Why would a mechanic bypass the heat?

Asked by Lou2u Nov 10, 2014 at 01:43 PM about the 1996 Audi A4

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I was in a rush to get out of town earlier this year and had a mechanic do some work
on my '96 Audi. After the work was done and I had driven it around for the afternoon I
noticed that it had coolant pooling/pouring  from the front. When I had him look that
over he told me that he could bypass the heating or I could come up with money I didn't
have to get it fixed. Now I can''t find the paperwork for this little job and am wondering
what would be a common cause for doing this? I'm now facing winter and looking to get
my heat running again.

2 Answers

45,825

sounds like your heater core in your environmental controls ruptured. He would a bypassed it to stop the leaking but unfortunately does not fix the issue. In order to fix a heater core the entire dash has to be removed from the car to get at it. This would in turn make it a costly repair.

The dash doesn't have to be removed at all on these Audi's. Actually one of the easier Heater Cores to remove. However, once the heater box is pulled out from the firewall bay, the whole box has to be disassembled to get to removing the actual heater core radiator part. You'd want to hire someone who understands these Audi system, and pay them. Its about a 5 or 6 hour job for someone who knows what they're doing. And the heater core itself is only like $30 if you order it online.

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