Air con regas already

[fordulike]

45 minutes ago, frizzbee30 said:

2006 VW was never re-gassed once, until it finally went in 2020, and was like a freezer when running.

When you say went, do you mean sold, or aircon broke?

[TonyHSD]

4 hours ago, frizzbee30 said:

I've had similar issues on my company car.

First big service the aircon had dropped off, they did a regas, and I figured lousy factory check.

Now,  a lot less than 12 months later same issue  (I do a LOT of company mileage).

Asked them to investigate as obviously there is a leak issue somewhere, asked if something was found..'oh,we just re-gassed it'.

So I'm guessing every summer until replaced, it will be a regas.

Nice quick easy earner though, if you're busy...

My wifes old 2006 VW was never re-gassed once, until it finally went in 2020, and was like a freezer when running. 

My portable home aircon is 21yrs old, and still kicks out the same every summer!

How often have you been keeping ac on, all the time or from time to time?

[RabButler]

On 8/17/2022 at 3:05 PM, DaveST said:

The default setting when turning on the ignition on my current Corolla is for the air-conditioning to be in the off position when the heating system is set to "Auto".  This is different to the settings in my previous Toyotas, where the aircon would need to be manually turned off.  There is nothing in the car handbook to show any particular recommendations either, so how is the average driver supposed to be aware of how the system works?  No car salesman or service person has ever said to me "oh, by the way, you should always run the aircon now and again",etc.  It's only thanks to you guys on this forum that I've learned anything at all, and for that I'm very grateful!  I didn't even know what "regassing" meant, until recently.  I'd bet many car owners don't either.  But now that I know a little, I'm better informed when arguing with my dealer... 😉 

I have the same model as you and my a/c is on unless I turn it off. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

When I first got my CRV previous to this Yaris, I worried about the moisture on the ground under it after a run.

The default was climate control always on, which puzzled me for a while.

A relative diagnosed it as definitely, certainly,a coolant leak.

He said he could taste the sweetness of antifreeze after dipping his finger in the puddle, and tasting it.

Turned out it was just condensation from the air-conditioning/climate.

Similar to a work "colleague"who had a newish BMW with the same, and took it to the dealer to diagnose the problem.😂

So, with this old Yaris, I have the air-conditioning on nearly all the time now in summer, and run it a couple of times a week in winter .

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

4 hours ago, frizzbee30 said:

My wifes old 2006 VW was never re-gassed once, until it finally went in 2020, and was like a freezer when running. 

The 'old' R134a was supposedly colder than the 'new' R1234yf gas - somewhere between 5 and 25% better. The newer gas is said to be more environmentally friendly.

[Cyker]

I've also seen claims that R12 (The original ozone-eating Freon!) was also similarly 'better'.

In reality the performance differences are negligible - If the system is correctly optimized for the refrigerant used, the cooling performance will be indistinguishable to the user.

 

 

[Stivino]

27 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The 'old' R134a was supposedly colder than the 'new' R1234yf gas - somewhere between 5 and 25% better. The newer gas is said to be more environmentally friendly.

It's easy to find out, my air con will deliver air at 5°C. AvensisT180 2008.

Anybody else want to contribute? 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Don't have a thermometer with which to test.

[Cyker]

Hard to make it a fair comparison - Even my old Yaris probably wouldn't be as cold as your Avensis and that used R134; It likely used a smaller compressor and condenser - Too many factors.

Even my Mk1 was colder than my Mk2 even tho' they both used R134 because the compressors were different types and diesel engines are just better at running compressors at idle.

[Rhymes with Paris]

4 minutes ago, Stivino said:

It's easy to find out, my air con will deliver air at 5°C. AvensisT180 2008.

Anybody else want to contribute? 

Yes,if the air conditioning feels cold this summer, which has been pretty hot so far, it probably is cold.

In the same way that if it looks, quacks, and waddles like a duck, it is most likely a duck.

[Stivino]

29 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Hard to make it a fair comparison - Even my old Yaris probably wouldn't be as cold as your Avensis and that used R134; It likely used a smaller compressor and condenser - Too many factors.

Even my Mk1 was colder than my Mk2 even tho' they both used R134 because the compressors were different types and diesel engines are just better at running compressors at idle.

It only has a smaller compressor because it has a smaller volume to cool. The minimum temperature should be the same. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

24 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Hard to make it a fair comparison - Even my old Yaris probably wouldn't be as cold as your Avensis and that used R134; It likely used a smaller compressor and condenser - Too many factors.

Even my Mk1 was colder than my Mk2 even tho' they both used R134 because the compressors were different types and diesel engines are just better at running compressors at idle.

Aye, the good old torques of a diesel ,in that AX I may have mentioned from time to time,🥺 I used to experiment a bit to see if it would pull off with a gentle clutch , well it would,in 1st,2nd and downhill with a following wind ,in 3rd.

As I have said before though, it was very light, being made of plastic and bacofoil.

[TonyHSD]

same here, Auris hybrid 2010, ice cold air. no issue to date and ac does not get any use for 4 to 6 months during winter. 

[alan333]

40 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

same here, Auris hybrid 2010, ice cold air. no issue to date and ac does not get any use for 4 to 6 months during winter. 

