Air Conditioning Services?

[zebra]

Hiya, was just wondering if the air condition services offered by ford are worth the money??? There is a £39 and £89 one. My air con doesnt seem to be getting as cold.

Also can air con cause a puddle to form under the car?

Cheers x

[AntonyJ]

Hiya, was just wondering if the air condition services offered by ford are worth the money??? There is a £39 and £89 one. My air con doesnt seem to be getting as cold.

Also can air con cause a puddle to form under the car?

Cheers x

Moisture in the air condenses on the cold evaporator - the humidity the last few days has been especially high. When you park the car, the water drips off the evaporator leaving the puddle under your car. This is all normal, and shows it's working.

Over time the air con won't work as well. The gas leaks out and needs to be recharged every few years. Or there can be a more serious problem like a failed compressor clutch or corrosion. A few years back I had to replace the condensor on my previous Focus as it had corroded through (it's aluminium and sits in front of the engine radiator, so gets the worst of the road spray, etc).

The dealer services are pretty basic and only cover a simple recharge and deodorizing (a waste of time unless you've got mould problems causing a nasty smell). Look in your Yellow Pages for a local air con servicing specialist - I had a mobile one come out to my workplace.

-Antony.

[DONFRAMAC]

Moisture in the air condenses on the cold evaporator - the humidity the last few days has been especially high. When you park the car, the water drips off the evaporator leaving the puddle under your car. This is all normal, and shows it's working.

Over time the air con won't work as well. The gas leaks out and needs to be recharged every few years. Or there can be a more serious problem like a failed compressor clutch or corrosion. A few years back I had to replace the condensor on my previous Focus as it had corroded through (it's aluminium and sits in front of the engine radiator, so gets the worst of the road spray, etc).

The dealer services are pretty basic and only cover a simple recharge and deodorizing (a waste of time unless you've got mould problems causing a nasty smell). Look in your Yellow Pages for a local air con servicing specialist - I had a mobile one come out to my workplace.

-Antony.

The cheap service is just a check on the chill capability using a thermocouple, + a sanitising spray to kill the bacteria that can give you Legionnaires disease, and they clear the drip-tray ind its drain route.

If the chill is useless, the full job needs to be done, and that needs a complete drainage of the coolant/lube blend, and a pressure-test of your pipes, before fixing any leaks/perished hoses, and filling with the correct amount of blended non-freon refridgerant and hose & seal preserving lube.

Note, that you need to run the air-con for 10 mins. every month, to keep the lube working, stopping the flexible hoses and seals going porous.

My Son was quoted £99 for the recharge, on a 7-year old SEAT last month, at the Aberdeen dealership @ £73.50p + VaT/hr, for the full job, but I got £20 knocked off as we were parting with £950 for a full exhaust and suspension bushes, a spring and MoT. (But we didn't bother with the job as our Son said the A/C was working fine, so we just had a new air filter and pollen filter put in.)

Their A/C man has regular top-up training courses, probably due to the severe health risks of Legionella. (3 months on anti-biotics.)

[Bashful]

What's the thingumy that Kwik Fit offer then? They guarantee that your A/C will be a certain amount colder

[DONFRAMAC]

What's the thingumy that Kwik Fit offer then? They guarantee that your A/C will be a certain amount colder

Some outfits just top-up the liquid, without any drainage/pressure check/full recharge with the proper mix of coolant & lube. A quicky job of top-up based on poor chill performance just is a waste. The full job needs doing if the chill isn't good enough. Perished pipes and leaky seals have to be attended to, if they exist, and the blend needs to be correct. The pressure test and corrective actions, must be done, so drainage is required. Don't bother with quicky-fix-merchants, I'd sooner buy a fake Rolex watch with a good Citizen Eco-Drive movement in it. ( I wish someone made one.) (You can get a British C.W. brand watch with a top quality Swiss movement in it, complete with jewelled movement, for £200 upwards,-- Christopher Ward.)

P.S. The Kwik-Fit claim is likely to be true, but won't last a year, perhaps not even 3 months!

[Bashful]

Wasn't planning in get it, just wondered what it was. I did think the other day that my a/c wasn't very cold, however I realised a couple of days later it wasn't switched on!! :D

[zebra]

Moisture in the air condenses on the cold evaporator - the humidity the last few days has been especially high. When you park the car, the water drips off the evaporator leaving the puddle under your car. This is all normal, and shows it's working.

Over time the air con won't work as well. The gas leaks out and needs to be recharged every few years. Or there can be a more serious problem like a failed compressor clutch or corrosion. A few years back I had to replace the condensor on my previous Focus as it had corroded through (it's aluminium and sits in front of the engine radiator, so gets the worst of the road spray, etc).

