not much heat

[TylerDurden]

So if my vents are open with the fan on and cold air blows out of them even when I'm stopped, and hot air blows out of the dash vents, is this because I'm missing the foam?

IIRC, Mk1 vents at the end of the dash are always fresh-air, unless modded by the user.

[tyb525]

Should fresh air blow out of them when the fan is on, and the car isn't moving?

[theman53]

yes

[8v-of-fury]

Should fresh air blow out of them when the fan is on, and the car isn't moving?

wuuut? LOL. If the fan is on, air is a blowin'. Looks like a Rabbit in your picture, if so the outer most dash vents are out side air always. Unless you close them personally at their respective locations, whatever temp air is outside will blow in. Regardless of dash selection.

[TylerDurden]

Should fresh air blow out of them when the fan is on, and the car isn't moving?

wuuut? LOL. If the fan is on, air is a blowin'.

Some older cars had passive fresh air vents. Not VWs..

[8v-of-fury]

Should fresh air blow out of them when the fan is on, and the car isn't moving?

wuuut? LOL. If the fan is on, air is a blowin'.

Some older cars had passive fresh air vents. Not VWs..

As in, open vents to the atmosphere? Yes, I am aware. Are you aware you are logged in to a Volkswagen Site?  LOL jk jk.

[nwcali6]

My 96 Passat also has this problem, I've not yet yanked the dash apart, Instead I put in a 190 thermostat.  It made a noticeable difference and was much easier.  (my old one was only getting to about 160 before it would open though).

 

[tyb525]

Should fresh air blow out of them when the fan is on, and the car isn't moving?

wuuut? LOL. If the fan is on, air is a blowin'.

Some older cars had passive fresh air vents. Not VWs..

Hey I've only had the car for 3 months and never owned a VW before that. Pretty much everything I know about it cam from this and other forums or the Bentley.

My truck has passive air vents, air doesn't blow out of them if I'm not moving, even if the fan is on. I didn't know if the rabbit was supposed to be that way or not.

[TylerDurden]

One very cold winter I was driving about 600mi in a rabbit and the vent seals were leaking badly... I pulled the dash vents out and stuffed my spare socks into the openings to stop the drafts.

[8v-of-fury]

Socks! NICE.

[TylerDurden]

Ja, vacation clothes put to noble use.

Sometimes I like the MK1 setup... everyone in my family likes it much warmer in the cabin than I do, so I point that cold vent at my face. Who needs fancy passenger/driver heat controls?

[air-cooled or diesel]

that picture helped alot, and wasnt that difficult. 2 8mm nuts and the front cover comes off(with some work). i used 3M super adhesive, it seemed to dry hard so you could tape(al, or ss)on one side as back door is impossible to get to. tape both doors and you have heat, lots of heat! marking door w/a marker while practicing helped me place tape on final attempt. i didnt tape all the way to the edges so tape wont peel off due to repeated movement of doors.

[nwcali6]

  Volkswagen touts their "German engineering" on TV now...  My 96 TDI has this problem, and I just received a 94 gasser (for free) and it does this also.  Foam blowing out the vents.  I also know older VW that do this.

  Has this never been addressed as a recall issue?  Slapping a piece of foam over a hole (that doesn't need to be there) and calling it good for that long is so "yugo" like.  I doubt even a Yugo would have done it..

  So why no recall?  Where did the consumer fail in making this very repeatable issue (happens on all of them I think) known?  Not to mention the crap door handles...

[TylerDurden]

My 96 TDI has this problem, and I just received a 94 gasser (for free) and it does this also.  Foam blowing out the vents.  I also know older VW that do this.

  Has this never been addressed as a recall issue?  Slapping a piece of foam over a hole (that doesn't need to be there) and calling it good for that long is so "yugo" like.  I doubt even a Yugo would have done it..

  So why no recall?  Where did the consumer fail in making this very repeatable issue (happens on all of them I think) known?  Not to mention the crap door handles...

I rekon recalls are for safety issues, warranty issues are for defects occurring during the covered period... 96 would be >16yrs?

[nwcali6]

When it comes to safety I don't think manufacturer defects apply the same.  I consider a almost 100% failure rate on a defroster a manufacture defect, and I could really care less if its 30 years old... It fails because its a bad design...