I've just noticed that my air con is not working. The problem is that it does produce any cool air despite any evidence of mechanical faults. I am presuming that the coolant gas has somehow leaked out since when I removed one of the two caps (in the air con piping system) and pressed the valve pin, there was a faint hiss of gas and then nothing. I would expect that recharging the gas will sort it but I feel that since the car's only 2.5 years old, why should I pay to have this fixed? I paid £1500 for the air con in the first place.

The car was in to have a piston replaced (piston slap) about 2 months ago. Would they have had to drain the coolant gas then and did not recharge it?

D.

 

Have you been running the air con regularly? If not the seals can dry out and leak, air con should be used at least once a month, and I use mine at ;east once a week, if only to help demist the windows.

Worth following up the repair work angle though.

 

Paul thanks for the guidance, no one has looked at it cos I'm keen to get an indicative price first

I have a peer under the bonnet, where is the air con rad located suppose it'll be ovious when I look but never took much notice to date.
B

 

Same probs Paul but have been running the air con regularly cos I know the the seals can dry deteriorate.

Current response from the dealer/s: if the compressors damaged or unit needs regassing it's down to me, if it's a fault then it's a covered by warranty?

So, if a seal fails who pays

No indicative cost either other than "a call out charge for the engineer", OK how much?
"Well that depends on how long it takes"

Perhaps it costs more if he travels from lands end

 

could be worth going direct to an aircon specialist, no call out charge then. And its not as if the air con work will be carried out by Subaru trained guys. If you end up having to pay anyway, there is no sense in having them take their cut as well.

Try asking the service manager who they use, that way if it is a warrenty fix, the aircon chappie may not charge you , as he can charge Subaru for the diagnostics. Lots of problems can be from stones into the air con rad, air con chap will just inject a UV dye into the stytem and then a bit of inert gas to pressure the system (I think they use inert gas , the fluids expensive) and look for where the dye comes out.

Has the dealer had a look at it yet As there are a couple of obvious things it could be, blown fuse, jammed air con fan (if the system stops aorking after a few minutes when stopped) and a failure of the clutch on the air con drive to engage.

 

It's in a really sensible place. Look in the gap under the front bumper and you will see it a/c condensor. Not very well protected from stones, is it.....

I know this as I have a hole in mine, and they can't usually be repaired. Subaru want loads to replace it (can't remember, but about £600 so I remember) a local specialist will charge about £300.

 

My air con doesn't seem too hot (if you know what I mean) either. I had it re-gassed last summer after it had stopped working completely - ie. the pump didn't even start when switched on. Now though, the pump does start up and I can hear a hissing noise through the vents but the air doesn't seem very cold - hard to tell if it's any cooler than the air outside at the moment. How often do air con units in Imprezas need re-gassing?

 

Thanks Clarkey

£600 I'll have to revert to trucker mode and travel topless

 

Why did you release the dust cap and press the valve??????Was it because you were nosy. Or was it because the air con had stopped working? On the passenger side of the engine bay you will see a metal canister that the air con coolant pipes attach to, there is a sight glass at the top, you should be able to see the coolant circulating when the air con is on, if you see bubbles or nothig at all the refrigerant is gone.

 

The air con failed on one of my old company cars a few years back, a local specialist charged me £70 plus vat to re-gas it,this was done as test to see were the problem was. If it fixed the problem then it would have been a cheap fix. The problem turned out to be a hole in the condesor. They fitted an after market unit that had a better and stronger design. The whole bill came to about £400.