C4 Aircon

[mrspinner]

Hi all

I called 2 Citroen dealers near me to find out about aircon regas and clean. 1 said it needs a new type gas and said £180, other said it needs old type gas and said £89. I am now confused.

I cannot find anything in the service book to say which gas it takes. it just says it needs doing every 2 years.

If you guys know where I can find the right info for my car. Its a 2014 C4. Or if you guys know where to look in the hand/service book.

Any help is appreciated.

[Routemaster1]

The new 2013 version of the C4 Picasso certainly uses the new expensive type, so I wouldn't be surprised to find your car uses the new type fluid. I've tried googling but without much success.

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

There could/should be a sticker under the bonnet that gives the type of refrigerant. Most people would wait until the air con is not cooling as much before bothering to have a regas. On our C5 this was about 7 years old, similar to our last one. On our previous C3 this was after we sold the car at 10 years old and our current C3 is 7 and not needed a regas yet. Our C4s have been kept to about 4 years and none have been done. You can do a quick check if it needs doing by using a thermometer at a central vent with the air con on full - it should drop the temperature about by about 10°C. Once it is not dropping the temp much then that would be a time to think about a regas. One important thing though is to use the air con every 2 weeks or so to keep the seals lubricated and prevent gas loss.

 

Disinfecting the air con to remove mould from the evaporator needs doing if you notice a wet dog smell when the air con has been turned off but the air still blowing in to the cabin. Dealers will recommend it needs doing every year or so since it earns money. If it does not smell though it is ok. To help prevent the build up of mould I turn the air con off but leave the blower on for the last mile to dry out the condensation that collects on the evaporator.

 

I disinfect our cars by using a fine spray of Dettol non bleach surface cleanser in to the cabin air inlet with the pollen filter removed and the blower on so it goes to the evaporator matrix. I once had it disinfected at a dealer and the cleaner they used smelt just like the Dettol one. I have also tried an aerosol type that is set off inside the car with the blower on recycle - all this did was fill the car with a perfume that smelt of apples and cost a lot more than the Dettol. The spray I use is a garden type with a lance which on the C5 is useful since the evaporator is accessible when the pollen filter is removed. http://www.dettol.co.uk/products/surface-cleansers/dettol-antibacterial-surface-cleanser/ this is available for a couple of ponds from most supermarkets.