If there was no gas in it at all, it is leaking. It doesn't just disappear. Hold on to your receipt, you may need it in a week.

 

My condenser had holes in it and when it was refilled they put dye in to see where its leaking from. Worked fine for about a week, then when I took it back they found where it was leaking and replaced it.

If its empty, its had a leak, if its under 3 years old and not an import, its under warranty. Might be worth speaking to the seller and ask if they will cover the cost of the regas, they should. Or just send them the bill. I would also check the small print of the used warranty to find out if your covered or not.

Hate to be the bearer of bad new ScottishCammy but I've had exactly the same problem from September, and I'm back to square one. I bought my 2010 Octy vRS in Feb last year. Tested the air con etc etc worked a treat. Come September whilst away in Durham I noticed that the cool air wasn't as it should. Quick phone call to WestEnd and spoke to the lovely Wendy, who confirmed that it shouldn't of lost it's refrigeration fluid but that's not to say it hasn't used it and would be best to pop in.

 

Anyway I took the alternative and called Brain at FreezeBreeze who is mobile, and he pressure confirmed the same that it shouldn't have leaked out. He proceeded to test the air con system using Nitrogen first, check around seals, the condenser (sits in front of the rad) pressure sensor seals and the system held it contents. 

 

So with this he went a head and re-gased it. Today whilst driving home from Edinburgh appreciating the beautiful weather, I thought "hmm could do with chilling down" and hee haw came out. Got home and checked the system and not a single drop left. 

 

I'm left with the conclusion that the air con pump is at fault for the leak, and is only apparent when the engine is running and the auxiliary belt is rotating. I'm going to call WestEnd on monday and hopefully get the car in, and get it fixed FOC or reduced since I reported the fault whilst under warranty.

I seem to recall people having problems with the filling valve leaking.

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I'm not entirely sure to be fair. Just hope skoda are decent about it

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This sounds very much like the problem I have. I brought my car in Oct 2012 with a 6 month warranty but I THOUGHT the air con worked. Only after the warranty ran out I relizised something was wrong. Last year I got Skoda Ashford to do a recharge and they found gas was low but there was enough to make it work they then did a full check of the system and the answer is "the pump doesn't work" I asked to define "pump doesn't work" and they said there's gas in the system and power to the compressor and no leaks. So I asked for a quote for a new pump and it came to around £700 with a two year warranty.they also say as the system is not leaking the drier is ok. I have found new pumps online for around £220 and recon pumps for about £180 and skoda will fir it for about £90. I will probably go down this route as skoda are way over priced for these items which they know are a common fault ( the solenoid which controls flow in the pump gives up at around 2-3 years). The only problem will be when the pump is fitted if skoda have got the diagnosis wrong I will be stuck with a pump which I cannot return.

My car was in at West End garage today and to say I'm delighted with the news and service falls short.

As per the service team were great and turns out that my air con condenser has corrosion on it. As it stands they've submitted a warranty claim even though mines ran out in November, and currently awaiting news from Skoda Uk, but in the meantime I got the car back and didn't have to pay the £80 charge to investigate ad originally quoted

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Resurrection time! Well, the regass from kwik fit has now went, it's not cold anymore, and makes a whooshing noise behind the grill when it's on. Took it to Arnold Clark Skoda in Edinburgh today. The boy said it's lost a quarter of its coolant. They're sending away for the dye to put in it to see where the leaks coming from, so will phone by the end of the week to book back in again. Good news is the boy said it's all under warranty and any repair will be covered by warranty too. Thank goodness. Wonder what's actually wrong with it...

Hmmmmmm......

 

Never heard back from Skoda Arnold Clark Seafield Edinburgh. Phoned them asking what was happening with this dye they were ordering. The guy said it was in and to bring my car in on Tuesday (26th Aug). He said it would probably take all day.

 

So, I took it in, and it was a different guy at the desk;

 

Bloke 1 "Hi, it'll be done in about an hour"

 

Me: "I thought it was going to take all day?"

 

Bloke  1: "Nah, a regas only takes about an hour"

 

Me: "It's not in for a regas, it's leaking and you're supposed to be putting a dye through it, seeing where the leak is and repairing it"

 

Bloke 1: "(Hurridly reads job sheet) Yes, yes, I just mean the regas itself only takes an hour. I'll phone you when it's done"

 

I wondered off rather unimpressed (and concerned thinking, please don't let this become a pain in the arse).

 

A few hours later the guys who had originally dealt with me (bloke 2) phones:

 

Bloke 2: "Hi, that's it regassed, ready for pick up"

 

Me: "Right, so you've repaired it?"

 

Bloke 2: "(Quiet for a bit) Well, the engineer couldn't find any leaks, so that's it ready for pick up"

 

Me: "I'm not happy with this, I'll be there shortly"

 

So I trot along, and have a rather strange conversation with bloke 1. I explained, or rather reminded him again, that it had been regassed in April and when I had brought it in the week before the mechanic had said it had lost a quarter of the gas.

I went on to put my point across that it wasn't 'fixed' and would just lose the gas again and I'd be left with a non-working aircon.

 

The bloke literally stood staring at the sheet for minutes saying nothing before reiterating "The engineer couldn't find a leak"

 

At this point, Bloke 1 reappeared with most of his lunch over his shirt and tie and hovered around.

 

I had the same discussion with the other bloke, whereupon bloke 1 interrupts, "Ah, but it's working now"

 

Exasperated, I went over the whole thing for the umpteenth time, explaining it was leaking.

