Evening all hope everyone is well.

 

 

My Octy VRS is a first car with air con and there's no indication in it's 4 years (had it myself short of 1 year) of history that the air con system has been serviced in any way. Don't get me wrong, currently it seems to be running fine and there's no funky smells or any evidence to suggest it's problematic. However, I've noticed the subject gets quite a shout on here and I feel a bit of a n00b in this department. I'd therefore appreciate it if anyone would be willing to provide me with some advice. 

 

Should I consider getting it serviced just to ensure that it's well maintained? Also, I read somewhere on here that you should only really be charged for a service if they actually make it colder? Is that correct or have I got it wrong?

 

 

A local garage near to me was offering a while back for a full aircon/re gas service. If it still stands, should I get booked in?

 

 

One more thing (as Columbo says ha ha), although it's winter, should I still run my air con quite regular to keep the system in good nick?

 

 

Thanks.

Edited 18 November, 201510 yr by LordRaiden84

There is very little to service on a sealed A/C system. If it is blowing ice cold then all is well i.e. there is plenty of gas in the system.

 

Also the A/C system is run at all times on the MkII Octavia so unless you drive everywhere in Econ mode (A/C off) then my advice would be to 'set and forget'.

Thanks Silver. Ok, so that being said regards sealed system, basically leave as is and just use the A/C when I feel like it and only get it checked if it loses pressure

I reckon so yeah, do you leave the system on 'Auto' and just adjust the temperature?

 

If so then the A/C is on all of the time so it'll be getting plenty of exercise.

 

I had the A/C service done at my local Skoda dealer a few years back as it was making a strange gurgling noise. It made no difference and I was £75 lighter.

In a word yes. Every now and then (say once every few weeks) I'll blast the A/C on it's coldest for 5 mins or so then immediately turn it to hottest for a further 5 mins or thereabouts. My thinking is that it helps to kill any potential bacteria?

 

Having said that, I'm not so keen on doing that now as I'd be driving in an ice box if I decided to whack it out at it's coldest temp

 

Perhaps it's a common misconception that you 'feel' obliged to have it checked/serviced because you see offers etc and it gets mentioned a lot on here. I suppose the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies. 

There is no harm in getting it checked over, if for nothing else other than piece of mind.

 

My advice would be to find a good local A/C specialist.

 

Avoid the Skoda main dealers (expensive) and the Kwik-Fit type operations (shoddy).

For now, I'll leave well alone and keep using it as I've done since ownership. Thanks for you help and I'm sure if I have any other questions in the future, you'll pop by. Thanks again mate.

Echo Silvers thoughts on the subject. As long as your AC is regularly used you shouldn't have to Regas or service it. I've never had an air con service done on any of my cars and I use it all through the year.

I've just had mine done as it had started to smell like a pond. It seems to have sorted that problem, they say they replace the gas but as others have said I'd  normally leave it unless it causes you problems.

The air-con (or climate control) is just as useful in the winter as on a hot summers day.  As it not only cools the air (if above set temperature) but it also dries (conditions) the air and hence clears 'misting up' from the windows and then keeps them clear. 

its documented that air conditioning systems loose 10% of their refridgerent naturally, and, through not being used regularey

The Ac in the Skoda is always on, even when it's off. The refrigerant lubricates the seals as well so even in ECO it circulates a little bit.

 

As I recall you're supposed to run the AC for 10min every month.

Ive not had my air con serviced since the car was new,its now 7 years old & still works perfectly & is ice cold,i have mine on "Auto" & have done in the 5 years ive owned the car,i suspect this has helped with it lasting this long with no problems,the compressor is mentioned as a weakpoint on the octavia so im leaving mine alone until it either starts to not be so cold or the compressor or another part of the aircon sytem fails,when i used to work in a main dealer we were encouraged to do a air con service every 2 years & to be honest if the system was working fine with no faults before the aircon service you couldnt tell any improvement after it was done.

While on the subject of Aircon, I'm wondering what people's opinions are, I have manual heater controls ( not climate )

You hear people all the time saying Aircon costs X amount to run, I've always switched mines off but recently noticed that if I actually leave it on my windows practically never steam up when it's raining. Is it recommended to leave the AC on and just adjust the temperature to suit?

