I'm getting mine serviced tomorrow by an old workmate of mine who now runs his own garage, and has one of these all singing and dancing machines and does quite a lot of A/C work.

It works, but I'm convinced it's not as good as it was. It's probably low on gas, and my mate reckons they should be serviced every three or four years anyway. My car is five years old, and therefore probably never been done from new.

Has anyone had theirs done, and was it any better afterwards?.....

yes i had mine done last summer (you know, those 3 days of sunshine we had) cos i was convinced it wasn't as cold as it should be. the nice man who did it said it was low on gas so re-charged it and what a difference! so yeah get it done although i'd recommend you get your mate to do a leak test first though i'm sure he knows what he is doing!

It maybe worth getting the system 'Vacuumed Out' and many of the fancy machines do this. This means that there is no air in the system - only refridgerant and a small amount of compressor oil.

yes i had mine done last summer (you know, those 3 days of sunshine we had) cos i was convinced it wasn't as cold as it should be. the nice man who did it said it was low on gas so re-charged it and what a difference! so yeah get it done although i'd recommend you get your mate to do a leak test first though i'm sure he knows what he is doing!

The machine first draws the gas from the system, and then vacuums it to remove any moisture and to test for any leaks, but in reality if there were any leaks the compressor would pump all the gas out and the system would not work at all.

To recharge the system firstly a lubricant goes in, followed by a dye which is sensitive to ultra violet light, and then the R134a refrigerant in the correct quantity. Also an anti-bacterial is used to clean and de-fume the heater ducts.

The job usually takes about 45 minutes........

The job was done this morning and it would seem it had been working better than I thought. The system takes 750g of R134a refrigerant and 705g was evacuated, and so the pressure was slightly lower than it should be. It is possible that the previous owner or someone had topped up the system using a canister, but I'll never know how much air was in the system.

Anyway it's done now and so should be OK for a few years.......

Average loss is about 50g a year iirc.

So it doesn't look like your doing too bad there. Mine was down too about 450-500g after 5 years iirc

I've got a multi-meter with a temperature facility on it. It was 8°C outside and I placed the probe in one of the centre air vents. I set the climate control to 'ECON', and the fan speed to medium. The meter displayed 7.9°C - 8.1°C once it had settled down. I then turned the A/C on by pressing the 'ECON' button off and the display went down to 1.8°C. It returned to where it was when I switched it back to ECON.

I can therefore assume it's now working properly.......

Had my car done earlier this year, made a difference, though air con on my Skoda isn't as good as my old Seat Cordoba, which when done last year went from cold to bloody freezing !

Approx price of getting the air con sys recharged after not having it done for 3 years?

Typical price £65+VAT for a full A/C service........

Approx price of getting the air con sys recharged after not having it done for 3 years?

A simple please would be nice.

The job was done this morning and it would seem it had been working better than I thought. The system takes 750g of R134a refrigerant and 705g was evacuated, and so the pressure was slightly lower than it should be. It is possible that the previous owner or someone had topped up the system using a canister, but I'll never know how much air was in the system.

Anyway it's done now and so should be OK for a few years.......

Any chance of posting your mates Business Name and Address?

My A/C is definitely less cold than it was - although still working.

I'm not taking it to kwik-fit so would appreciate contact details of someone whose been recommended.

Any chance of posting your mates Business Name and Address?

My A/C is definitely less cold than it was - although still working.

I'm not taking it to kwik-fit so would appreciate contact details of someone whose been recommended.

He's in Southampton. If that's any good to you let me know, and I'll PM you his business details......