I have a Audi A6 1997 Quattro Sedan 2.8 with 130k miles on it. The car runs fine, except that engine check light is on, which won't go away. My audi guy told me not too worry about it, so I don't'. Now since 2-3 years the heating hasn't been working as good as it used to. This year it is not working at all. I mean the fan works, thermostat temp indicator works, but the car won't heat. Well in the mid-west we need heat in the car, it can get very cold. During snow and sleet, it is hard to drive, since the snow won't melt of the windows and windshield. My audi guy told me to change the heater core. Now that is a costly solution, not that I doubt the guy. He is good. But I'm wondering if there is anything else that I can do to fix this problem without spending almost 1000 bucks.

I have an appointment with the shop next week. So if nothing works out then I might have to go for this option, but I would very much like to do something else and avoid taking a $1000 hit.

Any help/suggestions/top/pointers are helpful.

Looking forward to heat from all you Audi fans.

Thanks.

 

You could buy one of those little 12v heaters and plug it into your cigarette lighter.
You could just turn the seat heaters all the way up.
You could try back flushing the heater core.
You could trade the car in.
Or, you can take the $1000 hit.

I would try the back flushing first, then the trade in idea.

Good luck,

Bob

 

Boy do i have a story for you .. I have a 95 Audi 90 with the 2.8 and I get no heat at idle . it is fine if the motor is reving but as soon as it hits stop and go traffic it blows freezing cold ... i have replaced thermostat twice water pump twice replaced all cooling lines and hoses and replaced the heater core .. flushed and burped the hell out of it and it is still the same , there is no heater valve in this car or i would have swaped that too .. i even put an auxillary pump in to pump it through the core and even that didn't help. .. after 3 years of fighting this bought my wife an A6 to use for the winter ... just a cautionary tale ...

 

I changed my heater core in July and I didn't have heat either until recently when I got done with my "work" season and had time to troubleshoot it.

It turned out that the exchange flap inside the heater box was stuck. Most likely I caused the problem since I used the wrong stuff to seal the box' opening for the heater core outlets. I used first some Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket, which doesn't thicken to a rubbery consistency. I finished it with High Temp Red RTV, which is fine.
However, I suspect the first product remained tacky and when exposed to the heat radiated by the heater core it flowed inside the box and probably got the exchange flap blocked.
That's beside the point though...

One thing you can start with (without pulling out the center stack and center console) is to check both hoses going into the heater core - by the firewall. One is the "feed" line, going through the heater valve, while the other is the "return".
If both are hot, then it means the heater valve works, the heater core is ok, and you have a problem either inside the box itself - the exchange flap (or louver, door, whichever way you want to call it) , or electrical - with the flap's actuator.

Good luck to both.

 

I did a quick search of heater cores on partsgeek.com and they were around $40 to $50 or so. You may want to confirm this is the right part you need. The site is fairly straightforward to use.

Good luck

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...ater_core.html

 

Sharpalien,
If the 2.8 1997 is not mutch different than a 1995, here's my experience with the heater core.
https://www.audiforums.com/forum/sho...highlight=HVAC

You can save the $ 1000 and do it yourself - provided the car isn't your daily driver and you have time to do it.