The dealer services are pretty basic and only cover a simple recharge and deodorizing (a waste of time unless you've got mould problems causing a nasty smell). Look in your Yellow Pages for a local air con servicing specialist - I had a mobile one come out to my workplace.

-Antony.

Thanks for this info, well as there as been no leak since, it must have been the air con. I don't think it has ever been serviced and it doesnt seem to get as cold as it used to which is why I was thinking of it.

The cheaper service I've since read does say simply to deodurise and change a filter or something. The dearer one adds a recharge and a 'visual check of the pipes etc' and pressure tests? This is at Ford, i don't trust kwik fit and the like for anything!

Any idea how much would the mobile air con be?? Just can't afford for anything other than a service though.

Thank you :)

[AntonyJ]

The cheaper service I've since read does say simply to deodurise and change a filter or something. The dearer one adds a recharge and a 'visual check of the pipes etc' and pressure tests? This is at Ford, i don't trust kwik fit and the like for anything!

Any idea how much would the mobile air con be?? Just can't afford for anything other than a service though.

Thank you :)

I had the Platinum service at the local dealership - they recharged the system, then told me it all leaked out again as the condensor was corroded They still charged me £99 and wanted another £400 :o (I think) to replace the condensor, and then more on top of that to recharge again...

So then I contacted the local specialist(I actually found them through an eBay listing) who were great and did the job for about £200 all in. They even turned down the opportunity to charge more and replace some other parts which the dealer had said could be damaged.

I'd suggest you call a few local companies up and get quotes for a recharge (but be warned, they might find further expensive work needs doing)

[zebra]

I had the Platinum service at the local dealership - they recharged the system, then told me it all leaked out again as the condensor was corroded They still charged me £99 and wanted another £400 :o (I think) to replace the condensor, and then more on top of that to recharge again...

So then I contacted the local specialist(I actually found them through an ebay listing) who were great and did the job for about £200 all in. They even turned down the opportunity to charge more and replace some other parts which the dealer had said could be damaged.

I'd suggest you call a few local companies up and get quotes for a recharge (but be warned, they might find further expensive work needs doing)

Its the 'expensive extras' that worry me! I have an inherent mistrust of mechanics (sorry to any mechanics) for this very reason.

I thinking if it aint broke dont fix it... The car is costing me enough as it is...

[DONFRAMAC]

I had the Platinum service at the local dealership - they recharged the system, then told me it all leaked out again as the condensor was corroded They still charged me £99 and wanted another £400 :o (I think) to replace the condensor, and then more on top of that to recharge again...

So then I contacted the local specialist(I actually found them through an ebay listing) who were great and did the job for about £200 all in. They even turned down the opportunity to charge more and replace some other parts which the dealer had said could be damaged.

I'd suggest you call a few local companies up and get quotes for a recharge (but be warned, they might find further expensive work needs doing)

"AntonyJ", --- your Mk7 fiesta should still be within its 3-year warranty, and surely even FORD cannot class the A/C as "TRIM" and therefore beyond the expiry of that 12-month skimpy warranty!! ( Just HOW do Ford get away with that style of DUD grade of warranty?!!)

Your A/C should be warrantied, and I would argue that with the "Dealer-Principal" at the dealership, then go on to Ford Customer Services/CAB/Small Claims Court/Solicitor's letter.

When I bought my NEW '58 reg Zetec Climate on 30/08/58, I was NOT made aware of the Ford interpretation of "trim" items having only 12 months cover. This is an absolute outrage being perpetrated on the buying public. It didn't happen with my Rover, or Toyota new cars, from 1988 to 2008. Why do we let FORD away with sharp practise?

Is it LEGAL?

As the failure is now repaired, you may at best, only get your costs, but due to a non-Ford dealer fixing it, they can slide-out from under, as happened with my Son-in Law, when he couldn't wait for a long back-log of Alfa paddle-gearbox pump repairs to clear, and he got an Independant to fix it :-- Greasy dealer syndrome, just as when his cam-belt broke within 3 years warranty, but outside the mileage factor ;--- £4000 dent in wallet.

I have 2 neighbours with newish Fords, a '58 reg Mondeo, and a 10 reg Mk7 Fiesta, bought under Scrappage, so I have made them aware of what Ford's attitude to "trim" means to customers. In the 3 years when I owned a Rover 25 TD, the driver's seat bolster-foam insert was renewed 3 times, the only other problem being a cracked elbow-pipe on the power-steering ;-- fixed overnight, and I had a loan car.

