I have a Fabia 1.2 htp (12v) from march 2007 with approx 35000km on the clock. Lately i have noticed a distinct difference in both performance and fuel economy when the AC is switched on (i would say approx 10bhp power loss and economy worse by 15%) that i hadn't noticed earlier. Is there anything that can cause the AC to be drawing more "power" from the engine?:confused:

(AC works fine, chills relatively quickly and has been used regularly even when not required (to avoid leaky seals))

No - it's just cause of the low-power of your engine, sadly.

My old vRS had no trouble with the A/C on, and as such saw only a 1 MPG drop.

I had a Hyundai hire car for a while and if I wanted to overtake I had to turn it off, I agree it is down to the 1.2 engine.

It's weird isn't it. Everyone tells you how evil air con is because it helps you pump out lots of extra CO2 and warm the planet. However, you can't generalise like that. My father in law swears he loses 5% economy in his Jazz with the air con on, but I've never noticed it make any difference in either of the cars I've owned with air con (Astra 2.0DTi, Fabia vRS). I'm wondering if it's because diesel engines have more torque??

I never noticed the difference with mine on or off, but in the end I decided that I never really used, never missed it when it died, so gutted the whole lot out. Benefit of weight saving, (in theory) better economy, got money for old bits, and the radiator is vented better with no AC rad = cooler water temps.

I never noticed the difference with mine on or off, but in the end I decided that I never really used, never missed it when it died, so gutted the whole lot out. Benefit of weight saving, (in theory) better economy, got money for old bits, and the radiator is vented better with no AC rad = cooler water temps.

Out of interest, what made it die? I'm wanting to try to avoid all future air con problems as they tend to be somewhat expensive...

I think the compressor is always running on the Fabia, but the load on it will vary depending on what it's trying to do.

Iv'e noticed alot of performance loss when using A/C on all of the car's iv'e had, especially my first Fabia MPI. Even on my new Fabia which isn't what you would call underpowered, there is a noticable lack of throttle response and performance when ECON is off, MPG has dropped on all of them between 3-8MPG when using A/C

Every TDI courtesy car Iv'e had didn't seem to care at all with regards to performance or fuel economy, must be all those torqs:D

Iv'e noticed alot of performance loss when using A/C on all of the car's iv'e had, especially my first Fabia MPI. Even on my new Fabia which isn't what you would call underpowered, there is a noticable lack of throttle response and performance when ECON is off, MPG has dropped on all of them between 3-8MPG when using A/C

Every TDI courtesy car Iv'e had didn't seem to care at all with regards to performance or fuel economy, must be all those torqs:D

Thanks perhaps i just hadn't noticed the difference earlier:O

mine doesn't seem to even work, turn it on and nothing happens don't feel any difference in temp even if i leave it on for a good few minutes

Out of interest, what made it die? I'm wanting to try to avoid all future air con problems as they tend to be somewhat expensive...

Well - From the looks of things when it was removed, was it had simply emptied out. I guess this happens over time. I had a permanent fault on the ECU of a pressure issue, which I guess was pressure actual = NIL, pressure wanted = LOTS.

A recharge is all mine really needed, but I went for the performance, weight saving option as I didn't really use it. Plus there is no resale value option thing with my car so I could do it without worrying about the effect on it's market value.

mine doesn't seem to even work, turn it on and nothing happens don't feel any difference in temp even if i leave it on for a good few minutes

Are you using it in combination with the recirculation button? If not, give that a go, it should have at least some effect then...

The 1.6 petrol Fabia I drove the other day didn't seem to notice to a/c either

I notice minor reductions in performance and MPG with the air con running. And it also makes a slightly different noise as well.

with my vrs it does not affect power but hits the mpg by about 6-7mpg - 15% ish, which I think is poo.

I also lose loads of mpg with passengers in, just me I can get 72mpg onthe way home in the sun - loaded it struggles to get 60mpg and with A/C it high 40's/low 50's.

All figs quoted are of the silly tripcomp, not real figures.

I certainly notice the aircon on mine, which is why I only use it when it's REALLY needed. The compressor is always partially running in the Fabia, just enough to move the coolant and oil around the system (preventing coolant loss from not using your aircon for months over the winter).

It's noticeable enough that I'll actually turn off the aircon if I'm about to pull off an overtake....

I think it depends on the car/ac system :confused::confused:

Not sure myself as I havent owned/driven a car with a/c to give a useful enough answer.

Cause my Dads Honda Accord 2.0 having the ac on or off didnt seem to make a noticeable dip in the fuel economy!!! it still managed 33mpg maybe slightly more. But he had the climate on all the time (only really switched it on once the car was running)

I can confirm that the a/c on my Fabia VRs affects fuel economy, particularly around town.

Can drop by 10mg at times.

It's quite sad, but I only tend to put on the air con when I'm going downhill....