HackDevil

the weather has been really cold in Chicago lately. Especially in the morning time. It can get painfully cold.

Luckily I do have the cold weather package. Woot woot!

My question is:

When I first start the car in the morning, I turn on my heater and set it to 80 degrees F and hit the auto button. For atleast 5-10 minutes, nothing really happens. Atleast not that I'm noticing. Is the heater supposed to be blasting until it reaches the correct temperature? Or does it wait for the heater to warm up before it starts blasting?

NABS4

Why do you set it to 80? Do you really want it to be 80 in the car? Leave it on 70, or thereabouts, and don't touch the controls. One thing I can't stand is cold air blowing out of the vents, and that's why no air comes out of the vents until the car has generated some warmth. Works great.

HackDevil

Ok that makes sense.

I guess I'm just use to setting it at 80 and then lowering it down to 70 once it warms up.

It's been so cold lately, it's hard to not do that.

superswiss

Do you set your thermostat in your house to 80, too and then turn it down? You realize that doesn't heat the house any faster. Same goes for the car. The purpose of an automatic climate control such as the one in your A6 is that it maintains the selected temperature automatically. Heating and cooling the interior as necessary. In order to heat the interior, though, it needs a warm engine to heat the air, so therefore when you first start the car in the morning, the engine first needs to heat up to a point where the system can start heating the interior. Just set the temperature that is comfortable for you and leave it in auto and let it do its thing. It will heat up the interior once the engine is warm enough and maintain the desired temperature or use the AC to cool it down in the summer. You should even leave the AC on during the winter, which will remove the moisture from the air and avoid fogging up the windows. The AC compressor will only run if necessary.

DanfZX14

I personally find the automatic climate control in the A6 one of the best designed features of the car, and there are many. I set the temp to 72 degrees and never have to touch it, winter or summer. Most other cars I've had seemed to need constant fiddling to keep the temperature right. Not this car.

DB22

I find that the seat heaters warm much faster than the engine so, when it's really cold. I turn the seat heater to 3 first. It soon gets too hot and I reduce it to one.

This is the only car that I have owned where the seat heater stays on when you next start the car. I have found that when the seat heater is on one and I then start a journey, the heater does not appear to work. Does anyone use position one and is it effective? #2 and 3 are usually too hot but #1 seems minimal at best.

Sportstick

The major points about the logic of a thermostat have been made, so I will simply add another vote that the most useful approach is to set it at 72, or whatever end point temperature you prefer, and just leave it on AUTO. It is smart enough not to blow cold air on you. US and Asian manufacturers allow you to skip the in-person waiting period with remote start, but many Europeans find the pollution and fuel waste of prolonged idling unacceptable, if not actually illegal in some jurisdictions.

DanfZX14

I find #3 way to hot. #1 is not warm enough so when its cold here, as it is now, I keep it on #2 and that is just right for me.

newmoon

Also, although I don't have that much experience with cold temps in Florida, I do see that the engine warms up much faster when you drive it gently. If you just let it idle, the water temp gauge takes quite a while to increase. Remember, the cabin heater gets heat from the engine via the water coolant.

DB22

It's almost like the laws of physics actually work