HVAC Fan not starting for several minutes after starting the car...

[hurls]

Just started happening today in my wife's 09 Avant (55k miles).

When you start the car, the fan blows NO AIR whatsoever -- set on Auto or manually selected, no matter what temperature or fan speed setting I choose when not in auto.

After driving for three or four minutes the system comes on and works normally, with no problems whatsoever.

Didn't find anything searching, wondered if anyone else had experienced or had any ideas. My first guess would be a faulty sensor or relay, unless something in the HVAC system isn't coming up to pressure/temp/whatever for several minutes and the system is keeping the fan off until it does.

[Elote]

I had this happen to me for the first time a week ago. It's been fine since though. Talk about horrible timing too, its already hit as high as 115 here in Arizona. I wish I had some information for you, but if you find out anything please update us. Best of luck.

[Liquid Smoke]

this is normal, the fan wont start until your engine is a bit more warmed up. otherwise it would be blowing hot a/c as well, or in the winter it would be blowing cold heat. so yea its normal happens to me as well, from a cold start it wont start up right away.

[dscline]

this is normal, the fan wont start until your engine is a bit more warmed up. otherwise it would be blowing hot a/c as well, or in the winter it would be blowing cold heat

It's not normal, that has never happened to me. When it's hot the fan ramps up to the necessary speed within a few seconds of starting the car. The engine doesn't need to be warm for the AC to work. Even in the winter when the engine is cold, the air isn't completely off, it's just on an very low speed until the engine is warm enough to produce heat. Regardless, even in the winter with a cold engine he should be able to manually turn the fan up.

I'm sorry, I don't know what the cause is, but it shouldn't behave like that.

[jkownz]

the only time this happens to me is when the heat/AC is on auto and i designate the temperature i am looking for. Only then the unit will not turn on until the car knows it can hit those temperatures. Manually, it should come on instantly cold start or not.

[Liquid Smoke]

hmm i dont know then, i know i experienced the issue before, cold start in the winter i had to wait a minute or two before the fan started blowing anything. yea it was on and i could hear it but not much blew out. and i remember reading somewhere it was meant to be like that, hope nothing was wrong there.

[LoveMyA4]

The exact same thing happened to me for the fist time two days ago. As you indicated, it started working again after a few minutes of the car running. I had planned to take it in to the dealer, but I changed my mine after it started working properly. Now that I know I'm not the only one with this problem, I will re-book my appointment.

[van462]

With the A/C off do you get fan control back manually? If so maybe the A/C may require charging. It monitors the system pressure and may override the fan speed. Also raise hood and see if the electric fans are running when the A/C is selected.

[LoveMyA4]

With the A/C off do you get fan control back manually? If so maybe the A/C may require charging. It monitors the system pressure and may override the fan speed. Also raise hood and see if the electric fans are running when the A/C is selected.

In my case, the fan was not operational in all circumstances (A/C off/on, Heat off/on).

[dscline]

hmm i dont know then, i know i experienced the issue before, cold start in the winter i had to wait a minute or two before the fan started blowing anything. yea it was on and i could hear it but not much blew out.

Yeah, that is normal. In auto mode if you need heat, it waits so it's not blowing a bunch of cold air on you when you're already cold. But if you need cooling, it should start blowing after just a few seconds.

[Liquid Smoke]

ok i never really paid much attention to it after that time and didnt notice what settings it was on, probably was on auto though and i was trying to put the heat on in the cold so thats prob y it took awhile.

but either way my ac and heat work perfect so i didnt really care to diagnose it any more, havent really noticed that issue since and i dont really put it on till after a few min after start anyway.

[hurls]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I didn't try turning the AC itself off, but I cycled all the other settings.

I realize that I didn't give ALL the details I could have: the car wasn't just being cold started... My wife and I were running errands yesterday, and did a bunch of short stops... This happened every time, cold or warm start.

Also, San Diego, June so it was AC.

[LoveMyA4]

So this problem happened again to me yesterday. I took it in to the dealer today and I can now say with certainty that this problem is NOT normal. Apparently this is a known issue and a technical bulletin was been put out regarding it. I don't recall all the details of the problem, but when I receive my service invoice tomorrow, I'll outline all the parts that needed to be replaced. Luckily this is covered under warranty.

[hurls]

Thanks LoveMyA4...

My warranty expired 5k miles ago, but maybe the TSB will still cover me ;) That might be wishful thinking ...

Looking forward to hearing what you find out.

[LoveMyA4]

As promised, here is the service order invoice that details the repairs done to correct the fan problem.

[IMG][/IMG]

[hurls]

Thanks for posting this, much appreciated. You didn't happen to get any more info from them on the TSB #, etc. I'm guessing not since I don't see it here, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

I have a feeling that this will be an expensive out of warranty repair. Of course it hasn't happened in the week since I posted this :)

[Booya]

I had mine replaced twice for this reason. When I pull into the Audi garage, they didn't even hesitate or ask any question and replaced the motor. They say they replaced at least one every day for MY2009-11. They also told me to not turn the AC or heater on for at least 5 minute after starting the engine until it warm up.

[hurls]

Good to know. I'm not convinced that I'm going to be able to convince my wife (this is her car, hence me not hanging out in these parts all too often) to go 5 minutes without AC on a hot day though ;)

[dscline]

They also told me to not turn the AC or heater on for at least 5 minute after starting the engine until it warm up.

That's crazy. Did they give you any explanation behind this?

[Booya]

That's crazy. Did they give you any explanation behind this?

I had mine replace twice this pass winter(within 2 month), they say the blow motor usually freeze up and need time to adjust. If you start the blower when it froze it burn it out and possible the connector as well. I always start my car and turn on the heater while I wait inside my house. The blower would start then stop and after a while will come back on. This was after the first motor replaced. Every since I did what they told me, never happen again. Blower come on at the set speed and slow when the set temp is reach. Never ask them about the hot summer tho.

[hurls]

Well, it never froze here in San Diego. Sounds like Audi design/engineering of secondary electromechanical parts is about on par with BMWs, which I'm used to

[LoveMyA4]

You didn't happen to get any more info from them on the TSB #, etc. I'm guessing not since I don't see it here, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Sorry, I didn't get the TSB#. Seeing how wide spread this problem seems to be, getting your hands on the TSB # hopefully won't be too difficult.

[hurls]

Yeah really... who knew :) Thanks again!

[hurls]

Just out of curiosity, any had this done post-warranty coverage? Wondering if the TSB covers the repair or if its out-of-pocket, as I might have someone else fix if the dealer's going to charge me...

[Audria_driver]

Hi
I just got the same problem - I'm unable to see the invoice (2017)would you repost? Thanks

Sent from RoMer's outer g@|@☆¥

[Packy]

this is normal, the fan wont start until your engine is a bit more warmed up. otherwise it would be blowing hot a/c as well, or in the winter it would be blowing cold heat. so yea its normal happens to me as well, from a cold start it wont start up right away.

No, it's not. My wife's A4 just started doing that and it has never done it before, we've had it since 2010. My S6 does not do it either. They do sometimes blow a little bit and then ramp up, but not completely off.

[RPMtech147]

Thread from the dead:

Ya'll go off into left field sometimes.

It just needs a blower motor. You'll have to remove the glove box to replace it. It's not difficult, but it takes a few minutes.

If you want to test it, remove the glove box, you should see power and ground at the blower wires with a test light or DVOM (multimeter)
The big fat wires right at the blower, and I suspect the power and ground will be fine. Sometimes you can smack on the blower and it'll start running.

About $150 give or take aftermarket.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B8_A4.../Blower_Motor/