Luke warm heating

[BigJase88]

My matrix was blocked. I use to turn the blowers on really low and I’d get a tiny bit of warmth. You will still feel a very slight bit of warm air. As soon as you change your matrix you will have 100% heat


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Mines was the same

came and went. Low fan and you would get a little heat, turn fan up and it would blow cold.

passenger side was always warmer than drivers too.

new matrix and coolant reservoir tank (non silicate type) for me and even after the new matrix it still took 2 more coolant flushes.

 

[Howsey16]

My matrix was blocked. I use to turn the blowers on really low and I’d get a tiny bit of warmth. You will still feel a very slight bit of warm air. As soon as you change your matrix you will have 100% heat


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Thank you mate, sounds like mine is same as your symptoms

 

[CardiffFR150]

Thank you mate, sounds like mine is same as your symptoms

Very simple to replace mate. Don’t get ripped off


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[Howsey16]

Just spoke to a vag specialist near me who have really good reviews and he has said same as everyone else on here. He did mentioned that matrix would be around 250-300 for parts though as they only use genuine seat parts only. Warranty should cover that though.

 

[SuperV8]

Just spoke to a vag specialist near me who have really good reviews and he has said same as everyone else on here. He did mentioned that matrix would be around 250-300 for parts though as they only use genuine seat parts only. Warranty should cover that though.

Yes the genuine heater matrix is quite expensive - but if the warranty if covering it; happy days!

 

[BillyCool]

Do you know of any instructional documents or videos that would help with this on a mk3 2017 tdi fr 5f?

I've written a guide for a couple of people if you need some more information.

 

[Howsey16]

I've written a guide for a couple of people if you need some more information.

That would be awesome. However, don't put yourself out too much as its going into the vag place on thurs but I'd still be interested in the guide mate defo

 

[BillyCool]

That would be awesome. However, don't put yourself out too much as its going into the vag place on thurs but I'd still be interested in the guide mate defo

I've PM'd you.

 

[Howsey16]

I've PM'd you.

Muchos gracias my good man

 

[Howsey16]

Shes been into vag specialists today, warranty company approved the diagnostics and they apparently tested and confirmed that it is the matrix, not sure how they tested it.

He said that he is now waiting for approval for the work to be done from the warranty company as when he rang them to give them a quote and break down of costs he said that the person at the warranty company said that he wasn't getting the same amounts. I assume they should tally up. The mechanic said he can replace the matrix but then the coolant tank needs swapping for one without a silica gel bag in it and then whole system needs a proper flush around 5 times.... £1300.

Now the costs doesnt matter to me but I'm just hoping that it gets approved.

Carzam sent me to halfords originally and they said they couldn't even undertake the work!

 

[BillyCool]

Shes been into vag specialists today, warranty company approved the diagnostics and they apparently tested and confirmed that it is the matrix, not sure how they tested it.

He said that he is now waiting for approval for the work to be done from the warranty company as when he rang them to give them a quote and break down of costs he said that the person at the warranty company said that he wasn't getting the same amounts. I assume they should tally up. The mechanic said he can replace the matrix but then the coolant tank needs swapping for one without a silica gel bag in it and then whole system needs a proper flush around 5 times.... £1300.

Now the costs doesnt matter to me but I'm just hoping that it gets approved.

Carzam sent me to halfords originally and they said they couldn't even undertake the work!

Glad you've had that confirmed.

SEAT quote about £1300 to replace the matrix due to them removing the dash etc and they claim about 8 hours labour + parts.

I also replaced my header tank for £25 and 10 min to swap over. It's not a big job!

You can only fully drain/flush the system with the right kit and it's quite specialised (I was told only VAG Group garages have it but might not be right). I certainly wouldn't expect Halfords to have that.

If it's under warranty then cost isn't an issue. If they do knock it back, someone else had it done at an indie for about £300 I think.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[BigJase88]

Shes been into vag specialists today, warranty company approved the diagnostics and they apparently tested and confirmed that it is the matrix, not sure how they tested it.

He said that he is now waiting for approval for the work to be done from the warranty company as when he rang them to give them a quote and break down of costs he said that the person at the warranty company said that he wasn't getting the same amounts. I assume they should tally up. The mechanic said he can replace the matrix but then the coolant tank needs swapping for one without a silica gel bag in it and then whole system needs a proper flush around 5 times.... £1300.

Now the costs doesnt matter to me but I'm just hoping that it gets approved.

Carzam sent me to halfords originally and they said they couldn't even undertake the work!

My Audi went to Seat 3 times for the Matrix

1st time they had it 2 days to replace the Matrix and Header tank

It had to go back a further 2 times to re-flush the system

Finally it is now warm thank god.

 

[Howsey16]

My Audi went to Seat 3 times for the Matrix

1st time they had it 2 days to replace the Matrix and Header tank

It had to go back a further 2 times to re-flush the system

Finally it is now warm thank god.

Under warranty?

 

[BigJase88]

Under warranty?

