Air Conditioning Query

[Jim Hardie]

Collected a four year old C5 saloon on Monday and today was the first time I felt the need to turn on the air conditioning. The outside temperature was 17 degrees but the sun was out and it was much warmer in the cabin. Despite putting it on at its lowest setting there didn't seem to be much difference in temperature. I took the car out again later in the day when it was 15 degrees and again there wasn't any perceivable difference as I switched the A/C on and off although this time it was quite pleasant in the cabin.

My previous vehicle (Rover 75) would blast out cold air, leaving no doubt that it was working. I'm not sure what my expectations should be. Can anyone advise me how to test whether it's working or not?

[Johndouglas]

How old is the car? It might be that it needs regassing. My 2005 model needed done a couple of years ago since it wasn't blowing very cold. I got a mobile guy to do the C5 and the Xsara

[Jim Hardie]

It's four years old. I ran the Rover for ten years and never had to have it regassed. Is it an expensive job?

[Johndouglas]

Ideally the fitter should test the system for leaks before regassing and the job takes 30 minutes or so. Cost was around £65 per car. But as you say, it shouldn't be necessary on a four year old vehicle.

[Jim Hardie]

Thanks for your replies John. The car was supplied as having had a service and pre-delivery inspection. I took the car back to the dealer this morning and I'm to drop it off for a couple of hours on Monday morning. Let's hope it only needs regassing.

[Michelotti]

Did you try it on the test drive ? I bought a 65 plate back in August ........ set the aircon to max on the test drive and it wasn't doing anything ....salesman told me it just needed re-gassing and told me it would be sorted upon collection ....which it duly was ....for the next fortnight I had the aircon on max as much as I could ........as time progressed it got weaker and weaker until all it was doing was making a pathetic kind of hissing noise ........back to the dealer (Citroen Dealership) who informed me it may not be covered under the warranty ...........I told them that I couldn't give a flying toss if it was covered under the warranty or not .........I pointed it out on the test drive and they said it would be sorted for delivery as per instructions on my purchase / sales documents......so they had to fix it free of charge....which they did ........they put a new condenser on it which has sorted it out.

 

I will say though, after owning Audi's and Fords in the past with Auto Aircon, the Citroen doesn't exactly belt out cold or hot air in Auto mode like they used to do.......but it does get the job done.