Issue with Halfords

TheBlacklist2013

Hi all, 

Just under two months ago I purchased Full A/C diagnostic services by Halfords and got my car AC checked as it was not working. They confirmed everything was okay with the system and it only needed a re-gas. I paid £129 to get it done (the new AC Gas type is expensive than the usual one), however, now my car's AC is not working at all. It just blows normal air. 

I took it to Halfords and they said they system may have got a leak. They confirmed during the diagnostic that there was no leak. Is it possible for my car to suddenly develop a leak and lose all the refrigent? 

I have riased a complaint but have not had any update yet. 

What is the best course of action in this regards? 

Thanks 

MattMattMattUK

TheBlacklist2013 said:

Hi all, 

Just under two months ago I purchased Full A/C diagnostic services by Halfords and got my car AC checked as it was not working. They confirmed everything was okay with the system and it only needed a re-gas. I paid £129 to get it done (the new AC Gas type is expensive than the usual one), however, now my car's AC is not working at all. It just blows normal air. 

I took it to Halfords and they said they system may have got a leak. They confirmed during the diagnostic that there was no leak. Is it possible for my car to suddenly develop a leak and lose all the refrigent? 

I have riased a complaint but have not had any update yet. 

What is the best course of action in this regards? 

Thanks 

Yes it is entirely possible for it to develop a leak and loose the refrigerant. If they had caused the leak then it would likely be in two places, the over-pressure valve or the filling valve, outside of that it is likely just unfortunate. 

facade

Take it to a car airconditoning specialist.

They will find the leak and sort it out, but be warned, a leak is never cheap.

Design dictates that the (unprotected) condenser radiator is placed right where any stones, road grit & salty water flung up by the car in front will hit it, and as it is made of super thin aloominums it is easily punctured (or corroded through).

It could have been damaged since the regas.

Or there could be a fault that causes the pump to vent gas like a blocked expansion valve.

Halfords use an idiot-proof machine that tests for major leaks and won't fill the system if it finds one, however if there was no gas in it the chances are high it had a tiny leak and has taken 3 months to lose the gas.

Bigwheels1111

Avoid halfrauds, Kwikfit, National etc.
£30 refill maybe, nothing else.

Bigphil1474

Agree with Bigwheels ,I wouldn't use them for anything that needs some proper work doing. I've only ever used them for tyres and the occasional battery, when I know what I want, and that they do need replacing. 

forgotmyname

AC diagnostic usually entails pulling a vacuum into the system which can move seals and mask any small leaks. But the AC
works under pressure not a vacuum so its not a 100% reliable test.

It worked for 2 months so quite possible its a seal leaking or the valves themselves, but the condenser could have
been damaged by a stone or similar.

WellKnownSid

Bigphil1474 said:

Agree with Bigwheels ,I wouldn't use them for anything that needs some proper work doing. I've only ever used them for tyres and the occasional battery, when I know what I want, and that they do need replacing. 

Last time I asked Halfords to fit a battery - they told me that they were not allowed to fit it because my car had to be fitted with a special £400 AGM battery (which wasn't even in stock) in order to support the stop-start, CAN based BMS and regenerative charging systems - not the lead acid one I'd chosen off the shelf for £60.

I tried explaining to them that my 1980's car was built around 30 years too early for stop-start and didn't even have a CAN bus let alone a BMS however - despite all the evidence being there in front of them - unfortunately they could not question what the computer told them for reasons of 'more than my job's worth'.

They do sell good quality tools though.

molerat

forgotmyname said:

AC diagnostic usually entails pulling a vacuum into the system which can move seals and mask any small leaks. But the AC
works under pressure not a vacuum so its not a 100% reliable test.

It worked for 2 months so quite possible its a seal leaking or the valves themselves, but the condenser could have
been damaged by a stone or similar.

This.  You cannot properly test a system that operates under pressure using a vacuum. The only person to entrust an aircon diagnostic to is a specialist who will test it under pressure with nitrogen and a marker dye.  The only thing those rigs are fit for is a refill.

Stateofart

Sounds like there was a leak, Halfords topped up the gas and it all leaked out again.  If they didn't do a leak test (I believe it's a special dye they can use to see it coming out), which I don't think would be part of a service for AC anyway so really all you've done is confirmed there's leak...a very expensive confirmation as well.  You can get re-gassed for loads cheaper than that.

Johnmcl7

I had a similar experience with a regas that they'd said they tested for leaks but after a month or two, it stopped working again.  I took it back for a dye test and they found damage to the condenser which was replaced and it's been working fine since although I was prepared for it to be expensive as some have warned above.