Advice re 08 plate zafira air con probs

djtonyb

We purchased a zafira on 1st june 2009. It was 11 months old.
We were given a yrs network q warranty and if course had the remaining time on the 3yrs manufacturers warranty.

Around Dec last year the aircon stopped working, not a prob cos it was chilly outside.We informed the Garage of the defect and were advised to wait for the warmer months to get it repaired. Fast forward to May 2011, booked car in for last service and first MOT. The air con condenser was found to defective and replaced under warranty. The air con subsequently lasted 2.5 months and stopped working. We returned car to original garage today for investigation and apparenty an armoured pipe and seals have gone. To get the air con working the garage want £520!!!! Although the garage have agreed a 50% reduction as a gesture of good will.


Does this seem reasonable?? Or should i be able to expect the air con to last longer??

MarkyMarkD

If you don't use air con on your car for extended periods it is common for the system to fail.

djtonyb

Marky

We were advised not to get the air con repaired until the warmer months. Is it wrong to expect the air con system to last longer than 3.5 years?? I appreciate it may need regassing in this time, but the condenser and piping to fail seems a bit wrong to me

poppasmurf_bewdley

Air con seems to be a common fault on Vauxhalls. My Astra had an aircon failure at 4 years old and I never bothered to get it fixed as it was too expensive.

MarkyMarkD

lots_of_advice_all_over_the_internet wrote:

The main reason for air-con failure is lack of use, the oil in the mixture keeps the seals supple & gas tight. Lack of use allows them to shrivel.

I don't understand in the slightest the advice to wait until the summer to get it fixed. Cobblers from the garage. They were basically advising you not to use it through the winter hence making matters worse? D'oh!

They should foot the bill for repair, unless you hardly ever used the air con during the 18 months before the air con failed.

moonrakerz

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

I don't understand in the slightest the advice to wait until the summer to get it fixed. Cobblers from the garage. They were basically advising you not to use it through the winter hence making matters worse? D'oh!

Not really. If the refrigerant had leaked out all the seals would probably all be shot anyway, so leaving it wouldn't have much effect.

Having said that - air con is extremely useful in wet winter weather for demisting the interior windows, so I wouldn't have left it anyway.

mikey72

If the car was registered in July 08, wasn't it under the manufacturers three year warranty when it first failed in December 10?
Was it a Vauxhall garage that told you to wait, but subsiquently did the work in warranty in May? Did it fail again just outside the three year warranty period in August?

MarkyMarkD

moonrakerz wrote: »

Having said that - air con is extremely useful in wet winter weather for demisting the interior windows, so I wouldn't have left it anyway.

Exactly. So what on earth benefit was supposed to be derived by leaving it until the summer to get it repaired?