frugality
Top Post Dawg
Mostly posting this for the sake of others who might search for A/C problems later.
My A/C suddenly went out just before the Memorial weekend. Took it to the dealer because I wanted something else checked out by them anyway. No pressure in the lines. They recharged it with a dyed refrigerant and it held pressure. Told me that if I had problems, they'd then be able to look for evidence of a leak.
Worked fine for about 2 months, including during the 100-degree days (thankfully!) Then it went out again 2 weekends ago. They said that there was residue on the underside of the condenser. They quoted $1015, and it came in at just under $800. $241 for the condenser, and about $500 for 5 hours of labor, plus a bit for refrigerant.
The failure mode was that it was working fine, and then failed abruptly, both times. It wasn't a case of the system just getting weaker and weaker, or that you'd have cold air at the start of your trip and then it fades off like other A/C failures I hear about elsewhere. Seems odd that if this was a slow leak, that it would fail in an 'all or nothing' mode. One day the air was cold, the next day the air was warmer than the ambient outside temperature.
Kinda sucks to have to pay this kind of money and have this kind of repair on a 2.5-year-old car. My 2000 Golf is still on its original A/C charge @ 330k+ miles, owned by r90sKirk. Only the compressor clutched pulley was changed a few years ago because it was getting tight.
Before the repair, I took a peek through the lower vents of the grille. I was surprised at how clogged the fins of the condenser were. Tons of tiny rocks and bugs. Makes me wonder if I should pull the bumper skin and install some sort of screen behind the lower grille.
I don't use the A/C much -- normally only when it gets above 85 degrees, and it's fairly mild here on the shore of Lake Michigan. I prefer to have the windows open and feel a breeze. This summer, of course, it's gotten a fair amount of use.
I'll report back to this thread if I have any additional problems....
My A/C suddenly went out just before the Memorial weekend. Took it to the dealer because I wanted something else checked out by them anyway. No pressure in the lines. They recharged it with a dyed refrigerant and it held pressure. Told me that if I had problems, they'd then be able to look for evidence of a leak.
Worked fine for about 2 months, including during the 100-degree days (thankfully!) Then it went out again 2 weekends ago. They said that there was residue on the underside of the condenser. They quoted $1015, and it came in at just under $800. $241 for the condenser, and about $500 for 5 hours of labor, plus a bit for refrigerant.
The failure mode was that it was working fine, and then failed abruptly, both times. It wasn't a case of the system just getting weaker and weaker, or that you'd have cold air at the start of your trip and then it fades off like other A/C failures I hear about elsewhere. Seems odd that if this was a slow leak, that it would fail in an 'all or nothing' mode. One day the air was cold, the next day the air was warmer than the ambient outside temperature.
Kinda sucks to have to pay this kind of money and have this kind of repair on a 2.5-year-old car. My 2000 Golf is still on its original A/C charge @ 330k+ miles, owned by r90sKirk. Only the compressor clutched pulley was changed a few years ago because it was getting tight.
Before the repair, I took a peek through the lower vents of the grille. I was surprised at how clogged the fins of the condenser were. Tons of tiny rocks and bugs. Makes me wonder if I should pull the bumper skin and install some sort of screen behind the lower grille.
I don't use the A/C much -- normally only when it gets above 85 degrees, and it's fairly mild here on the shore of Lake Michigan. I prefer to have the windows open and feel a breeze. This summer, of course, it's gotten a fair amount of use.
I'll report back to this thread if I have any additional problems....