rjh

Hi,
I've got a UK MY00 turbo. The aircon doesn't seem as effective as I remember last year (it's been ages since we've had any sun though ) Does the system have to be serviced / topped up? If it does any idea of the cost?

Thanks

Richard

dougies549

lo richard

we though the same with ours this weekend.

my 97 catalunya.we have had it for 9 months now and thought every thing was cool with the ac as well.till friday night went for the shopping and over to parents,total of 40 driving with a break in between,the air con never did its job,had to open the windows.
went into the dealers at the weekend and they recon it just needs re-charged.you are suppose to use it at least 20 minutes a month or more so as not to need to re-charge it.

dougie+diana

Big Den

Hmmnn! This is interesting. I to have a MY97 Catalunya and I'm pretty sure the aircon isn't working. Have checked the fuse and it's okay. Due to put car in for a service and will ask dealer to check it out. Only had the car six months & don't believe it has worked since I got the car.

There was a thread running last week on aircon not working.

Den

WREXY

Hi there,
I thought they only needed a recharge if they were leaking gas and that you had to run them every so often to keep the bearings lubed. I could be wrong though and correct me if I'm wrong. I had my airco on the other day and now that you mentioned it I think mine felt a little warmer than it did last year. Thought it was my imagination, better check tomorrow. Oh its a MY00 Turbo UK. Surely a new car wouldn't be leaking, would it???

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

Richard,

When was the last time you used it??

I used mine over the weekend, and I got goosebumps in my MY99!!

That said I use mine at least once a week. Even in winter, when it heats up quicker and the dehumidifing (sp) effect is good at clearing the front windscreen!

Andy

Boost II

iTrader: (1)

In my MY00, the aircon came with its own service manual to be stamped be an approved service centre. Can't remember the intervals but it was as though it had its own warranty to keep in tact outside of the rest of the car and Subaru. Must admit the book got chucked in the glove box on day one never to be removed yet - the a/c is working well though after much use this weekend.

Gordon Shek

Funny you should bring this thread up. Dougie - as you know - the weather up in Scotland has been splitting trees lately and I had tried to use the a/c. But it was just like blowing warm air through it. It was set at it's coldest but i just felt it wasn't doing it's job.

I just had the car serviced by S&S in Ayr and they charged me £110 for a 30 month service. In the statement it says that they dis-assembled the brakes and rebuilt them (probably just to check them). But does squealing brakes come standard? I'm not very happy about the service I got against the amount charged so I think I'll be paying them a visit very soon.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

You will probably find that you will need to re-gas your aircon system every 2 years, even if there doesnt seem to be any loss, it clears out any water and nasty things in there. As for not feeling as cold... you have to think how aircon works, it uses the moisture in the air to cool down, no moisture then it wont feel as cold but will still be working and you should still run the system over the cold months of the year (thats about 10 of them!) even if its on hot, its for the pump not for anything else!

Tony

DeerHunter

Posted same topic on sat, my my97 is 8wks old to me, air con not working, it is probably the gas unless it's damaged as mine spins if i bridge it direct to the battery. Going to ruturn under warranty!! lets see if the managers smiles like this: or whether they charge me and i will be like this:

rjh

Hi,
I run mine through the winter months - not religously 10 minutes every 2 weeks but at least once a month, probably more.

The air coming out is still much colder than the outside air, it's just last year it used to turn the air vents to ice!

Is there any way to check if it needs topping up or do they have to recharge it anyway? How much is it for a recharge - mines a Dutch car so it's out of warranty now.

Richard.

BryanC

I use my aircon very regularly, whatever the weather - mainly cos I find it's the dog's danglys for demisting the windows...

SteveB

iTrader: (1)

My air con was recharged last July. Normally, this gets the car colder than a cold thing when only on no.1 on the fan. Noticed on Saturday that the car wasn't getting very cool + I keep hearing noises like water/air rushing through pipes ??
I'll try again soon, if it's still the same then i'll take it back to the dealers.

Steve.

WREXY

Hi Andy,
I run it every couple of weeks for 2 or 3 minutes, but have been running it on warm during winter. Maybe wrong procedure on warm, is it?

WREXY.

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

Wrexy,

I've been using mine on hot for winter, cold for the few hot days we get here, and warmish during the other times!

I only use it all the time in the summer, and for defrosting the car in winter, but the rest of the time I run it up for about 10-15 minutes every fortnight or so.

