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Air Conditioning
I bought an 09 plated small car in August last year that has air con. (my previous car didn't).
When it came to use the aircon when we finally had a warm day last summer, I found it didn't work, so phoned the garage who re-gassed it for free. It had been on their forecourt and not driven for a while...
They advised me to turn it on at least once a week, so I've run it at least once a week for 20 mins. It worked, and was nice and cold!
When we had some hot weather in March, I noticed when I turned it on cold, it hissed, but was no different to just having the normal fan on cold, and just didn't work.
Working 60 hours a week, I haven't had time to contact the garage, but am about to contact them about getting my car serviced.
How long should aircon be expected to last for? More than 6 months? I'm thinking it's likely that there was a leak when I bought it, hence it didn't work originally, and doesn't work now.
We had a 12 year old citroen xsara and the aircon worked for 3 years on that with no issues!!
Any ideas or advice on aircon?
When it came to use the aircon when we finally had a warm day last summer, I found it didn't work, so phoned the garage who re-gassed it for free. It had been on their forecourt and not driven for a while...
They advised me to turn it on at least once a week, so I've run it at least once a week for 20 mins. It worked, and was nice and cold!
When we had some hot weather in March, I noticed when I turned it on cold, it hissed, but was no different to just having the normal fan on cold, and just didn't work.
Working 60 hours a week, I haven't had time to contact the garage, but am about to contact them about getting my car serviced.
How long should aircon be expected to last for? More than 6 months? I'm thinking it's likely that there was a leak when I bought it, hence it didn't work originally, and doesn't work now.
We had a 12 year old citroen xsara and the aircon worked for 3 years on that with no issues!!
Any ideas or advice on aircon?
Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)
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Comments
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If it's leaking now you'd need to prove it was leaking when you bought it for the garage to be held accountable for free repairs.
If it was me i'd probably live without it. I'm quite stingy though and would rarely have it on due to slightly increase fuel use.
That it would be rather expensive to have it repaired.All your base are belong to us.0 -
With an A/C, it's not a bad idea to use them regularly (like weekly), if not all the time - you don't have to have them turned to cold, they will provide heat as well. We had a Pug 206 with A/C and used it in the winter because it was very effective at demisting the screen.
The A/C ran for years without any maintenance, it was just the rest of the car that fell apart!
Once they develop a fault or a leak they can be expensive to fix though. Just regassing them does not address what caused the pressure loss in the first place.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the In My Home MoneySaving, Energy and Techie Stuff boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
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I've used the A/C weekly, and in winter on hot to demist the windscreen. As we didn't have much hot weather, it was mostly run on the hotter temperatures!
I'm 99.9% sure it had the leak when I bought it, but proving that will be hard I guess. I figured if I knew how long A/C should last for once re-gassed, I could then point out that it must've been a leak originally, rather than just requiring a re-gas.Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
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I'm 100% sure that you said it's worked fine since it was regassed up until the hissing sound...
Find out where the leak is, maybe a stone has hit the condensor ('radiator').
It's always made the hissing sound when it's turned on! I assumed that's the noise A/C made!!
Is that not normal?Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
UPDATE:
Dealer agreed A/C should last far longer than 6 months, but couldn't find a leak, so have regassed it free of charge, and told me to keep an eye on it.
They think it might have a tiny leak, hence it didn't lose charge straight away. They'll investigate further if it fails again.
Oddly, it doesn't make the hissing sound any more. Yay!
Happy customer
Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
Well done!
Air Con Service specialist can use a gas with a purple dye in it. then if it leaks, the leak point is visible and can be addressed.
Keep an eye on it, and use it regularly and for a decent period of time. It has to circulate the gas to lubricate itself.0 -
Just filling it up is not the way to go. A proper leak test is required.
Not a vacuum one that some use. Because the system doesn't work under a vacuum. Its pressurised.
So a pressure test with an inert gas is required.Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
They did a pressure test then another test using a dye, but couldn't find a leak.
I think there's another test they can do, but I'd already been waiting 2.5 hours, so they re-gassed it to see what would happen.
At least we finally have some hot weather to test it on the cold setting!Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
The hissing noise happens when the gas is empty or very low0
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