G

The seals dry out if the AC is not used for extended periods. There is no reason to change the gas if it has no leaks which is evident by the lack of cooling. It's not really something that can be maintained only repair. If it starts to smell you can have the ventilation ducts cleaned using an air con cleaner such as http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/car-accessories/car-cleaning-accessories/car-interior-cleaners/air-con-cleaner/?549994040&0&cc5_101

Edited 19 November, 201510 yr by CWARD

While on the subject of Aircon, I'm wondering what people's opinions are, I have manual heater controls ( not climate )

You hear people all the time saying Aircon costs X amount to run, I've always switched mines off but recently noticed that if I actually leave it on my windows practically never steam up when it's raining. Is it recommended to leave the AC on and just adjust the temperature to suit?

G

As I said in an earlier post -  "The air-con (or climate control) is just as useful in the winter as on a hot summers day.  As it not only cools the air (if above set temperature) but it also dries (conditions) the air and hence clears 'misting up' from the windows and then keeps them clear. "

The condenser* failed on my MY12 F/L Octy after about 18 months. Fixed under warranty and no problem since. Echoing other posters - you can soon tell if the A/C needs attention because it stops providing cold air!

 

 

 

*The dealer told me it was an Audi part. Why am I not surprised it's the only thing to have failed?

While on the subject of Aircon, I'm wondering what people's opinions are, I have manual heater controls ( not climate )

You hear people all the time saying Aircon costs X amount to run, I've always switched mines off but recently noticed that if I actually leave it on my windows practically never steam up when it's raining. Is it recommended to leave the AC on and just adjust the temperature to suit?

G

 

What people? Older people? 

 

I never hear people my age whining about how much it costs to run the air conditioning on the car. Nor do I see many articles or car reviews where there is a section on how much more frugal the car was when they didn't have the AC on. 

 

I only ever hear about it when I suggest to my Dad that he should keep his on all the time. I can tell him tell i'm blue in the face about it but he operates a "strictly off" policy, unless it hits 30c outside. My grandad was the same ....

 

Re rain - Normally if I have the wipers on then the AC is on too. Set to a warmish temp, blowing on the windows at a low fan speed. Voila! Clear windows all round....

Edited 19 November, 201510 yr by Vegasphil

The seals dry out if the AC is not used for extended periods.

 

This definately used to be the case but on more modern systems the gas is flowing all the time, regardless of what setting it is on.

 

Therefore the issue of the seals drying up and leaking is almost a thing of the past.

The ac is duty cycled at 2%. So yeah never truly off.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

What people? Older people? 

 

I never hear people my age whining about how much it costs to run the air conditioning on the car. Nor do I see many articles or car reviews where there is a section on how much more frugal the car was when they didn't have the AC on. 

 

I only ever hear about it when I suggest to my Dad that he should keep his on all the time. I can tell him tell i'm blue in the face about it but he operates a "strictly off" policy, unless it hits 30c outside. My grandad was the same ....

 

Re rain - Normally if I have the wipers on then the AC is on too. Set to a warmish temp, blowing on the windows at a low fan speed. Voila! Clear windows all round....

 

Are you under the impression that the laws of physics have altered since your granddad's days?

 

Changing the temperature of things has an energy cost, that comes straight out of your fuel tank. (Condensing water out of air means cooling something for it to condense on, and keeping it cool despite the latent heat of condensation of the water, irrespective of the final air temp).

 

Sure, systems are probably a few percent more efficient than they were decades ago, but it ain't free energy.

 

Solution, put the AC on if/while the windows are steamy, or you're too hot;  turn it off for the rest of the time. Best of both worlds?

This definately used to be the case but on more modern systems the gas is flowing all the time, regardless of what setting it is on.

 

Therefore the issue of the seals drying up and leaking is almost a thing of the past.

 

 

What if you have basic ac with no "auto" setting? My Octy estate is the MK2 "Classic" model (aka poo model) and the ac has a simple no thrills on & off button. Do I need to manually run it every now and then? The car is nearly 10 years old and the ac is still pretty cold!

Edited 24 November, 201510 yr by Dan83

Hmm, not sure to be honest.

 

I would imagine the A/C system on all MkII Octavia's would be the same, at least under the bonnet.

 

But then like you say an on/off button is exactly that...