Air con is great for demisting the windows in winter Tony (obviously not on cold tho).  

[TonyHSD]

3 hours ago, alan333 said:

Air con is great for demisting the windows in winter Tony (obviously not on cold tho).  

Hi, I know that and I do use from time to time but because I spent a lots of hours in the car and the cabin gets hot and dry air from the heating ac is no needed plus some of my passengers that I am traveling with does not like it at all. Ac btw automatically switches on and off from time to time so no problems been without use. The interesting thing is why on the op car that is almost new the ac will loose gas and stop working? 

[Cyker]

16 hours ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Aye, the good old torques of a diesel ,in that AX I may have mentioned from time to time,🥺 I used to experiment a bit to see if it would pull off with a gentle clutch , well it would,in 1st,2nd and downhill with a following wind ,in 3rd.

As I have said before though, it was very light, being made of plastic and bacofoil.

That was the thing I loved about my Mk1 Yaris diesel - It weighed less than a ton but had more torque than a Mk1 Lotus Elise from 1800-3200rpm  

It turns out lightweight + lots of torque = hilarity   

It's one downside of the Mk4, as it's about 200kg heavier and I do notice it when cornering, even tho' the car is much stiffer and doesn't wallow about like a drunken whale like my Mk1 did  

The steering feedback from the Mk1 is definitely better than the Mk4's - You could really push because you could feel when it was starting to understeer, but you don't get anything like that sort of feedback through the wheel in the Mk4, but because it's so stiff it tells you a bit later through your backside  

 

[Kental]

On 8/21/2022 at 9:52 PM, Rhymes with Paris said:

Aye, the good old torques of a diesel ,in that AX I may have mentioned from time to time,🥺 I used to experiment a bit to see if it would pull off with a gentle clutch , well it would,in 1st,2nd and downhill with a following wind ,in 3rd.

As I have said before though, it was very light, being made of plastic and bacofoil.

We had an 1994 AX 1.5 D. Brilliant little engine, as non turboed as you said you could treat it as an auto (drive everywhere in 3rd) and no turbo lag!!!!! We replaced it the following year with an AX 1.1, living in London and free insurance!!  That got crashed when it was 2 weeks old, if it had been repaired properly, it would have been a write off.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Aye, Cyker and Kental , those small powerful diesels were indeed remarkable machines.

And when I said gentle clutch, I meant to add on an idling engine, although you probably both guessed this.

The AX did not have Aircon, but if it had, I am guessing that it would have pulled the compressor with no bother.

I do notice the tsport has a noticeable step down in idling rev reduction when air is switched on, but think the idle is a bit low anyway,700-750 when hot.

 

[Cyker]

Yeah I get what you meant - The D4D was the same! Could move off without using the accelerator if you didn't try and do it too quickly. Was really painful going back to petrol after that - So much easier to stall!  

I think that's one bad thing about that period, as lots of driving school cars changed to diesel around that time, and you can tell people who passed in those cars because their clutch control is so bad!  Whereas me learning in some gutless BSM Corsa was forced to learn good clutch control to just get the damned thing to move!  

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

28 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah I get what you meant - The D4D was the same! Could move off without using the accelerator if you didn't try and do it too quickly. Was really painful going back to petrol after that - So much easier to stall!  

I think that's one bad thing about that period, as lots of driving school cars changed to diesel around that time, and you can tell people who passed in those cars because their clutch control is so bad!  Whereas me learning in some gutless BSM Corsa was forced to learn good clutch control to just get the damned thing to move!  

 

Some of them opened the door to let clutch out.

And yes, conversely some small petrol engines required a big rev to get moving.

Not cars, but a learner rider turned up with a brand new Aprilia bike (sp) one day,he could not ride it, I could not ride it, nobody could ride it.

The torque was so low that that on half throttle, say 4000 rpm it stalled.

It went back to the dealer for adjustment.

I recommended a Honda instead.🏍️

[DaveST]

Absolutely!  I booked my Corolla in for its 2 year service (just done 10k miles), requested a "regas" and they're quoting £156!  The aircon hasn't even been checked by the dealer yet to see if there's a problem.  Easy earner? you betcha!

[Stivino]

A cheap thermometer is your best friend when checking air con.

I have one of these taking a reading from my central vent at all times.  I set to the temp to LO and the temp usually varies between 6.2°C and 8°C on my journeys.

Any fault in my A/C will immediately be noticed.

[FROSTYBALLS]

9 minutes ago, DaveST said:

requested a "regas" and they're quoting £156! 

That's because it is the newer R1234yf gas which is more expensive. Third party prices range from around £125 including X grams of gas. Some firms have a lesser headline charge, but charge on top for the amount of gas used.

Approx costs seem to be per 100g of R134a (older) gas around £3 - costs of 100g of R1234yf (newer) gas around £15.

[Cyker]

TBH in my experience that's on par for a dealer; They wanted £190 for a 'full AC service' on my old Yaris! I just got Kwik Fit to regas it for £60... (And that was with R134!)

 

[Derek.w]

Some makes dependent on model turn themselves on for a short time just to stop the seals drying out.