AC Issue !!!!

[chrisb1357]

Hi all,

Over the easter weekend my AC decided to no longer pump out any cold air. I took it to my local local garage that i have used for some years as they have been very good at fixing other stuff but after 2 visits to them since the AC has gone back to no longer being cold again..

On my first visit they said there was still some gas remaining in the system but it was low so they re gas the system. After 2 days the AC was no longer cold again.

2nd visit they said they would test again and after 45 minutes they said it must have been the machine they used on the first one so they gave the 2nd machine a go and re gassed it again

After a few days the AC is no longer cold again so am a little fedup as the system must have a leak somewhere and why did they re gas the system if it has a leak after they said it was ok under test...

Awaiting a call back from them tommrow but i have also found a local auto AC specialist in the mean time which i wished i had found sooner and explained to him and he has offered to test it for free..

I have also emailed VW customer services also over the weekend asking where i stand in relation to warranty as i purcahsed the car as an approved VW used car which came with 12 months warranty which i am still under and as well i have an extra few years warranty. I have read the terms and it states no pipes, hoses or clips are covered in the extra warranty that i purcahsed but not sure if the same terms apply on the standard 12 months.

Is there any know issues with any AC parts on the Polo's??

[EdgardoRodriguez]

There must be a leak in your circuit. Sorry but no serious mechanic can just re fill the gas without seeking where the original one left. In an air conditioner gas circuit theorically there is no need to re fill any time. If you need to do so Is because something broke down


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[chrisb1357]

The garage that tried to re gas the car twice have now refunded my money.

I now have the car booked in with a Auto AC Specialist tommrow evening who gets good reviews from people. I have explained how the other place have tried to re gas and he has offerd to test the system and leak check free of charge and then we can decide the next steps

Chris

[RUM4MO]

There must be a leak in your circuit. Sorry but no serious mechanic can just re fill the gas without seeking where the original one left. In an air conditioner gas circuit theorically there is no need to re fill any time. If you need to do so Is because something broke down


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I agree with you about the need to check for leaks before refilling an AC system, but these F-Gases are known to be able to pass across/through the flexible pipes and the "plastic" O-ring seals and so it is expected and allowed for some fridge charge to get lost due to this, the industry estimates that 10% of the charge can get lost per year and that is why you need to get these systems "serviced" every maybe 4 years, I have a manifold set so try to check my cars every 2 years in the summer time and a bottle of R134A to add into the system if the system looks okay but not quite at the expected running pressures and discharging air temperature.

[chrisb1357]

Hi all,

An update after seeing a local indepedent one man band AC auto specialist this evening.

He tested the AC as follows

1, System was empty even that it had been re gas twice
2, Pressurised the system with oxygen free nitrogen
3, Tested the condensor and found no leaks on that pipes
4, Found a hissing sound which could be clearly heard from the dashboard area in front passanger footwell within the car indicating a large leak from the evaporator

He did offer to do the above test for free but as he gave so much details and also written me a statement on letter headed paper i gave him £20 for the time spent.

He said its not something he would do if the evaporator behind the dash needs to come out as well as the dash. he suggested to take back to VW as we are within the 1 year warranty but i can see this becoming a nightmare to deal with. he said the evaporator is well protected so its not somthing u can damage and might explain why the AC was low when we purchased the car last year from VW and they said they had re gassed it as it must have had a slow leak since then.

He also offerd to speak to VW if they call him as well

Now its time to speak to VW !!!!!

[RUM4MO]

Well now you know how a proper fridge person operates, found the general location of the leak quickly by using his brain and experience - I can't blame him for not wanting to strip out the dashboard.

As that car is still under VW warranty, even a used car one, this must be covered, it will cost quite a bit to fix so needs to be a warranty job, as you say, it sounds like it is not due to an outside event like stone damage as the evaporator is well hidden/protected inside the car.

Good Luck!

Edit:- I also would have not allowed that proper fridge person to carry out these tests for free, you need people like him to be around for the next time and by paying him a nominal amount you will probably still be able to get him to do any other work for you if you are unlucky enough to need that!

[chrisb1357]

Hi RUM4MO

As stated above he offerd to check for free but i wanted to pay him for his time. he said a £10 so i gave him £20

Well now you know how a proper fridge person operates, found the general location of the leak quickly by using his brain and experience - I can't blame him for not wanting to strip out the dashboard.

As that car is still under VW warranty, even a used car one, this must be covered, it will cost quite a bit to fix so needs to be a warranty job, as you say, it sounds like it is not due to an outside event like stone damage as the evaporator is well hidden/protected inside the car.

Good Luck!

Edit:- I also would have not allowed that proper fridge person to carry out these tests for free, you need people like him to be around for the next time and by paying him a nominal amount you will probably still be able to get him to do any other work for you if you are unlucky enough to need that!

[RUM4MO]

It's okay I was just agreeing with your actions, that's all!

[chrisb1357]

Hi all,

After a number of calls to the dealer they eventually contacted me by email to say they will get back to me next Tue as the sales person who sold us the car last year is not in until then when the after sales manager will also be in on that day.....

[RUM4MO]

That VW dealership must be a very "special" one fobbing people off like that, lucky for you that this guy had not moved companies or got run over by a bus?

[chrisb1357]

Had call today from VW customer services not Vertu. They are speaking to the dealer and they basicly went though everythin on phone with me but did state that any tests by independent garages they would not review or take into account as it needs to be checked by VW

[RUM4MO]

Well, you should admire their arrogance - at least they are standing by their franchised dealerships. Personally I can’t see them not fixing this properly at your next visit, after they have looked a bit more deeply into watch is causing this - and if necessary communicated with VW UK as that kit is part of that model of Polo and someone took out an approved car warranty on it to make it easier to sell.

Edit:- going forward, you should make a VW dealership your first port of call for any possible warranty issues, unless it is an emergency situation.

[chrisb1357]

My point to VW was you don't expect to pay £10k for an approved car that had 7K miles on the clock last May and only 17K on the clock now and for the AC to fail

[RUM4MO]

Well, the reality is that some of these parts do fail, and fail early in life, I’d be very annoyed as well if it had happened, but I’d hope that if you had taken that car into your VW dealer and they found nothing, like they seem to at a first visit, then took it back after it failed again, they would have taken things a bit more seriously and put things into action to repair that car under the approved used car warranty. Most times, doing things your own way, then going back to the dealership that issued the warranty ends up with problems, it is a completely different story if you personally resolve the issue and never need to revisit that area of the car for the remainder of your warranty, remember a warranty is a form of contract and both sides need to play by the rules of that contract.

[chrisb1357]

Another Update:

VW UK and Vertu Dealer have discussed and they agree that he dealer needs to see the car. They have stated they cant take into account the independet report from the Auto AC Specilist as they will need to follow the VW process once they have the car to fault finding the issue.

The car is booked in this Friday for the day for fault find on the issue. The after sales manager has called me to confirm this will be free of charge and the time used will be to look for the cause of issue and testing of the AC. Depending on the outcome of that depends on if its covered by warranty or if we have to pay the full cost of repairs as it depends on what part has failed.

The VW dealer also stated that they agree the AC was not great when we purchased the car 11 months ago so they re gassed it back then. But from speaking to the Auto AC Specilist he is saying a 3 to 5 year old car should not need re gassing and would only loose gas if there is a leak in the system. VW dealer are saying the opposite that cars do loose gas and they do need new gas every few years....