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Hi all I need some advice on the air con on a 2008 A3. When the car is started i get a bit of cold air for about ten minutes and then it goes warm, is this just a case of needing re-gassing or are there other things i need to check? I did read on another post about the red lights on the dash mine has the air con light on and the Econ light on is this correct? Not sure if it makes any difference. Thanks Duncan

Good morning, I have had an issue with my A3's air conditioning for about a year now.. i've just never needed to really get it sorted because.. well it's England, how often do you use Aircon haha. The Audi A3 I have is the SE TDI 1.6l 2013 model. Basically, it was working fine - air blowers normal and then the air flow turned ice cold when I turned A/C on. On a road trip to Newcastle last April I turned the A/C on and.. nothing. The blowers were fine but everytime I pressed the A/C button, the red LED came on as I pressed down on the button but the second I took my finger off the red LED went off. So, I thought I would take it to Halfords for a quick regas.. they regassed it and kept the thermometer in the vents to check the temp. It filled it and in doing so it meant that the red LED stayed lit after I had taken my finger off which lead me to think that it had simply ran out of "gas" in the A/C. But, it still wasn't going cold. Fast forward a year and I am still in the same predicament - Red light comes on and stays on but the blowers don't change air temperature at all.. not fun in this recent hot spell that we have had. And with two roadtrips coming up (one from Manchester to Newquay in August) I am looking ahead to trying to get this sorted in advance. Had a quick check around the car last night - now I must admit I am a complete novice when it comes to anything mechanical like this but I am pretty good at learning stuff and being able to fix simple things myself - I know where the fuses are and all that sort of stuff so I am not completely useless but definitely no expert. I identified what I am pretty certain is the compressor in the engine, driven by a belt at the front left of the engine. This belt is constantly running when the engine is on - not sure if that should be the case (i'd presume it should only be on when the A/C button is on?) but there is definitely a high pitched whirring sound added to the engine noise when the A/C button is pressed and i am 99% certain it is coming from what I think is the compressor so... in my eyes I am pretty sure the compressor is working as it should. My original diagnosis is that there could be a leak where the "gas" (sorry I don't know the name for it atm) in the A/C is just completely leaking out when filled. This is backed up by the fact that I think the compressor works as it should when it is pressed and having it refilled enabled the red LED light to stay toggled on when pressed as opposed to going straight out when you take your finger off the button. Audi want £60 just to look at the car and that's before they quote me a ridiculous price to change something that's probably quite rudimental. Any ideas? I looked at the fuses last night but I couldn't get the aircon one out (need some needle nose pliers) but with it sounding like the compressor is activating when the button is pressed I can't see it being an issue with the fuse or else nothing would happen, would it? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Lee

Hi All just had the cruise control disengage and this pop up as the car lost all acceleration Drive system: malfunction! Please contact Service. a yellow warning triangle ⚠️ A yellow graphic of the car with an arrow pointing down onto it. Relaised that earlier today the air con was not cold at all. Not even a bit cold when put on LO setting. WTF! car less than a year old and lost all power - limp mode til I got home - sitting in the drive and in shock this just happened to a new car!!!

Hi all I was wondering if you know if the 2000 1.9tdi has Air con? Since I've had the car its never been working as in I believe it needs a air con ragas and clean but I'm not sure if it has it? it has Econ so is that for the motor to kick out cold air? If it does, does it mean once on the "LOW" setting for temp it would come on? Regards Bradley

Hi, new to the forum and this is my first post. Before I begin, I have sound mechanical knowledge, pretty much know what each air con component looks like / is and can do basic task such as replace parts if they are unbolt / bolt or unscrew / screw but I only have a basic tool kit and don’t have things such as electrical multi meters etc... I have recently bought my wife a 2003 1.8 TT which has an issue with the AC, it wasn't working on purchase. The control unit inside the car works fine, economy turns on and off and all switches / knobs / buttons seem to do what they are supposed to but no 'Air-Con' cold air produced. I've had it in to an Audi / VW specialist in the area for a re-charge, oil and UV dye. After this the garage told me it was working fine after the re-charge and all was well, but when the wife brought it home (20 minute drive) I didn't think it was any different, luke warm air at best so back it went again. On inspection under UV light this time they found a small issue / leak with the condenser dryer, so that's been replaced and the system re-gassed again. Again, they included a UV dye and before they told us the car was ready they inspected again. They told me no further leaks could be found and said it was working fine. My missus picked up the car, phoned me to say it was actually working great but by the time she had again driven home it was not blowing cold again, as if the eco had been turned on and it was just using the outside air is the best way to describe the temperature. But the Eco was not on, it was set to the lowest temp it can go to! We were out at the weekend and on occasion it kicked in and worked, ice cold 'Air Con' air blown into the cockpit, but then we stopped, get out, go shopping etc and when we return and fire up the engine it's just cool / luke warm again, outside air and not air con! I took it back to the garage, they have given the system a thorough check and found nothing wrong, they said the compressor has no issues and works, the pressure gauges on their equipment read what they should when the compressor is running and they again examined it under UV and found no leak. They also said the system pressure is the same as it was when they re-gassed it last time so it's not losing refrigerant, and sods law it was blowing cold / working when they inspected it. I have asked them if they are actually sitting in the car outside in the sun when they inspect it, they said no, it's in the workshop! for some reason I think that may have something to do with it, as if the system is cutting out when it has to work hard if that makes sense? They said their best guess at this time would be the High / Low pressure switch and have quoted nearly £200 in part, labour and re-charge!!! After reading some forums on-line I'm slightly losing faith in the garage as it seems a re-charge won’t be required, apparently there is a valve to control the release of coolant when the pressure switch is replaced, does anyone know if this is correct? My other issue with the garage after reading the forums is apparently if the pressure switch is at fault it should give out a fault code, surely the garage would have plugged it in to check for faults at the outset? if they haven't plugged it in are they simply guessing at a diagnosis? Finally, they told me the pressure switch can only be purchased from Audi, yet I can find loads on line (depending on which one I have on my car) for pittance, £20 - £30 and apparently it’s really easy and straightforward to replace? So, does anyone out there think they can shed some light or offer some advice for me, a point in the right direction would be great and if I am looking at a pressure switch can someone let me know where to locate it on my 2003 TT and maybe offer a picture of what it looks like? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Andrew

Hi there, I've just bought a new Audi A3 and love it very much. It's way way better then my old punto and polo. It's great to see there is such an amazing Audi community on this site that I can proudly be part of. I've got a question which I was wondering you guys could help me with. My AC only turns on when it's on full power (Level 4). However it does work properly on level 4 and the air is nice and cold. It doesn't blow out any air on levels 1,2 and 3 on normal roads. On the motorway, the other levels suddenly and magically decide to blow out cold air appropriately. Where could the issue be? Many thanks in advance