AC only works after 10-15 minutes
 

So, I have a weird problem. My AC takes about 10-15 minutes to start working. It blows immediately, but blows air at whatever temperature it is outside or in the car, and only starts pushing out cold air after the car has been running for 10-15 minutes. It did this last summer too, but the VW dealership couldn’t find anything wrong. I haven’t worried that much about it because, once it does come on, it works perfectly and doesn’t go back to blowing warm air until the car has been off for at least 12 hours. If I turn the car off, and then start it again within a relatively short time, it works find.

Has anyone ever had this issue or has any idea what is causing it?

Did you ever figure out what was happening? My 2013 Passat is doing the same thing. The dealer replaced the cooling fans but it didn't make a difference.

It was a problem with the compressor that continued to plague me for several years, including when I spent 3 years in Europe with the car. Fixing it would have cost over $2000 and wasn’t worth it.

The car also developed transmission and engine problems at way too low a mileage for that to be reasonable, and I wound up selling the car with barely 100K miles on it for less than $3000. Ask me if I’ll ever buy a Volkswagen again.

I'm thinking it's the compressor. So frustrating. Anyways, thanks for the reply so many years later. I hope you're enjoying your non-VW!

UPDATE: It ended up being the RCV (compressor control valve). The dealer would not just change the valve, only the entire compressor which includes the RCV. So I found "413 Auto Repair" up in Mass who replaced the RCV and A/C is working wonderfully just in time for summer. The part is only $85 so it's definitely worth a shot before you replace the entire A/C compressor. Evidently the compressors usually hold up pretty well, but this RCV is a common failure. Hope this helps someone in the future!