Air Conditioning Service

[flash2004]

My Auris is 3 years old this month, and so I took it to the Toyota Dealer for the first MOT. Everything is ok, but on the health check report the following was highlighted

1. Air pollen filter replacement - £39

2. Aircon service due - £59

I ordered the original Toyota air pollen filter for only £16 and replaced it myself, as I think £39 is a ripoff.

Can somebody advise me on the air con service please ? Is it good value to get it done through Toyota dealer ? or are there better options out there ?

Regards,

[smudge-1991]

Air con service ? A regas then I imagine

[flash2004]

Yes, the Air con is not as effective as it was when I got the Auris.

[smudge-1991]

That seems a bit steep for a 're gas

[FROSTYBALLS]

If you get the air con serviced elsewhere, check that a lubricant is also used. Some places say that air con should be serviced every two years - but if one uses air con throughout the year, that shouldn't be necessary. We've had 11 cars from new with air con since 1998, and not needed to have the air con serviced in any so far.

An example - ATS Euromaster currently have their air con recharge on offer for £29.95.

[ToyotaAuris]

If you use the air-con alot and its not giving out ice cold air then have it re-gassed by Toyota as not doing so will void your warrenty. If you dont use the air-con then you dont need to get it done.

[TomdeGuerre]

An air conditioning service can mean quite a lot of work. The system has to be evacuated and leak tested before it can be recharged. I believe in some US states under state law a service station is forbidden to recharge a leaking system but I don't know if there's any such law here. As Frosty said, it's also necessary to refill the system with the correct amount of lubricant added to the refrigerant.

Quite a few years ago I used a mobile air-con service to do my Toyota Corolla and it had an in-line filter which the engineer replaced (I don't know whether the Auris has such a filter). I think I paid around £75 all in for the service but the system worked like new. Last year I had my Grand Cherokee HVAC system serviced for £60 plus tip but it didn't last long. I suppose you get what you pay for.

[syncview]

if the aircon works then you can now do the evap cleaning yourself if you can access the evap coil

http://www.amazon.com/FJC-5914-Foaming-Evaporator-Cleaner/dp/B002EAKX88

http://www.amazon.com/Lubegard-96030-Kool-It-Evaporator-Cleaner/dp/B0007PHD0Spak

[crofter]

As mentioned by Tom there is special equipment needed to correctly service the A/C

This includes draining and weighing the coolant gas to see if enough is in there and correcting it if not.

Lubricant is added and a dye can be added to show any leaks

As the equipment is finely calibrated it should be left untouched while it goes through it's cycle,hence done properly cannot be done too cheaply on the internals of the system

Del

[flash2004]

Many thanks for all the advice. Since the difference in price is not that high, I will get it serviced through the official Toyota dealer itself. That way atleast there is a high probability of they doing it properly rather than some cowboy garage messing it up at a cheaper rate.

[BLUEJ]

Its a no brainer Flash, an aircon service is different to a basic re-charge, they check the whole aircon system, take it to Kwik Fit, ATS etc you'll probably end up with no aircon (i have experienced this with other cars), Toyota will professionally regas & check the whole system, give you a full print out of gas out, gas put in etc, put in an aircon cleaner, check for any leaks or faults & do a vehicle health check as well as a mini valet. all for £52, got mine done 1/8/14, as i said it has to be Toyota for this, its a no brainer.

[yossarian247]

In fairness what Kwik Fit, ATS etc do IS an aircon service as above, not just a recharge. Although people often refer to this as a 'recharge' I've never known any fast fit place simply recharge the gas, I've sat and watched them and they've all vacuumed out the system properly, put in oil and UV dye, given me a printout of the gas taken out and put in etc. Hence I just go to whoever has the cheapest deal on at the time. The machine pretty much does it for them so there's a limit to what they can mess up!

Ironically I wouldn't dream of buying tyres or exhausts from Kwik Fit now, but I've used their aircon service a few times and they do a good job in my experience.