Piece of cardboard fixes what dealership couldn't

Preamble

Recently, I had my first courtesy oil service at the local dealership. Nothing special, but they asked if I have any issues with my car. And yes, I have one. Previously I mentioned on this forum, that I have reduced airflow from the left outlet of the central vent. The one closer to the driver.

I purchased this car in March and didn't noticed the issue at first, because I was adopting to a car. But what can go wrong, when you buy a brand-new car for $53K MSRP? Everything should be in perfect shape, right?

Our local dealership has lots of used Porsches, Ferraris, McLarens and Lamborghinis in its showroom. It is also an official dealership for Alfa Romeo and Maserati. So, fixing such a small issue on a "cheap" Alfa Romeo Giulia shouldn't be a problem for them. At least, that what I thought.

I asked the dealer to fix this problem, because it was becoming more and more annoying during the hot summer season. However, when the oil service was completed, all I received was a recommendation to do the wheel alignment. But what about my initial inquiry, regarding airflow strength?

Well, they told me they checked the cooling system and found no issues. Therefore it's not a mechanical issue.

- Ok, but do you confirm the problem exist?
- We've checked another Giulia, and it has the same airflow strength. So it's not a problem.

Really? This is my 8th car, and none of them had such an issue before. Additionally, this is my second Giulia and that car had no such issue. So this is a problem!

Then they told me, they sent an email (thanks God not mail) to Alfa Romeo Global to see if such issue had appeared before. They also offered me a courtesy car, but warned me that they would disassemble the whole dashboard to investigate the issue, which might lead to rattling sounds in future.

- This is all great, but have you at least tried to remove the central vent?
- No...

Addressing the issue

As I mentioned before, I asked if anyone on this forum had faced such an issue. That conversation is gone, but I remember somebody mentioning that the problem was due to an obstacle in the vent or something similar. Recently, I also attended a coffee & cars event with local Giulia owners and asked if somebody had experienced this issue.

It seemed that the issue is not common. Some people have it, some don't. So, I went back home and decided to remove the central vent with plastic pry tools to see if I could find a problem.

And yes, the problem was identified immediately. Beyond the vent, there is a vent duct. Usually, in Ford, Volkswagen, or Kia, it is made of plastic. But for some reason, in Alfa Romeo this duct is made of some fire-safe, soft foam material. This material had bent and reduced the air flow. To illustrate this problem, I found a video on YouTube, where someone was removing the multimedia unit.

At 2:16, it is clearly visible that the left vent duct is damaged (bent). Here is a screenshot from that video.

Since my car is brand new and hasn't been dissembled, I assume there is a production issue at the factory where the duct is damaged during dashboard assembly.

To fix this issue, we just need to put something hard into the duct to hold the shape of the foam. I found a cardboard tube from tea that is 82.3 mm in diameter. I bent it softly and placed it into the duct. Then put the central vent back.

And, Great Scott, it works! It took me 10 minutes to fix. Now I have the same strength airflow from both central vent outlets. No more situations where my passengers are cold, but I still increase the fan speed to feel the cold air.

If only dealer had decided to try to fix the issue and report it to Alfa Romeo Global. But it seems nobody interested in this. That's the end of story. Thanks to everyone for reading this. Stay safe and love your cars!