Can anyone tell me when the AC should be regassed on a 2016 1.4 fr please. The cars done 35k and I took the pollen filter out last week and it's never been changed. I've ordered a new filter, even though SEAT say its not due until 40k. Ats have a deal on regas at £38.99 and I know the boys at my local branch really do know there stuff. Thanks all.
Air con
- Thread starter Geraint Thomas
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I've got an appointment booked for Wednesday for my wife's 2015 VW Polo as its more or less "empty"!
Dealerships see this sort of task as an extra so no free checks there, same for brakes.
Engine air filter should be replaced at 4 years or X miles, pollen filter every 2 years ideally, but I tend to work more as a 3 or 4 year change for that depending on its condition and mileage.
It is best to get at least a carbon coated version, for cheap via ECP, I stick with Mann as used by VW Group and there Frecious version if they still stock them.
Dealerships see this sort of task as an extra so no free checks there, same for brakes.
Engine air filter should be replaced at 4 years or X miles, pollen filter every 2 years ideally, but I tend to work more as a 3 or 4 year change for that depending on its condition and mileage.
It is best to get at least a carbon coated version, for cheap via ECP, I stick with Mann as used by VW Group and there Frecious version if they still stock them.
It's amazing how much they charge you for how little they do. Most people just assume a dealer will be checking and changing everything but they don't. It's the bare minimum, if you're lucky.
I had my 65 plate 1.4 FR re-gassed at around 45k and just under 4 years old. I had noticed some odd behaviour whereby AC would be ok from start of journey but gradually get warmer over a period of an hour or so (noticed on all day drive through France). Regas solved the issue for me and AC is still nice and cold approx 1 year later.
Hopefully yours will also return to full performance when done.
Hopefully yours will also return to full performance when done.
No, that is not normally the way it goes, all AC systems by design, leak refrigerant slowly, VW Group advice that you get them serviced every 2 years and you will at that point get charged for that task including removing, weighing, vac out and reload the correct weight of refrigerant. If the system has lost its entire charge, and the root cause is a failed component that has not been subjected to stones etc, then SEAT would pay to cover that repair task.
Edit:- when comparing AC systems in different cars - models or marques, always consider that manual or basic AC will normally "flood" a car with cold air, whereas an Auto AC system will deliver the chilled air in a more controlled way, which to some might make them think that it is not working properly.
It’s ridiculous, £140 to re-gas mine. Car is 3 years old and my air con is on auto mode all the time and running perfectly. Not going to bother until I notice any issues, feel like I’d be throwing £140 down the drain.
This has always been the case when replacing fridge gasses, well since moving to Freons etc from nastier stuff, plus more input energy required to do the same job, it is called progress, all good for the energy suppliers which might be okay when we can truly call "green" energy proper emissions free - but not so far.
My son told me that you may be able to use older gas types in some of the new systems but I haven't looked into that myself. Would be good though.
The fitting on the two systems are different sizes to prevent this, also different machines, last year when I left the trade the old style gas was getting dearer and the new cheaper, I suspect the more of the new style is used the cheaper it will be become.
There are very easy ways round the different sizes of service ports.
1234 still costing more than R134A is crazy, I would have thought that supply chain for 1234 would have be established well before rolling out this gas change, so that means that the cost of 1234 is linked to supply and demand, or just opportunism by dealerships etc.
R134A does seem to be dragging its heels in getting jacked up price wise, and only by jacking the price up will its demand be reduced - but there again, if 1234 had been made to be an actual drop in replacement for R134A then R134A prices could have been raised by EU regulations and so helped phase R134A out, but somewhere along the way some donkeys considered that there was no need to play it that way. This nonsense has been going on for years in other fridge gas sectors and crazy useless interim gases being launched to fill in when others were dropped and lots of time and energy was wasted until things moved on to a more stable next phase, before moving on again!
1234 still costing more than R134A is crazy, I would have thought that supply chain for 1234 would have be established well before rolling out this gas change, so that means that the cost of 1234 is linked to supply and demand, or just opportunism by dealerships etc.
R134A does seem to be dragging its heels in getting jacked up price wise, and only by jacking the price up will its demand be reduced - but there again, if 1234 had been made to be an actual drop in replacement for R134A then R134A prices could have been raised by EU regulations and so helped phase R134A out, but somewhere along the way some donkeys considered that there was no need to play it that way. This nonsense has been going on for years in other fridge gas sectors and crazy useless interim gases being launched to fill in when others were dropped and lots of time and energy was wasted until things moved on to a more stable next phase, before moving on again!
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