Seat Leon 2.OTDI FR 65 Plate - No Heat

verybadbanana

Active Member
Jun 8, 2015
47
0
Notts
Hi,

Wondering if anyone could give me some advice or tips to try before i take my car to the garage.

I am getting next to no heat from my heaters in my car where do i start?

I have a plugin ODBII i can use via an APP i can try later, is there anything else i can look at/try?

Cheers,

Mooney.
 

Legojon

I only wanted a remap
Staff member
Moderator
Jul 7, 2015
5,284
2,713
You checked your coolant level to make sure it's above the min? Is the temperature going up to 90 and staying there?
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
Unless you've recently had the coolant changed then likely its the heater flaps or the core matrix has become clogged, if you search there are several threads on these common faults.

When the car is hot check the two hoses running into the bulkhead, with the heating set to max, they should both be red hot if coolant is circulating. If only warm or only one is hot then the matrix is blocked.

There's a thread on matrix removal and flushing, which sounds doable for a confident diy type.
 

verybadbanana

Active Member
Jun 8, 2015
47
0
Notts
Unless you've recently had the coolant changed then likely its the heater flaps or the core matrix has become clogged, if you search there are several threads on these common faults.

When the car is hot check the two hoses running into the bulkhead, with the heating set to max, they should both be red hot if coolant is circulating. If only warm or only one is hot then the matrix is blocked.

There's a thread on matrix removal and flushing, which sounds doable for a confident diy type.

Thank you for both replies. These pipes? Both were warm and not hot (could keep fingers on them)

Coolant was at 90c after 50 min commute heat on max it was next to no heat inside.

Trip to garage then and a hefty bill
 

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BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
That's the ones, correct.

If you go to an independent garage, not a dealer, you could try suggesting they remove the matrix through the glove box - which would save several hours of labour costs.
 
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hawtin1584

Active Member
Oct 30, 2008
137
3
I had a 2007 leon and the cabin air filter had a hole in it and it was not fitted correctly and this caused me to have no heat. It’s worth just checking as it’s only a couple of pounds. It’s under the glove compartment.
 
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matt_s

4 8 15 16 23 42
Dec 23, 2004
651
16
Use the guide that's on here to take the matrix out and check the flow through it with a hose. I bought one from eurocarparts online with free delivery so I could return it if it wasn't the problem. I released the pressure in the cooling system and then put the cap back on only lost 1/2 litre of coolant.
 

verybadbanana

Active Member
Jun 8, 2015
47
0
Notts
Use the guide that's on here to take the matrix out and check the flow through it with a hose. I bought one from eurocarparts online with free delivery so I could return it if it wasn't the problem. I released the pressure in the cooling system and then put the cap back on only lost 1/2 litre of coolant.

Do you have a link mate?
 

Greggles96

Active Member
May 3, 2017
6
0
I had this issue for a good 6months, repaired yesterday.

I had the coolant dripping ever so slightly from the expansion tank causing me to have to constantly monitor the coolant levels.

Accompanying this issue was my heaters dropped quite significantly in efficiency in terms of heat supply and blower strength.

I've visited 3 garages (including a so-called VAG specialist) so far expecting it to be a failed water pump.

The pump was changed etc and of course they're not going to listen to Joe Bloggs who has researched a heater matrix issue on a website forum.



Long story short I have got the car back, new matrix and coolant system flushed and I now have heat. However, I don't seem to have that instant snap of heat like I used to before the issue arose. My fears are that it is not 100% fixed? The blowers have improved but I'd say they operate around 70% as well as they did before I had my issue. Should I be concerned that there is still something else lurking?

Apologies for hijacking your post @verybadbanana
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
Long story short I have got the car back, new matrix and coolant system flushed and I now have heat. However, I don't seem to have that instant snap of heat like I used to before the issue arose. My fears are that it is not 100% fixed? The blowers have improved but I'd say they operate around 70% as well as they did before I had my issue. Should I be concerned that there is still something else lurking?

Apologies for hijacking your post @verybadbanana

There may still be air stuck somewhere, it should work it's way out and you may need to top up the coolant slightly.

The blower pressure should be exactly the same, unless the repair left gaps in the ducting. Check for drafts and whistles inside the dash, also that the cabin filter was fitted correctly.
 

matt_s

4 8 15 16 23 42
Dec 23, 2004
651
16
Thanks dude.

Ironic thing is my friend has a Golf and has the same issue and has been quoted £800 by VW.

The official repair is to flush the cooling system out to make sure that the heater doesn't get blocked again, but I figured that considering the saving I'd just let the new matrix catch the rest of the bits and then if it stops working fit a new one.

The matrix is £230 from ECP if you pay for price, so probably £300 from VW plus time to fit it, coolant, new header tank time to flush it and it's going to be expensive. If it's not a mk7 golf then it's a dash out job.
 

SimonC82

Active Member
Jun 12, 2015
13
7
I've just had this issue fixed on my car, I had it done at a local garage who had previously fixed a golf with the same issue. I was quoted £220 but in the end I had to pay £266 as I had a coolant pipe shear off that goes into the heater matrix. This happened 3 days before the car was due to get the heater matrix fitted so it wasn't such a bad time for it to happen. It's not a big job as others have said you can get to the heater matrix without removing the dash.

I also had the silicate bag removed from the expansion tank to stop this issue from happening again as it's the bag splitting that causes the heater matrix to block up in the first place.
 

verybadbanana

Active Member
Jun 8, 2015
47
0
Notts
Ok so an update:

Friday on the way to work i heard some pops etc come through my vents then a really bad smell. - I had heat for the rest of my journey.

Had car booked into garage plugged computer in no faults and also had hot heat for a couple of hours no issues.

However over the weekend and today back to hardly any heat again so its almost an intermittent problem.

Hoping that its going to magically fix itself without having to take things apart.
 

James_FRwagon

Active Member
Oct 18, 2018
57
5
got the same thing sat the moment. vag cars hey?

my matrix was blocked as ****. had it replaced, all in for £210 which is really cheap, but now it's only blowing hot air through the passenger vents. driver vents are luke warm ish.

I had the noises coming from the dash too and my car smelt extremely damp it was gross.

now im looking at the driver side heat flaps being blocked cause when i switch the face blowers on, i can hear a tick and a creek from the dash, as if one of the flaps is stuck.
 

verybadbanana

Active Member
Jun 8, 2015
47
0
Notts
got the same thing sat the moment. vag cars hey?

my matrix was blocked as ****. had it replaced, all in for £210 which is really cheap, but now it's only blowing hot air through the passenger vents. driver vents are luke warm ish.

I had the noises coming from the dash too and my car smelt extremely damp it was gross.

now im looking at the driver side heat flaps being blocked cause when i switch the face blowers on, i can hear a tick and a creek from the dash, as if one of the flaps is stuck.

It’s so annoying! If I have it off I have red hot heat coming out of driver side and Luke warm middle
 
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