 

The guy just shrugged his shoulders. Arrrrgggghhhh!!!

 

I asked them to give me a plan of what they were going to do.

 

Bloke 1 said "Bring it back in 2 weeks and we'll have a look for the leak again"

 

I asked what would happend if they couldn't find it again. Another shrug of the shoulders..."Well we'll have to reassess the situation then".

 

Hmmmm, oh yeah, my warranty runs out in Dec.....

 

 

 

 

Guys, sorry for the rant, but I'm ****ed of with these clowns, does anyone have any ideas / prior experience of the best way to deal with this to resolve a satisfactory outcome (i.e. my aircon bloody fixed under warranty!).

 

One good thing was I recorded our conversation on my mobile, so if it comes to a war of attrition with skoda over these guys and the deny having said certain things (like them admitting the aircon shouldn't lose a quarter of it's has in 4 months and it must, by definition, be faulty/broken) at least I'll have a record of it.

 

Thanks chaps.

Get in contact with Skoda UK and make a complaint

SUK were useless when i complained about how long it took replace my air con compressor - car booked in last week Friday, got it back 5.30pm yesterday!!

Decided not to go with Arnold Clark Skoda at Seafiled, Edinburgh given how I've found them so far.

 

Booked car into the West End Garage, Sighthill, Edinburgh to start looking at the AC from scratch again. Thought I'd be better off with a main Skoda garage.

 

Anyone had experience of the west end garage?

Decided not to go with Arnold Clark Skoda at Seafiled, Edinburgh given how I've found them so far.

 

Booked car into the West End Garage, Sighthill, Edinburgh to start looking at the AC from scratch again. Thought I'd be better off with a main Skoda garage.

 

Anyone had experience of the west end garage?

 

 

You'll never find a more helpful and outstanding for customer service in any other Skoda or manufacturer than West End Garage.... In my opinion. Anytime I've been in they couldn't be any better if they tried. 

 

If you've read my original post you'll see what I mean. Shortened version of my tail was my condenser corroded and leaked and even though the car had ran out of warranty in November last year, SUK honoured a 100% coverage of the repair cost and West End took only a day to fix it. 

Well, looks lie you were spot on matey.

 

Spoke to Davie at the servicing dept. Very friendly (and not in an incredibly insincere car dealer kind of way).

He had a pile of crib sheets, but knew exactly what the history of my car was and the fault.

 

Now, bearing in mind Arnold Shark were giving it "We can't find a leak, there doesn't seem to be any problem we can find". They also looked twice, and couldn't find anything, and, latterly, I specifically mentioned "could it be the condenser" which drew a blank look and a repeat of, "We can't find any leaks".

 

So, later same day (after dropping my car off at the West End Garage this morning) Davie phones and says, "Hi Mr Tait, it's the condenser. I've got the part here so the guys will replace it today for you, obviously free of charge under your warranty. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Even phoned twice just to let me know how things were going.

 

Now, I'm picking the car up tomorrow, as they're also doing the wheel alignment for me using the hunter system, so I'll report back when I pick it up as to exactly how everything is, but, up til now, that's what I call a first class service.

 

Thing is, (as long as everything is ok tomorrow), I'll keep on using that garage, and probably buy my next car from them. Happy chappy.

 

So, folks, if you're looking for a recommendation in the Lothians, that's mine!

Oh, meant to ask, he said they were doing an overall check which they do as part of any work they do (hence the wheel alignment needing done, and a couple of wee other things), he did show me a sheet of what they check, but I was still half asleep! Does anyone know what they actually check, or a link to the sheet with the checks so I can have a squiz in detail?

 

Thanks.

Well, looks lie you were spot on matey.

 

Spoke to Davie at the servicing dept. Very friendly (and not in an incredibly insincere car dealer kind of way).

He had a pile of crib sheets, but knew exactly what the history of my car was and the fault.

 

Now, bearing in mind Arnold Shark were giving it "We can't find a leak, there doesn't seem to be any problem we can find". They also looked twice, and couldn't find anything, and, latterly, I specifically mentioned "could it be the condenser" which drew a blank look and a repeat of, "We can't find any leaks".

 

So, later same day (after dropping my car off at the West End Garage this morning) Davie phones and says, "Hi Mr Tait, it's the condenser. I've got the part here so the guys will replace it today for you, obviously free of charge under your warranty. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Even phoned twice just to let me know how things were going.

 

Now, I'm picking the car up tomorrow, as they're also doing the wheel alignment for me using the hunter system, so I'll report back when I pick it up as to exactly how everything is, but, up til now, that's what I call a first class service.

 

Thing is, (as long as everything is ok tomorrow), I'll keep on using that garage, and probably buy my next car from them. Happy chappy.

 

So, folks, if you're looking for a recommendation in the Lothians, that's mine!

 

 

I'm genuinely glad I was able to help in some way. Your experience is exactly why I despise the likes of Arnold Shark (and many others) and as I am a slightly odd addition to the automotive enthusiast were I take huge interest in the business side of the industry, I feel that Arnold Clark despite their wealth shouldn't be allow to acquire such franchises like Skoda as they are notoriously known for poor customer service, to the point they are robbing every person who comes through their doors. 

Wendy, John and Davie are what every main dealer need in the form of a service team as they are brilliant!

Aye any time your car is in the workshop they carry out a full inspection from the brakes to the body. You'll get a sheet when you collect your car with everything they have checked and what condition they've rated it. In all truth they are like any garage in that sense they're looking for money to be made on repairs but that's the nature of the business.