Yeah i bought the A3 from Seat main dealer and I took out an extended 3 year warranty, it got covered under warranty but they are squirming little worms,

the service manager got the drift though cause if he came the joker with it i think he got the feeling he would of got squashed into his service desk (which he would of)

 

[SuperV8]

Glad you've had that confirmed.

SEAT quote about £1300 to replace the matrix due to them removing the dash etc and they claim about 8 hours labour + parts.

I also replaced my header tank for £25 and 10 min to swap over. It's not a big job!

You can only fully drain/flush the system with the right kit and it's quite specialised (I was told only VAG Group garages have it but might not be right). I certainly wouldn't expect Halfords to have that.

If it's under warranty then cost isn't an issue. If they do knock it back, someone else had it done at an indie for about £300 I think.

Let us know how you get on.

The cooling system is very complicated and to properly flush it VAG use a vacuum pump and various clamps. If you just run a hose pipe through it that will only flush a small part of it.
Basic procedure is to connect vacuum machine upto the header tank, clam off 3x circuits and 'suck/flush' several liters of de-ionised water through the one open circuit. When this runs clear, re-arrange your clamps to open up and clamp off the next circuit and flush away. Repeat the the 2x remaining circuits. This gets done twice, and then the same procedure is done again with mixed coolant.
Then officially you should connect up the diagnostic computer and perform a 'coolant bleed' procedure which tanks around 30mins and rev's the engine whilst opening/controlling the 2x electric coolant pumps and the 1x electromechanical main coolant pump.
Not rocket science - but takes quite a long time.

 

[Howsey16]

The cooling system is very complicated and to properly flush it VAG use a vacuum pump and various clamps. If you just run a hose pipe through it that will only flush a small part of it.
Basic procedure is to connect vacuum machine upto the header tank, clam off 3x circuits and 'suck/flush' several liters of de-ionised water through the one open circuit. When this runs clear, re-arrange your clamps to open up and clamp off the next circuit and flush away. Repeat the the 2x remaining circuits. This gets done twice, and then the same procedure is done again with mixed coolant.
Then officially you should connect up the diagnostic computer and perform a 'coolant bleed' procedure which tanks around 30mins and rev's the engine whilst opening/controlling the 2x electric coolant pumps and the 1x electromechanical main coolant pump.
Not rocket science - but takes quite a long time.

Thats pretty much what the mechanic said in a nutshell (not as much detail) so I'm happy to be fair. I wouldn't be happy with paying 1300 but hopefully it is approved.

So basically, if a matrix fails, and people fix for £80 and do it themselves its more than likely going to happen again as all the sh1t is still in the system, or at least its more likely to.

 

[SuperV8]

Thats pretty much what the mechanic said in a nutshell (not as much detail) so I'm happy to be fair. I wouldn't be happy with paying 1300 but hopefully it is approved.

So basically, if a matrix fails, and people fix for £80 and do it themselves its more than likely going to happen again as all the sh1t is still in the system, or at least its more likely to.

If a new matrix is fitted to cure a blocked matrix issue - it really depends on how much 'junk' is floating around in the system - and this is an unknown and will vary from car to car. There have been people report only fitting a new matrix and working fine, but also others who have continuing issues after having just a new matrix.

Personally I cleaned my old matrix which worked for a few months before blocking again. I found my hose pipe o-ring adapter fits perfectly in the matrix allowing good high pressure back flushing. I have cleaned it 3x in total now, each time lasting longer before blocking up - which suggests the matrix is working as a filter and slowly filtering the junk in the coolant system.

I flushed the cooling system myself with my home made vacuum system!, following the VAG workshop process I mentioned above, and vacuum filled with new coolant and new header tank, new pump and thermostat. Fingers crossed working fine for 3 months since - although with reduced lock down mileage!

 

[CardiffFR150]

Glad you've had that confirmed.

SEAT quote about £1300 to replace the matrix due to them removing the dash etc and they claim about 8 hours labour + parts.

I also replaced my header tank for £25 and 10 min to swap over. It's not a big job!

You can only fully drain/flush the system with the right kit and it's quite specialised (I was told only VAG Group garages have it but might not be right). I certainly wouldn't expect Halfords to have that.

If it's under warranty then cost isn't an issue. If they do knock it back, someone else had it done at an indie for about £300 I think.

Let us know how you get on.

It’s a Mk3 Leon you don’t need to remove the dash to change the matrix. Very simply accessible via the passenger footwell.


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[CardiffFR150]

Thats pretty much what the mechanic said in a nutshell (not as much detail) so I'm happy to be fair. I wouldn't be happy with paying 1300 but hopefully it is approved.

So basically, if a matrix fails, and people fix for £80 and do it themselves its more than likely going to happen again as all the sh1t is still in the system, or at least its more likely to.

I changed my matrix myself in minutes and had my heaters working better than they ever were lol. Changing the matrix and flushing the system genuinely is a DIY job. So many people portray these things to be some sort of specialist task. If it’s covered by warranty happy days your saving yourself a job and money


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[BillyCool]

It’s a Mk3 Leon you don’t need to remove the dash to change the matrix. Very simply accessible via the passenger footwell.


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That's exactly what I did!