I've been the owner of a 2021 Scala for almost a year and a half by now, 45000km on the clock. I thought I would post this here to see if anyone have experienced something similar or have a hunch what could be the problem.

During a couple of seemingly random days in the last 5 months, the AC has just not produced any cold air at all. The display for the air con or the main infotainment doesnt show anything unusual. When the issue have occured, toggling the AC off and on again, or even restarting the car, wont help. Neither has trying to fiddle with any other related settings. Its usually not until the next day when I start the car that the AC is up and running again.

Other than those specific days, the cooling performance is very good.

Some additional info:

• I did an error code scan with an OBD2 device, but couldnt find anything.

• A couple of months throughout last winter, the AC was completely turned off (AC not really needed in Sweden during that time). I have since learned that you should "excercise" the AC and not keep it off during longer periods.

• I did the air con flap calibration twice, seemingly without effect.

• One warm day last week, soon after starting the car, I noticed that there were a couple of drops in cooling performance. After a minute or two, they disappeared and the AC stayed cool. During these drops, I think I could hear a faint change in noise tone from somewhere in front of the center console.

• I have a feeling that the issue is slowly increasing in frequency, but it's not very obvious.

I have read about coolant leaks, but would that really explain the behaviour? Wouldn't that make the AC loose cooling performance more evenly over a period of time?
Also, the coolant shouldnt really need to be refilled already, right? Unless there is in fact a leak, of course.

Is there anything I could investigate myself, without any special equipment, to help me understand what it could be?

Glad for any input someone could have on this matter!

The first thing I would do is get the AC checked to make sure there is enough refrigerant in the system. Modern AC refrigerants should have a UV dye in them so it's easy for a garage to check for leaks with a UV light source. Also in order to refill the system the garage needs to put it under vacuum, if they can't pull a vacuum then there is a leak.

A "visual check" will be a waste of money, better to ask for a check and re-gas.

On 04/09/2025 at 10:05, Aldfort said:

The first thing I would do is get the AC checked to make sure there is enough refrigerant in the system. Modern AC refrigerants should have a UV dye in them so it's easy for a garage to check for leaks with a UV light source. Also in order to refill the system the garage needs to put it under vacuum, if they can't pull a vacuum then there is a leak.

A "visual check" will be a waste of money, better to ask for a check and re-gas.

Thanks for your input. I've read about the process of searching for leaks but didnt know that the most coolants already have UV dye in them. How do I know if the coolant in my car has it?

1 hour ago, Vidde said:

Thanks for your input. I've read about the process of searching for leaks but didnt know that the most coolants already have UV dye in them. How do I know if the coolant in my car has it?

You don't but it's worth a look around the AC pipes with a UV light source. Generally the dye is green. A little green dye on the filling valve will be a clue. When you have it re-gassed then ask if they put dye in the refrigerant, if they say no then ask why not or find somebody who does, this is just basic maintenance stuff that a good garage would do.

Sounds very similar to the problem i had earlier this year and that was down to low coolant levels. Had the system regassed and some leak sealant added and everything seems to have been OK since