VW Virtus Sunlight Sensor Causing Climate Control Issues

I had a similar issue with my VW Jetta 2021, so I can share my experience as someone with moderate car repair knowledge. The solar sensor calibration problem affected my HVAC sensor system in a comparable way. The car failed to adjust the heating properly, showing similar symptoms with reduced output regardless of settings. After some fault detection attempts at home, I took it to a workshop where they diagnosed a loose connection at the solar sensor plug. The wiring had worn down due to normal wear and tear, causing intermittent signal issues to the climate control module. The fix involved replacing the damaged connector and recalibrating the car sensor system. Total cost was 95€, which included diagnostic time and parts. The heating worked perfectly after the repair. Before suggesting more specific solutions, could you share: Have you noticed any warning lights on the dashboard? Does the issue occur more during specific times of day? Are there any other climate control functions affected? Has the car received regular maintenance?

Latest service was at 138000km and the automotive sensor system was checked at that time. The check engine light briefly flashed last week but went away. The heating issues occur mostly during morning hours, and yes, the AC performance seems a bit weak too lately. The automatic climate control doesnt maintain a steady temperature like it used to. Your experience with the daylight sensor sounds very similar to my situation. The HVAC sensor signals might indeed be the root cause, especially since the fault detection system logged the error. Was your repair covered under warranty? Mine expired 6 months ago at 135000km. Worth mentioning that the dealer already updated the climate control software during the last service, but that didnt resolve the issue.

Thanks for the additional details. The symptoms you describe match my experience even more closely now. My warranty had also just expired when I faced this issue. The morning-specific problems and inconsistent climate control definitely point toward the solar sensor connection, just like in my case. The fault detection system logging these errors alongside the brief check engine light suggests the car sensor network is getting corrupted signals. My repair wasnt covered since the warranty had expired, but the 95€ I paid was worth it given how the faulty HVAC sensor was affecting both heating and cooling performance. Like you, I also had a software update done first, which didnt fix the underlying hardware issue. The expired warranty and similar mileage on your car makes me even more confident its the same sensor fault I experienced. The daylight sensor connection likely degraded over time, causing these inconsistent temperature readings and reduced HVAC performance. A qualified workshop should be able to verify this with proper diagnostic tools. Make sure they specifically check the solar sensor wiring harness and connector, these components tend to wear out around this mileage.

I really appreciate all the insights about the sensor fault issues. Your explanation about the solar sensor connection problems matches exactly what I'm experiencing. Based on your detailed response, I'll get the HVAC sensor system and wiring checked by my workshop next week. The temperature sensor diagnostics should hopefully confirm if its the same connector issue you had. The timing makes sense too since both our cars started showing these symptoms right after warranty expiration. Good to know the repair costs were reasonable at 95€. Even with my expired warranty, that seems like a fair price to restore proper climate control function and fix the faulty sensor readings. The fact that both heating and AC performance improved after your repair gives me hope for a similar outcome. I learned something valuable about car sensor calibration today. Will update once I get it looked at by the workshop. Thanks for sharing your experience in such detail, helps knowing others have successfully resolved this exact issue.