Useless aircon

[Sanders83]

Hi all,

Tried using my air con today and quite frankly the air coming out isn't very cold. Switching it on and off with the blower running doesn't actually make a noticable difference. The car is two years old now but is air con on VW's normally that useless after just 2 years or does it sound like I have a fault?

My last car I had for 4 years and it was never recharged and always worked fine.

Cheers guys

Gaz

[wigit]

i had a leak on mine so was fixed and regassed under warranty

[etotheip]

Mine today was awesome

[Sanders83]

Lol! I bet it was. I'd just got out of the gym too and was very hot. Typical. I'm going to get it booked in to check for leaks.

Thanks

[ZephyR]

Think there is a recommended aircon service at 2 years. I didn't bother on mine but I thought the aircon was struggling a bit today. First real hot day this year.

[Ryy]

Thankfully mine was fine too. I vary rarely use mine at all.

I read somewhere it's recommended that once you put it on to leave it on for at least 5 mins so it can actually circulate and not condense up and all that malarkey.

Likewise, it's normal for your car to have a pee sometimes if the air-con has been on.

[gibbsy]

26 degree here today. Air con worked perfectly.

[kenti]

Must be something wrong with yours, 32C here today and it works like a charm after 1,5 years. Take it to the dealers!

[gogzy01]

I turned my air con on yesterday and it was making a loud whining noise and not very cold.

Booked in for next week to get it checked out. Sounds like a leak though.

[Sanders83]

Mine had been making whining noise periodically for a while but nothing that really raised the alarm. Booked in for Friday.

[carlpea]

I leave mine on all the time as it really helps with keeping the windscreen clear.

[Sanders83]

All sorted. It had just run out of gas. No leaks. Ice cold now. Will make a point thought of leaving it running for 5 mins at least cos often in winter when window mists up I just flick on and off again.

[Cuprabob]

I'm sure mine is not working either so have booked it in for Tuesday to be checked. I just leave it selected all the time to prevent the seals drying out. This is the first VW that I've had any issue with the aircon. We'll see what it is

[skyblues11]

Nothing is as cold as a Dubai taxi!

if gassing is needed, then how soon does the car need topping up? is there a schedule period where one should top it up? It seems the gas leaks even if you don;t use the a/c regularly.

[ZephyR]

As I understand it you should use your aircon at least once a week, even in winter. Otherwise gaskets and seals in the system can dry out - leading then to leaks and an inefficient system.
Also Ryy's advice about leaving it running for at least 5 minutes makes good sense.

@carlpea - can't help thinking that leaving it on all the time is going to have an adverse affected on your MPG.

@Sanders83 - all well and good but why did it run out of gas? Is there a leak which will lead to it running out again prematurely?

[carlpea]

As I understand it you should use your aircon at least once a week, even in winter. Otherwise gaskets and seals in the system can dry out - leading then to leaks and an inefficient system.
Also Ryy's advice about leaving it running for at least 5 minutes makes good sense.

@carlpea - can't help thinking that leaving it on all the time is going to have an adverse affected on your MPG.

@Sanders83 - all well and good but why did it run out of gas? Is there a leak which will lead to it running out again prematurely?

Doesn't bother me to be honest; I used to own a Clio 200 so the Scirocco is bliss in comparison!

[Sanders83]

They put some UV dye in the system and did a full scan for leaks but found nothing. There was 650 grams of coolant in the system and it should hold 850. It seems that when it gets below 80% coolant the compressor can't run the system. They asked me to pop the car back in a few weeks so they can run another scan but it's due for a service in a month so I've told them to look at it then.

Somehow I think the more often you use it the less it leaks cos the lubricant should cover the inside of the tubing and prevent it seeping out? Maybe I've been too economy conscious over the past 6 months. It will get used plenty over the next month though. Haven't turned it off yet.