Foam pieces inside my air vents!

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

There are small black pieces of what appears to be insulation foam,inside my air vents.Where do they came from and how can I fix this issue?Thanks

[DarthVW]

This is a very comun problem on these cars. I have a 98' Jetta and have the same problem.
The foam its coming from the flaps that open or close when you select them from the air vent.
It is use to seal the vent so no air will come out when you close it and also works like some kind of filter.
I dont think its really a problem unless the foam goes somewhere else thru the air intake.
I suggest to just set your fan speed on max and let the foam come out before goes inside.
The only problem will be that your vents wont be 100% close when you select the close position or that could obstruct some air coming out.
Dont think its a big deal in my opinion, unless someone else suggest otherwise.

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

Thanks for the quick answer!So no need to open up the dash in search of a solution I guess.I'm just afraid that they will keep on coming until all foam is gone and then the flaps won't insulate at all...

[backinthegame]

Thanks for the quick answer!So no need to open up the dash in search of a solution I guess.I'm just afraid that they will keep on coming until all foam is gone and then the flaps won't insulate at all...

It will keep coming out until it's gone. It won't really be that noticeable that they are gone though, the vents will still function properly. The only real downside is having to vacuum the crap out of your seats and carpet until it's gone, which is going to take a long time.

[briano1234]

If you can take out your Vents as in the mk1. Then look on the back of he flapper control to see if the vents foam is intact. If it isn't then you can cut and shape new foam to replace it.

If it is off the flapper valve or blender door, then if you can get to it via the Vents, you can suck it all out.

I don't have any first hand with the mk3 line but that is how we roll on the mk1.

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

If you can take out your Vents as in the mk1. Then look on the back of he flapper control to see if the vents foam is intact. If it isn't then you can cut and shape new foam to replace it.

If it is off the flapper valve or blender door, then if you can get to it via the Vents, you can suck it all out.

I don't have any first hand with the mk3 line but that is how we roll on the mk1.

I'll do that asap and report back,thanks

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

An electrician ,friend of mine,opened the vents this weekend ,and cleaned all the pieces of foam from inside there.He told me though,that pieces will keep on coming out,and at one point there will be none left to insulate the cold from hot function,so the AC will become useless!Can that be correct?

[backinthegame]

It will not be useless. You won't even really notice much of a difference. The blend doors will still actuate correctly, they just wont be air tight from fresh air to heat to AC. Honestly, if anything the sound of the air leaking will be more noticeable than the temperature difference.

[gunnarpaul]

We have a 98 and when we did the auto to manual swap we took the opportunity to pull all of them. Went to the fabric store and bought a bunch of felt and replaced all the foam with that. It was just starting to show signs of doing this so decided since everything was apart anyways we might as well.

Have noticed a slight improvement by doing this. Also by using felt you're not going to have this issue again by using foam which will just degrade in time again anyways.

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

The problem for replacing them is that you have to take the hole dash apart,as far as I understood it!!

[gunnarpaul]

The problem for replacing them is that you have to take the hole dash apart,as far as I understood it!!

Its easier for sure. And you might as well replace the heater core while you're in there.

Only other option is deal with the foam until you get around to it. If I have to rip the dash out for any reason I look at replacing anything that may potentially be a problem down the road.

When I did the auto/manual swap I replaced the heater core, all the hoses, fixed the vent problem, replaced the ignition switch etc, just so I had no reason to pull the dash again anytime soon.

Earned myself a bunch of in the process and prevented a bunch of future headaches. Its well worth the time investment.