I have a Y plate Octavis VRS and in this current hot weather it won't get cold. It is like driving in a sauna. I set it to low and auto but it just seems to blow hot air. anything I can do or is it something for a dealer to deal with

I have a Y plate Octavis VRS and in this current hot weather it won't get cold. It is like driving in a sauna. I set it to low and auto but it just seems to blow hot air. anything I can do or is it something for a dealer to deal with

Hi Seddo

I certainly would not take it to a main dealer, but there is pleanty of place that will do the job.

It is most likely to be gas loss, but could be a number of things, Compressor leak(again gas) or sensors.

I think you need to take it to a Air conditioniong place, and get them to check for gas/leaks

Radiotwo

Take it to kwik fit to get a regas like i did, they measure the output temp before and after and you wont pay if theres not a big difference (cant remember what)

I took mine in as I has the same issue and after regassing they said the temp only dropped by 1C so i payed nothing, when i left i pressed a few buttons on the climate and i got nice cold air and has been fine since!

The give you a printout telling you the amount of gas and oil in there before they top it up, mine had low gas and zero oil!

I had exactly the same (its -10C btw), and had visions of new compressor etc. and £500+ dribbling down the drain

5 miles later it all started working, and in todays heat it's been luvverly.

It has been suggested to me by a mechanic neighbour that as the gas also contains lubricating oil, it is possible that as all had leaked out the compressor seals may have dried out and shrunk, and after a few miles of absorbing the oil resealed and began punping again. I have no idea if that is complete barlox, but it sounded plausible.

Their checks aren't thorough, as has been pointed elsewhere, but if it works it's £45, if it doesn't it's FREE.

Got to be worth a punt before spending out elsewhere.

That's good to know, I knew they fixed A/C, but wasnt aware of the no fix no pay thingy.. You sure its only £45 if they do fix it though??

The £45 will be for a the refill of gas (and safe removal of any old gas, etc). If you require any new parts (such as an aircon pump, new clutch, etc), they you will have to pay for that.

It was £45 two weeks ago.

IIRC they only extract and weigh / dipose of the old gas & oil and refill with new. Any further work required is beyond their skills / equipment and needs to be taken to a specialist.

Still, as I said, if it doesn't cure it you pay nothing, and at least it points you towards having it "professionally" investigated and fixed. If it works £45 is a pretty fair price. The average cost of regassing seemed to be between £65 and £90 locally.

I certainly would not take it to a main dealer

Oh yeah, we only have the correct equipment for diagnosing air con problems not to mention a little product know how on things like evap temp sensors that pack up cutting out the AC. I'm sure Norbert down Kwik Fit knows all about them and how to put way to much oil in the a/c system buggering the compressor like the one I did last week...lol.

Thanks for all your advice. The Kwik Fit near me was fixing Air Con for £25 the other month. I will try and barter with them. Thanks

Just make sure they dont make matters worse. It boils down to they have bee shown how to use a machine provided by the group as they are trying to tap into a money making market during summer months. They have probbaly been given a demo by a Sun technician on how the machine works so they may not understand how the car works.

Stuck flap motor, can be reset with a VAG COM. I had this.