My air con has started making a hissing noise which is intermittent. The ford dealer has informed me this is normal. Anyone else had something similar?

Usually a sign of being low on refrigerant. How old is the car?

It's 2018 which I bought in April 2021.  Not long after we realised that the air con wasn't cooling.  It went back for re-gassing and all seemed ok and then it stopped cooling. again. In September it was fitted with a new compressor and now an intermittent hissing noise has started. It's at the dealers now and they have called to say that this is normal but seems strange to me.  My previous 2014 fiesta never had this noise.

It is not normal. The system still has a leak and the dealer is trying to fob you off.

Not normal. It means the system is low on refrigerant. A re-gas won't help as the leak needs to be found and repaired first.

The dealership is legally obliged not to regas a leaky system. It appears that they have done this twice and have not yet found the leak. I think I would be insisting upon the attendance of an air conditioning engineer to fault find  it. (Most dealerships have one on standby when they get out of their depth as it is a practitioner's art sometimes.) Make mention of their legal responsibility if you have to but it isn't right and will keep costing you time and irritation until it is. 

Hi mate, did you ever find the fault. Mines done this for a while and I've been to two AC specialists who can't diagnose it.

3 hours ago, ConnorF said:

Hi mate, did you ever find the fault. Mines done this for a while and I've been to two AC specialists who can't diagnose it.

A leak can come from 3 primary sources. The condenser, the compressor, the pipework. A proper A/C specialist will insert a neon enriched dye type gas which will show where the leak is. I know you said you've been to some 'specialists', but you need to find one that can do the job properly...

Never got round to posting another reply, its been leak tested in the past and 2-3 weeks ago I took it to another this time more proper specialist who only deals with a/c and has been for a while . They found nothing wrong with the system. Seems to be coming out of the drivers footwell mainly. 

Heres a better video - very audible this time. C Noise - 1739294559718.mp4 - OneDrive

38 minutes ago, ConnorF said:

...They found nothing wrong with the system...

Well, if there's nothing wrong, it should work 😁

(Oh, your link doesn't work...)

Sorry, this should work - C Noise - 1739294559718.mp4 - OneDrive

1 minute ago, ConnorF said:

Sorry, this should work - C Noise - 1739294559718.mp4 - OneDrive

Third time lucky maybe - https://streamable.com/3px15n

It turns out the condenser and assembly pipe are corroded and leaking. Cheapest I can find someone to do both is around £800...

7 hours ago, ConnorF said:

It turns out the condenser and assembly pipe are corroded and leaking. Cheapest I can find someone to do both is around £800...

Keep looking, that kind of fault can be fixed much cheaper than that. The condenser brand new is only about £100!

10 hours ago, ConnorF said:

It turns out the condenser and assembly pipe are corroded and leaking. Cheapest I can find someone to do both is around £800...

Do you have a part number showing exactly which pipe you need?  Pipes are generally expensive from Ford but there are usually plenty of used ones to choose from on ebay.  As Stephen says, an aftermarket new condenser only costs around £100.

Cool Running in Leicester are worth contacting if you can't find an independent in W Midlands.

Parts required are -

F2695309 - Conditioner Assembly 

F5181037 - Kit - Air con

F2617651 - Tube assy

 

The pipe itself isn't very much but so far I can't find anyone else who actually wants to fit and test. Condensor fitting only I've had around £350-400 quote but no point doing just that as both are leaking.

3 minutes ago, ConnorF said:

...Condensor fitting only I've had around £350-400 quote but no point doing just that as both are leaking.

I don't understand that quote. I watched my guy replace the condenser, took no more than 20 minutes. In essence, it's only a small radiator. £400 for fitting is simply extortionate...

£400 was with the condensor included but they all say it's a big job with 90% of the front having to be removed to get access.  As usual it's probably alot harder on the newer car, what do you reckon I should be paying ?

Just now, ConnorF said:

 As usual it's probably alot harder on the newer car, what do you reckon I should be paying ?

If lucky, @tomfocus might be along to give a rough hourly time for the job...

2 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

If lucky, @tomfocus might be along to give a rough hourly time for the job...

Unlikely.  He hasn't been on here since 2014. 

18 minutes ago, ConnorF said:

Parts required are -

F2695309 - Conditioner Assembly - £250

F5181037 - Kit - Air con - £50

F2617651 - Tube assy - £55

Those parts come to around £355 direct from Ford.  Can save about £150 on the condenser by going aftermarket if you like.

The front bumper will need to be removed for condenser replacement on a Mk8.  Rough estimate 2 hours labour to complete the replacement parts.  (Approx £150-£200).  Then a regas of R1234YF is likely to be around £100 on top.

So approx £450-£650 all in, depending on the parts used and the garage labour rates.

Might have to do some more shopping around to see if I can get a better price then.

Right, so I've had it done, and the noise is still here 🫠. The condenser was definitely leaking, but I've spoken to the guy who did it, and he seems to think it's normal for operation and what I'm hearing is the expansion valve. I've attached a YouTube video, and I'm asking if anyone with an Mk8 Fiesta hears this noise also.