2018 Continental GT steaming up - is this normal?
Discussion
I am now preparing for the car to go back in to the workshop. I think this will be the fifth time.
This being the case, it seems to me that the HVAC on the car is not fit for purpose. Any car up to the point they switched motors will suffer from some sort of problems.
Unfortunately, the dealer is told what to do by Crewe who are covering it all under warranty. Frankly, this should be a recall job for these cars.
corradokid said:
Hvac flap motors can also be temperamental and I wouldn’t assume if it has been repaired before it won’t happen again. Get them to recheck for fault codes.
I have heard that there has been an inherent problem with the flap motors on the HVAC and Bentley (VAG) have switched manufacturer of them. There are twenty or so and I bet they are difficult to access.This being the case, it seems to me that the HVAC on the car is not fit for purpose. Any car up to the point they switched motors will suffer from some sort of problems.
Unfortunately, the dealer is told what to do by Crewe who are covering it all under warranty. Frankly, this should be a recall job for these cars.
joncuk said:
I am now preparing for the car to go back in to the workshop. I think this will be the fifth time.
This being the case, it seems to me that the HVAC on the car is not fit for purpose. Any car up to the point they switched motors will suffer from some sort of problems.
Unfortunately, the dealer is told what to do by Crewe who are covering it all under warranty. Frankly, this should be a recall job for these cars.
What a mare! corradokid said:
Hvac flap motors can also be temperamental and I wouldn’t assume if it has been repaired before it won’t happen again. Get them to recheck for fault codes.
I have heard that there has been an inherent problem with the flap motors on the HVAC and Bentley (VAG) have switched manufacturer of them. There are twenty or so and I bet they are difficult to access.This being the case, it seems to me that the HVAC on the car is not fit for purpose. Any car up to the point they switched motors will suffer from some sort of problems.
Unfortunately, the dealer is told what to do by Crewe who are covering it all under warranty. Frankly, this should be a recall job for these cars.
If it is that... I wander when they manufacturer switch happened and wether or not the cars thereafter are suffering the same?
Maybe some fb group that might have 2020 owners (think you said 2019 MY for yours) that could be asked how theyre getting on, actually, i know someone with one, not sure how late it is though, i’ll ask..
You’d certainly want to know if It fixes the issue before their thumbs doing any more work like you pictured
I do not buy the flap motors as they would show up on a systems check using the diagnostic plug in .Indeed they can replicate the movement ranges .
Assuming seeing as it’s been in a few times they have gone through that .
It excess moisture entering from the scuttle area , as I said earlier a design fault of the mk 3 version .The HVAC cannot cope condensing it down and draining it away so it clings in the air .
cold weather / glass and the dew point lowers on the glass = mists up .
I do not buy into the small ( now modded ) door drain apertures as water then has to get out into the door compartment into the cabin .Aside allegedly they have fixed that .
I do not really buy into a weak outer door glass or otherwise seal , they are not 100 % waterproof and as said what little water that inevitably enters drains off of if indeed finds itself in the cabin the normal recirculating air across the condenser in the HVAC should extract it .
Obviously owners in Florida / California are not reporting this as the temps are never low enough.
Additionally as the vehicle moves forward cruising, there should be some rear natural cabin air extraction going on at the rear , some rear vents somewhere?
Ideally as someone said ^^^ a social media research is needed to gauge the extent of the problem.
Assuming seeing as it’s been in a few times they have gone through that .
It excess moisture entering from the scuttle area , as I said earlier a design fault of the mk 3 version .The HVAC cannot cope condensing it down and draining it away so it clings in the air .
cold weather / glass and the dew point lowers on the glass = mists up .
I do not buy into the small ( now modded ) door drain apertures as water then has to get out into the door compartment into the cabin .Aside allegedly they have fixed that .
I do not really buy into a weak outer door glass or otherwise seal , they are not 100 % waterproof and as said what little water that inevitably enters drains off of if indeed finds itself in the cabin the normal recirculating air across the condenser in the HVAC should extract it .
Obviously owners in Florida / California are not reporting this as the temps are never low enough.
Additionally as the vehicle moves forward cruising, there should be some rear natural cabin air extraction going on at the rear , some rear vents somewhere?
Ideally as someone said ^^^ a social media research is needed to gauge the extent of the problem.
mines exactaly the same at the minute.....about to go in for its second go on Monday.
its mainly when its parked up after a driving on a damp road, or in the rain or snow, and you return....nipped in M&S the other day and came out ten mins later to having to sit and desist the sodding thing.
its mainly when its parked up after a driving on a damp road, or in the rain or snow, and you return....nipped in M&S the other day and came out ten mins later to having to sit and desist the sodding thing.
ted 191 said:
Bentley know about this problem, it’s an expensive fix and a dash out job.
