When should my air con have its first service?

[JohnF]

My Polo is in for its 2 year service. It's done 10,000 miles and when I checked it in, unbeknown to me they told me that at 2 years it it's due an air con service. I had no advanced warning of this (the service price was on the job sheet and didn't mentioned air con) This afternoon a video of my car arrives and the technician also states the air con needs servicing. They wanted over £100 just for this.

In the old days you used to get a service booklet so you knew what was due and when.

I got the distinct impression they wanted as much money from me as possible.

Has anyone had this ?

[lancslad1985]

They tried this with my dad saying it needed recharging. Told him if it’s still blowing cold air he’s fine. £100 is excessive considering most garages will do a recharge for £25!

[SRGTD]

Air con service is a money making up-sell for VW dealerships. The service advisor will try and ‘encourage’ customers to have this done when the car’s two years old, and then every two years thereafter, but it’s a recommendation - not a requirement - from a warranty perspective. Not having the air con service done won’t invalidate the general three year new car factory warranty, although if you had an issue with your air con in year three and didn’t have the air con service done when the car was two years old, I dare say it might influence VW’s/ the dealer’s approach to the air con system being repaired under warranty.

I think that the air con refrigerant in car air con systems has to be ‘environmentally friendly’ these days, and it tends to be more expensive than the less environmentally friendly type, hence the cost. I seem to remember the cost of an air con service at the VW dealership using the older type refrigerant was in the region of £70-£75? When we’re all driving around in electric cars, it’ll probably be more important to get the air con serviced regularly, as the car’s air con system provides cooling for the car’s batteries.

I was offered the air con service when my car was serviced in Feb this year (car was 4 years old). I politely declined; ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it‘ as the saying goes, and my air con’s still blowing out plenty of nice cold air.

[J+silva]

I only charge it when the air doesn’t cool,of all the cars I have ever had, I only loaded one and the car was 10 years old, and in the summer there are very hot days here in Lisbon.

[monkeyhanger]

If it doesn't blow very cold it needs charging. If it does but it smells a bit feisty, it needs an antibacterial treatment.

Otherwise, save your money.

If you use the aircon regularly the seals won't dry out and leak refrigerant for many years (5 or 6).

[S_94]

Is the aircon service covered under VW's Service Plan? I'm guessing not.

[SRGTD]

Is the aircon service covered under VW's Service Plan? I'm guessing not.

No, it’s not. VW’s service plan covers one minor (oil & filter change) service and one major (oil & filter change and inspection) service. Any other service items that need doing as the car gets older - e.g. brake fluid change at 3 years old and then every two years thereafter, DSG oil change service at (I think) 40k miles, brake pads etc. are all separate chargeable items.

As an alternative to the 2 year / 2 services service plan, VW do a service and maintenance plan too, which does cover some of these maintenance jobs. I’m not sure which maintenance jobs are included though, and as you’d expect, it’ll be more expensive than the standard basic service plan.

[JohnF]

Thanks all. I do try and run the air con fairly regularly even in winter as I recall that's a sensible thing to do to delay its servicing. Just annoyed that they were blatantly trying it on.!

[SRGTD]

Thanks all. I do try and run the air con fairly regularly even in winter as I recall that's a sensible thing to do to delay its servicing. Just annoyed that they were blatantly trying it on.!

Yes, it’s sensible to run the air con regularly, or just leave it on all the while. I never turn mine off. At times of the year when you don’t need to use it to cool the air, it’ll still help to dehumidify the air in the car.

I think especially in the current climate, dealerships will be trying to generate revenue wherever they can, so some dealerships may try and push these up-sell items harder than they would normally. The service advisors are probably rewarded financially if they achieving a certain number of sales or generating a certain amount of revenue from up-selling, so it’s in their best interest to achieve their targets, so they get their sales commission / bonus.

[Simonz]

A waste of money, trying to get more cash out of you. I'm off to independent garages next time round - just had 2nd year service (oil change and inspection) cost £250 for oil, filter and new pollen filter plus having a glance at the brakes. Didn't even wash it. No idea how long other components are meant to last - e.g. spark plugs do they get changed after 3 or 4 years and also the air filter? Too expensive just to get a service record (not even a stamp any more in a service book). When it comes round to 3 years old will go to a local indy, get MOT done at same time plus it's out of warranty then so no need to bother with the dealers any more.

[SRGTD]

A waste of money, trying to get more cash out of you. I'm off to independent garages next time round - just had 2nd year service (oil change and inspection) cost £250 for oil, filter and new pollen filter plus having a glance at the brakes. Didn't even wash it.

Not washing it is a blessing in disguise, unless you want your car’s paintwork to be treated to a ‘scratch and swirl’ wash by the dealer’s sponge monkey to give it that ‘just washed with a pan scourer look’.

[Steve_2019]

If its run regular it should not need regassing unless its got a leak.

[JohnF]

A waste of money, trying to get more cash out of you. I'm off to independent garages next time round - just had 2nd year service (oil change and inspection) cost £250 for oil, filter and new pollen filter plus having a glance at the brakes. Didn't even wash it.

Not washing it is a blessing in disguise, unless you want your car’s paintwork to be treated to a ‘scratch and swirl’ wash by the dealer’s sponge monkey to give it that ‘just washed with a pan scourer look’.

I'm planning on doing the same at 3 years. My concern in doing this however is that I can be sure that the main VW garage where I bought it has all the right equipment, latest diagnostic kit and access to full VW genuine parts etc.

I am less than confident if I take it to a "back street" garage. Anyone like to comment on my dilemma?

[monkeyhanger]

A waste of money, trying to get more cash out of you. I'm off to independent garages next time round - just had 2nd year service (oil change and inspection) cost £250 for oil, filter and new pollen filter plus having a glance at the brakes. Didn't even wash it.

Not washing it is a blessing in disguise, unless you want your car’s paintwork to be treated to a ‘scratch and swirl’ wash by the dealer’s sponge monkey to give it that ‘just washed with a pan scourer look’.

I'm planning on doing the same at 3 years. My concern in doing this however is that I can be sure that the main VW garage where I bought it has all the right equipment, latest diagnostic kit and access to full VW genuine parts etc.

I am less than confident if I take it to a "back street" garage. Anyone like to comment on my dilemma?

Go to an independent garage with a good reputation once your warranty expires. However, I would probably pay the full fee to have my first MOT done by the VW dealership, a month shy of the warranty running out, and advise the dealership to inspect for stuff that's on its way out which would be covered under warranty, so you can get a claim on before the warranty runs out.

VW used to offer a bit of goodwill on stuff that fails just outside warranty, if you'd had your car serviced within the dealership network the whole time. I bet that goodwill has fallen by the wayside now!

[wayne10244]

Over time air con gases will drop and if you don’t use it at least once a month the seals can dry out and will cause gases to leak. But it’s should be up to the customer to ask for it to be service also when serviced the clean the System so bacteria that forms in the system.