[AntonyJ]

"AntonyJ", --- your Mk7 fiesta should still be within its 3-year warranty, and surely even FORD cannot class the A/C as "TRIM" and therefore beyond the expiry of that 12-month skimpy warranty!! ( Just HOW do Ford get away with that style of DUD grade of warranty?!!)

Your A/C should be warrantied, and I would argue that with the "Dealer-Principal" at the dealership, then go on to Ford Customer Services/CAB/Small Claims Court/Solicitor's letter.

When I bought my NEW '58 reg Zetec Climate on 30/08/58, I was NOT made aware of the Ford interpretation of "trim" items having only 12 months cover. This is an absolute outrage being perpetrated on the buying public. It didn't happen with my Rover, or Toyota new cars, from 1988 to 2008. Why do we let FORD away with sharp practise?

Is it LEGAL?

As the failure is now repaired, you may at best, only get your costs, but due to a non-Ford dealer fixing it, they can slide-out from under, as happened with my Son-in Law, when he couldn't wait for a long back-log of Alfa paddle-gearbox pump repairs to clear, and he got an Independant to fix it :-- Greasy dealer syndrome, just as when his cam-belt broke within 3 years warranty, but outside the mileage factor ;--- £4000 dent in wallet.

I have 2 neighbours with newish Fords, a '58 reg Mondeo, and a 10 reg Mk7 Fiesta, bought under Scrappage, so I have made them aware of what Ford's attitude to "trim" means to customers. In the 3 years when I owned a Rover 25 TD, the driver's seat bolster-foam insert was renewed 3 times, the only other problem being a cracked elbow-pipe on the power-steering ;-- fixed overnight, and I had a loan car.

Calm down! ;) Higher up the thread you'll see I said this was a problem on my previous car, a Focus. It was about 7 years old at the time, so well past the end of the warranty. You're right that if the a/c failed during the warranty you'd expect this to be covered, or at least a sizeable contribution paid by the manufacturer towards the costs (they could argue that corrosion isn't a "defect" as such).

Cheers,

Antony.

[shaz4473]

Calm down! ;) Higher up the thread you'll see I said this was a problem on my previous car, a Focus. It was about 7 years old at the time, so well past the end of the warranty. You're right that if the a/c failed during the warranty you'd expect this to be covered, or at least a sizeable contribution paid by the manufacturer towards the costs (they could argue that corrosion isn't a "defect" as such).

Cheers,

Antony.

Can anyone advise on my air con issue? 2007 Fiesta zetec out of warranty end Apr 2010. Noticed air con not working beginning of June. I phoned Ford customer services immediately as I knew that the ford dealer would just quote 'it's out of warrany'. They said that I would need to get the car in to be diagnosed before any claim went further. I have had the air con regassed and dye put in and just got it checked again today to find that the air condenser has a small leak in it. I did not get the work done at Ford who were quoting £78 for diagnosis and then £99 for a regas which it would need to find where there was a leak if any. Luckily for me I work at a garage and they did the work for me at a very reasonable price.

My main question is what would the likliehood of Ford fixing this problem as a goodwill gesture with the car just being out of warranty and it has only done 12.5k? Are condensers expensive items and is it easy to replace?

Could the garage argue that it is damaged because of stones kicking up or would it be purely a corrosion issue?

Does the ford warranty mean that you must get it fixed at the local ford garage?

Any advice greatfully received!

[Amy]

i personally reckon air conditioning services are well worth the money. You should be able to get a pretty decent one done for about £50 at an independant, my garage that does them for about £40 inc, thats for a full air con service including dye to check for leaks, regas and antibacterial treatment. :). i've been told prices might go up a little bit after july coz of new regulations regarding the refrigerant handling, but should be able to get a pretty good deal, lots of competition and all.

[unofix]

I do hope no one was in a hurry to get answer, it's only taken 11 years for Jolly123 to post an explanation 🤣

[unofix]

35 minutes ago, Jolly123 said:

Anything related with Ac service, cleaning maintenance like for every problem

Well NOW it makes sence. I did wonder why you were replying to an 11 year old post - You just wanted to place an advert for your company !!

Since 95% of people on these boards are in the UK your advert for A/C services in Dubai are not going to be of much use, and again this is a car forum so domestic A/C is not something we are big on in the UK - mostly because its freezing cold and we don't have A/C in the house.

[mickywrx]

On 8/16/2021 at 7:48 PM, unofix said:

we don't have A/C in the house.

Aye, but, you want it 2 days a year though! 😄