They definitely do now, I accidentally copied in the ceo of bentley into an email to the garage, and he threw the kitchen sink at it. Leeds bentley picked the car up monday morning, and that afternoon they had a suprise visit from an engineer from crewe to "assist"It is the scuttle tray at the bottom of the windscreen. Turns out it was a missing grommet and water was pissing in.
The wider story is that when this grommet is fitted, the fitter of said grommet has to mark it with a strip of paint so the QC inspector can see it. On a number of cars it seems the grommet has neither been fitted, or spotted by the QC bloke
Car currently drying out in a heated workshop, I get it back friday/monday once they are happy it is now dry
I wonder if it is this grommet?
This is where the bonnet release cable passes through the bulkhead. It is directly in line with the drain from the scuttle above:
..and in my case, it appears marked and fitted correctly - so it is not the cause of the steaming up.
I can see the replaced rear quarter light has a modified seal:
..which obviously needs doing on the drivers side too, judging by the water running down the inside when the car was last washed:
The dealer have said they are trialling a new revised set of sill bungs on another car (So - they have another GT with the same problem in the showroom!) before mine goes in.
This is where the bonnet release cable passes through the bulkhead. It is directly in line with the drain from the scuttle above:
..and in my case, it appears marked and fitted correctly - so it is not the cause of the steaming up.
I can see the replaced rear quarter light has a modified seal:
..which obviously needs doing on the drivers side too, judging by the water running down the inside when the car was last washed:
The dealer have said they are trialling a new revised set of sill bungs on another car (So - they have another GT with the same problem in the showroom!) before mine goes in.
Edited by joncuk on Saturday 20th February 14:45
Got mine back now and it’s fixed.
They’ve done the plug in the scuttle
Update hvac software
New window seals and software
Dried it out
Doubled check by engineering panel from crew both physically and again on zoom call
Actually quite impressed how they jumped on this, thought there would be more tooing and fro-ing.
Even offered a full refund, but in the end I love the car and can’t find anything remotely that I like at similar money
They’ve done the plug in the scuttle
Update hvac software
New window seals and software
Dried it out
Doubled check by engineering panel from crew both physically and again on zoom call
Actually quite impressed how they jumped on this, thought there would be more tooing and fro-ing.
Even offered a full refund, but in the end I love the car and can’t find anything remotely that I like at similar money
Mine went to the dealer on Monday
Got it back Wednesday
They’ve checked the plugs in the scuttle (they were all fine)
New window seals and software installed
New Sill Bungs the modified ones
Checked HVAC drain was clear (it was)
Rain last night and very damp this morning. So far all good
Must say the level of response and care from the dealer has been first-rate, with no attempt to deflect the issue.
Got it back Wednesday
They’ve checked the plugs in the scuttle (they were all fine)
New window seals and software installed
New Sill Bungs the modified ones
Checked HVAC drain was clear (it was)
Rain last night and very damp this morning. So far all good
Must say the level of response and care from the dealer has been first-rate, with no attempt to deflect the issue.
Well, the car has been back in. It has apparently had an interior-out, dash-out complete internal HVAC replacement plus the other rear quarter light has been replaced to match the new one fitted on the other side.
and.. it appears to be the same.
Of course, it is becoming more difficult to use the weather and environment to check the fault, but a wash and valet followed the next day by the usual shopping trip resulted in steaming up when returning to the car. I am now measuring the humidity inside the car and it is high - 63% RH - so water is sitting somewhere inside the car, and the HVAC is not up to the job of clearing it.
and.. it appears to be the same.
Of course, it is becoming more difficult to use the weather and environment to check the fault, but a wash and valet followed the next day by the usual shopping trip resulted in steaming up when returning to the car. I am now measuring the humidity inside the car and it is high - 63% RH - so water is sitting somewhere inside the car, and the HVAC is not up to the job of clearing it.
joncuk said:
Well, the car has been back in. It has apparently had an interior-out, dash-out complete internal HVAC replacement plus the other rear quarter light has been replaced to match the new one fitted on the other side.
and.. it appears to be the same.
Of course, it is becoming more difficult to use the weather and environment to check the fault, but a wash and valet followed the next day by the usual shopping trip resulted in steaming up when returning to the car. I am now measuring the humidity inside the car and it is high - 63% RH - so water is sitting somewhere inside the car, and the HVAC is not up to the job of clearing it.