Hope this helps
Andy

WREXY

Thanks, Andy,

Reading this topic got me a bit paranoid so I'll concentrate on it tomorrow.

Regards,
WREXY.

HunterB

I have automatic climate control on my Legacy RS so the A/C on whenever the system decides it needs it (although I can over-ride this). Generally, though, it's on in the winter time as well as it helps demist the interior glass. I had the system re-gassed at the last service for £65 but the charge for a UK car would have been £40. This is because the Japanese system has double the capacity of the UK system because it's designed to cope with more constantly hot weather. It can now get VERY cold inside the car

Brian

rjh

Ok - It's probably going to put an end to the good weather but I'm going to get mine recharged. Can anyone reccomend an aircon supplier around Coventry?

Richard

HunterB

Richard,

Your local Subaru dealer should be able to do it for you.

Brian

GavinP

Personally, I would take it to an air con specialist.

I have my air con serviced last year by

carl

Maybe we're expecting too much. My MY00's aircon seems less effective than I remember -- surely all of us MY00 owners can't have been leaking all the gas out over the winter. Have they put crap gas in? FWIW it's not Freon they use any more, some 'ecologically friendly' alternative which isn't as efficient.

PeterPerfect

My UK MY99 air con pump does not run when the outside temperature is below freezing.
Real pain when I want to demist

Is this normal ?

BHORT

There are 2 cooling fans on cars with A/C, does one serve just the condensor and the other the radiator or should they both come on together?

Brendan

Lewegie

Brendan
I checked this over the weekend and both my fans came on together.

banshi

I've spoken to two dealerships, they not surprisingly contract out a/c work. So unless it's warranty work may as well go direct. Thanks for the link Gav.

Carl, don't know, but our Toyota which was passed on to a member of the family ran for over five years without a problem!

WREXY

Hi All,

Hot one in Greece today, had the Aircon working and I froze. It was my imagination as it's working fine.

Cheers,
WREXY.

carl

Tried it again after it had rained all day (plenty of moisture in the air). Still not as good as it used to be -- ISTR last summer having to either click the A/C button on and off every 10 mins or so or having to put the dial up a few notches to stop myself shivering.

I think I'll go and have it recharged.

dragndrop

My 98my was in for a 37500 service last week and I asked them to check the air con as it wasn't working. They recommended a recharge of gas - my mate did it for me as he has the kit(and the right gas)- icy cold now but can feel it zapping the power when it is running.

Drag

ricardo

Mine wasn't as cold as I remember, in fact it wasn't chilling the air at all (MY98).

I took it into Mill Lane this morning, and they diagnosed that the condensor was leaking in three places, (using some sort of leak detection tracer that shows up in UV light). Any A/C fluid in there was presumably long gone.

No particular cause for the leaks was found, other than corrosion, stone damage or 'a manufacturing defect'.

A new condensor under warranty will be forthcoming, so just recharging it would have been a waste of money in my case.

lokokkee

The easiest way to tell whether the aircon needs a recharge is to look at the view glass on top of the receiver/dryer. Normal gas level will show up as a clear stream of liquid. Low gas level will show up as bubbles/froth in the stream, the more frothy it is, the lower the level.

Coolair UK Limited

As one of the Country's largest independent air conditioning specialists, Coolair UK Limited are contracted to International Motors to install air conditioning systems into Subaru and Isuzu vehicles.
Your vehicle's air conditioning system should be operated for at least ten mintues each week to lubricate the system, thus avoiding unnecessary repairs; and the inconvenience of being unable to use your vehicle.
We recommend that if you have any query about the systems operation you should, in the first instance, contact your local dealer for further assistance and if necessary, one of our fully trained and experienced engineers will attend their premises to complete repair work.
Coolair have launched an innovative vehicle air conditioning service that guarantees the entire air conditioning system against failure for up to five years, including stone damage to vulnerable condensers.
Unlike the majority of maintenance agreements, this service scheme does not include any element of pre-payment and is service related. Our aim is to keep matters simple and subject to services being completed on time, the guarantee will be extended automatically for a further 12 months, to a maximum of 5 years from the first registration or air conditioning installation.
The programme has been designed to ensure:
* The air conditioning operates at full efficiency
* Peace of mind & security for the owner at the time of resale or used car purchase.
* A fixed cost of ownership for up to 5 years.
If you would like further information about the service scheme, or advice regarding your vehicle's air conditioning system, please do not hesitate to contact our offices direct at sales@coolairuk.ltd.uk