VW did something really messed up, and they did it for years. There is a part in your dashboard called a blend door. It is a flap that directs air to your heater and dash vents when you turn the knob to red. The blend door makes infinite and immediate adjustment of vent temperature possible, and it is actually a really clever idea.
Here is where I believe VW got it wrong. Instead of making the door out of a solid piece of material, they made it out of a piece of galvanized steel with seventeen huge holes punched in it, then glued foam to both sides of the door through the holes. It works great for a few years, and then it doesn’t. The foam falls apart, with the very dangerous effect of blowing small chunks of decaying foam into your eyes through the vents while you are driving. Less dangerous, but just as annoying, the blend door stops working. With large open holes in it, full heat or full cold is no longer possible, because the air just blows straight through.
So why did the manufacturer choose this assembly technique for at least 35 years? You would think VW would have caught on if it were done by mistake. For decades I believed the technique was used to reduce noise inside the dashboard. Lately my opinion has shifted to a more cynical explanation. If the A/C and heat become useless after ten years, the car is not comfortable to drive, and the car gets discarded. The owner returns to the dealership to buy a new one.
Ours get fixed once.
Our customers don’t have to be forced into a showroom and a huge monthly payment to have a comfortable VW. We take care of that pesky blend door once and for all. After this repair you can choose the temperature coming out of your vents from burning hot, to bone-chilling cold, to anywhere in between.
One thing worth planning while the dash is out: we can install infotainment in any car, no matter the year, with new-car style bluetooth for hands free phone and streaming media for iPhone and Android. Your whole dash has to come out for the blend door anyway. What better time to install a new stereo?
Foam in your vents?
If your heat and A/C have gone lukewarm, or you are finding black crumbs on the dashboard, this is almost certainly why. Call and we will talk through what your model takes.
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