Did you have any joy getting the problem resolved?and.. it appears to be the same.
Of course, it is becoming more difficult to use the weather and environment to check the fault, but a wash and valet followed the next day by the usual shopping trip resulted in steaming up when returning to the car. I am now measuring the humidity inside the car and it is high - 63% RH - so water is sitting somewhere inside the car, and the HVAC is not up to the job of clearing it.
I purchased a 2019 W12 coupe three months ago and I'm experiencing exactly the same issues.
Well..
On return of the car, all was well. The car survived the winter without steaming up issues.
We *think* there was a problem with the fascia vents not working once, but things returned to normal and we forgot about it.
A couple of weeks ago, the problem returned - car was steamed up on return to the car park after shopping. This happened two days in a row. When I drove the car the next day, I found that the fascia vents were not operating at all - opening /closing the stops made the fan speed change, but no air came out of any vent, in fact nothing out of the screen demist or footwell vents either.
Car went back to Bentley dealer last week. Diagnosis shows failed flap motors!
Dealer quoted just under £7k to repair (dash-out job again) and the car is now out of warranty. Given the circumstances, Bentley have agreed to a goodwill request from the dealer to cover the bulk of the costs leaving us with a little over a grand to pay.
Last time, the dealer replaced the entire hvac unit inside the car. This time the fix is to remove the unit and replace all the flap motors on it, then refit. Apparently, replacing the interior hvac unit usually fixes the problem for good. Ours lasted about 11 months.
The dealer said this is the third version of the motor and is a recent revision. Also, all motors (~20?) have to be replaced as the different versions don't play well together.
This is the sixth time the car has been back to the dealer; this time it will be there for 2 weeks.
On return of the car, all was well. The car survived the winter without steaming up issues.
We *think* there was a problem with the fascia vents not working once, but things returned to normal and we forgot about it.
A couple of weeks ago, the problem returned - car was steamed up on return to the car park after shopping. This happened two days in a row. When I drove the car the next day, I found that the fascia vents were not operating at all - opening /closing the stops made the fan speed change, but no air came out of any vent, in fact nothing out of the screen demist or footwell vents either.
Car went back to Bentley dealer last week. Diagnosis shows failed flap motors!
Dealer quoted just under £7k to repair (dash-out job again) and the car is now out of warranty. Given the circumstances, Bentley have agreed to a goodwill request from the dealer to cover the bulk of the costs leaving us with a little over a grand to pay.
Last time, the dealer replaced the entire hvac unit inside the car. This time the fix is to remove the unit and replace all the flap motors on it, then refit. Apparently, replacing the interior hvac unit usually fixes the problem for good. Ours lasted about 11 months.
The dealer said this is the third version of the motor and is a recent revision. Also, all motors (~20?) have to be replaced as the different versions don't play well together.
This is the sixth time the car has been back to the dealer; this time it will be there for 2 weeks.
Hmmm.
Mine is three years old in May. Dealer quoted this:
I have attached a brochure for the Bentley Approved Extended Warranty so you can take a look, the cost for 12 months is £2690 and 24 months £4500 all costs are inclusive of Bentley roadside assistance and replacement vehicle.
I'm not a fan of extended warranties but repair costs are eye watering should you ever be unfortunate.
Mine is three years old in May. Dealer quoted this:
I have attached a brochure for the Bentley Approved Extended Warranty so you can take a look, the cost for 12 months is £2690 and 24 months £4500 all costs are inclusive of Bentley roadside assistance and replacement vehicle.
I'm not a fan of extended warranties but repair costs are eye watering should you ever be unfortunate.
Rufus Stone said:
Hmmm.
Mine is three years old in May. Dealer quoted this:
I have attached a brochure for the Bentley Approved Extended Warranty so you can take a look, the cost for 12 months is £2690 and 24 months £4500 all costs are inclusive of Bentley roadside assistance and replacement vehicle.
I'm not a fan of extended warranties but repair costs are eye watering should you ever be unfortunate.
Have you ever had any problems with condensation in the cabin?Mine is three years old in May. Dealer quoted this:
I have attached a brochure for the Bentley Approved Extended Warranty so you can take a look, the cost for 12 months is £2690 and 24 months £4500 all costs are inclusive of Bentley roadside assistance and replacement vehicle.
I'm not a fan of extended warranties but repair costs are eye watering should you ever be unfortunate.
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