 Passat Wagon for a few years now. Great family car!

Aircon started playing up a year and a bit back. A few dealers had a go at it and the only possible fix seemed replacing the compressor ~$1500,-

A very annoying problem as it still cools but sometimes takes up to 10min to start cooling.

Found this forum and a thread with a potential solution. We took a punt and replaced the compressor solenoid as mentioned in the thread ($25 part and an hour labour) - works like a charm again!

Wanted to post a quick thank you post on that thread hence joining.

Cheers!

[kamold]

Welcome to the forum

I tried the solenoid replacement in mine however it wasn't the fix in my case.
Had the compressor replaced just before Christmas for $1k and happily enjoying icy cold air again just at the right time of year

[shinjukuthief]

Great tip to keep in mind on the solenoid. Mine is icy cold, however has another issue where -sometimes- the fans don't blow straight away from start up, they'll either kick in after driving for 5-10mins or after a re-starting the car. Found a couple of ppl with the same problem and they said it's worn bushes in the heater blower (under/behind the glovebox). Might try a blower from a wrecker and/or see if an auto electrician can fix the old one. Adding this to the do-do list prior to next summer!