Air Con Service

[RunningInPleasePass]

I've just had my 30k miles service, as part of this the Service Technician has to point out any additional work that requires attention, in my case this was:

The front wipers need replacing.

My tyres are worn down to about 4mm

The air con needs to be serviced.

I had the wipers changed.

I will keep an eye on the tyres, and my dealer will remind me to have them checked before the next service.

It's the air con service I am undecided about, Toyota say it needs to be serviced after 30k miles, but in my case that is when the car is just over a year old, it's working fine so I see little point in having this work done except for peace of mind!

Has anybody else had this work done and at what mileage or age was it done?

PS My climate control is never turned off, summer or winter.

[Devon Aygo]

Toyota do not have a schedule for air con work at all, all they advise is that the pollen filter be replaced when dirty/blocked and that attention is required if the AC cannot chill to below 10 degrees C, usually just an AC re-gas would be required if the AC is not cold enough.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Of the eleven new cars we've had with air conditioning since 1998, not one has needed the air conditioning serviced. We always make sure that the air con is used at least once per week (helps demisting in winter when used with heat) to keep the systems lubricated, etc. We've also never had any problems with smelly air con either.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

You might need an a/c top up after three years for it to be 100%, but to be honest you'd probably not notice any difference. See what it's like next summer. The service side where they blow anti fungus gas through might be prudent if you're getting funny smells from the a/c, otherwise don't bother. Maybe wait until next summer and do that with the regas?

Only you can tell if the wipers need doing, but personally I change mine every 2 years regardless of mileage. If you use them a lot they wear out, but equally sitting stuck to your windscreen unused is just as bad for them, hence changing them by time rather than miles.

Tyre? That's your personal choice. Personally I leave mine to 3mm as an absolute minimum with winter coming but in summer I will let them get as low as 2mm if the weather is dry. If you're doing 20k+ miles a year you might want to consider some tyres now before winter. I know getting rid of tyres at 4mm might hurt, but it's still cheaper than losing it on a wet bend on a rainy evening 2 days before Christmas.

[cootuk]

We've just had our airgon regassed at 70k miles, eight years old.

I keep it on permanently, and it was more a case of yes, it still gets cold so all works, but just to make sure it has enough lubricant.

[Ancient Nerd]

I've just had my 30k miles service, as part of this the Service Technician has to point out any additional work that requires attention, in my case this was:

The front wipers need replacing.

My tyres are worn down to about 4mm

The air con needs to be serviced.

I had the wipers changed.

I will keep an eye on the tyres, and my dealer will remind me to have them checked before the next service.

It's the air con service I am undecided about, Toyota say it needs to be serviced after 30k miles, but in my case that is when the car is just over a year old, it's working fine so I see little point in having this work done except for peace of mind!

Has anybody else had this work done and at what mileage or age was it done?

PS My climate control is never turned off, summer or winter.

I've never needed an aircon service. Just replace the filter when it gets mucky - this is covered in the routine service AFAIK. To put this in context, we've just replaced both Prius's (PRii?). I've had both from new and they have done just over 315,000 miles between them. Both aircon systems were working perfectly.

To put this in context, I never switch the aircon off. You may have problems if you don't use it at least once a week, but that isn't a problem for you.

My dealer has never suggested servicing the aircon, and I suspect that yours is looking to boost their profits a little. Just possibly time to change dealer, in case they try it on with something else that you can't check.

I tend to replace wipers annually, or more often if there is any sign of wear.

[Ancient Nerd]

Tyre replacement really shouldn't be necessary at 4mm, unless you have winter tyres on. These should be replaced at this point.

However, it does vary between brands. I will happily take Michelins down to 2 - 2.5 mm or so, because their tread is full depth. It would be higher in the winter, but I change to winter tyres then.

However, I tried a set of Kumhos to replace the original Michelins. Unfortunately, at around 4mm tread, only the main tread pattern was visible - all the minor tread had gone, which is the bit you need in the wet - so I had to replace the tyres much earlier. Buying the slightly cheaper tyres was a false economy. Also, I had several punctures on the Kumhos, none on the Michelins - not enough to be statistically significant, but I won't be buying any more Kumhos! A bit cheaper to buy, a lot more expensive per mile.

[RunningInPleasePass]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm not going to have the air con 'serviced', I will use the cash saved to get the tyres changed.

My local Toyota Dealer quoted £153.60 for each tyre, (Dunlop SP Sport Fast Responce 225, 45, 17", 91W), just searched and found them about £50 cheaper almost everywhere!

I will try and see if the local Toyota Dealer will match the best price I can find!

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Tyre replacement really shouldn't be necessary at 4mm, unless you have winter tyres on. These should be replaced at this point.

And even then its only for effectiveness in snow they need to be changed about 4mm due to the sipes wearing, will still be good for most other conditions down to about 2-2.5mm just like most other tyres.

[Ancient Nerd]

Tyre replacement really shouldn't be necessary at 4mm, unless you have winter tyres on. These should be replaced at this point.

And even then its only for effectiveness in snow they need to be changed about 4mm due to the sipes wearing, will still be good for most other conditions down to about 2-2.5mm just like most other tyres.

Agreed. If you can get away with it, it is not a bad idea to extend their use into the summer if the tread is getting down to below 4mm. However, if as with the Kumhos summer tyres I had, the sipes were non-existent at around the 4mm mark, then you are going to lose wet grip as well. Definitely not worth the risk.

[Parts-King]

At 4mm left, you only have 2 mm to play with before they absolutely need changing. Your dealer will probably not see you in time to check them again before they are illegal. From a "reporting" point of view, we would also be advising you to change them very soon. A car travels 10% further at 3mm than it does at 4mm under heavy braking, leaving tyres till they are 2mm is asking for trouble, even though they are legal, the whole handling and braking characteristic goes out of the window

[Grumpy Cabbie]

The legal limit is 1.6mm. Most companies running fleets will change them at 3mm. Most lease companies like to get the absolute maximum life out of a tyre if they're paying for them. Beware of that one.

If a main dealer suggests you need new tyres at 4mm then treat that with contempt.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Sipes are for snow retention on winter tyres, to aid snow grip. Its tread that normally deals with water displacement to the best of my knowledge, so shouldn't make much of a different to wet handling if sipes are low / none existent as long as the tread depth is sufficient.

This is my understanding anyway.

[Parts-King]

People on forums are very well versed with the running of their car and will be checking tyres / lights /levels probably weekly. You have to understand the vast majority of people never look under the bonnet from one service to the next, let alone check tyre pressures or look at tyre depths. Now you may not agree with that but it is fact, some tyres we see have the wires hanging out of them, and have been illegal for months!

If the dealer said you need tyres right now then that is clearly not the case, what we would do would be to report them as 4mm, not requiring replacement right now, but would set a reminder for the customer to be contacted again in say 4 or 6 months to measure them. Your dealer will have an idea of how many miles a year you do, however if you are a new customer, your dealer would not know your driving pattern. If it turns out you do 15K a year then your 4mm tyres MIGHT need replacing sooner

I tell my team to be completely honest with people, I would sooner get you back in to check the tyre depth rather than have you think you are being ripped off. Tyres are usually a distress purchase, but being honest with people and keeping them informed is the best way to handle what can be a stressful time, especially at this time of year