Nasty Shock

[nwaterhouse]

My C3 will be five years old in anovember and has done 40k miles.

 

When I bought it I tested everything shown in the handbook and most of it was not there. This appeared to include the airconditioning so I assumed it was not part of the spec. Just before the first (20k miles) service I was told by a friend itt should be, and included it in a list of warranty items when the car went in.

 

The result was a £65 bill for recharging it with gas. Since it had never worked this seemed unreasonable.

 

Moreover after this I couldn't detect any sign it was working; however I was old, tired, and aircon isn't worth much in this country, so I let it go. (We cannotforesee the future). Being now faced with the prospect of driving in 30-40 degree heat abroad I sent it to the dealer for one more try at getting itgoing. He charged nearly £80 to tell me that the compressor wqas dead (clutch control failure) and I needed to pay a furhter £600 odd to have it replaced.

 

Since the compressor had barely been required to run for an hour before the first 20k mile service and virtually not at all since, and had never produced a result when it did, it seems clear to me that it never worked and was defective from the day I bought the car.

 

Anyone else with similar experience?

[raveydavey]

One of the things to consider with air-conditioning, is that the oil that lubricates the system is suspended within the refridgerant gas.

 

Therefore if you don't use the air-con, the system doesn't get lubricated and consequently can fail when it is switched on, as the moving parts have seized up.

 

I'm fairly sure that there is something in the handbook about ensuring that you run the air-con for a minimum of 10-15 minutes at leats once a month, year round.

 

I've had problems with the a/c on my C3 (also now 5 years old, but at 76k) but this was due to the pipework failing and allowing the gas to escape on two seperate occassions. Citroen have now modified that "dodgy" part and things have been OK since, touch wood.

 

Sorry thats not much help to you in this instance, but you might want to try an independant Peagueot / Citroen specialist or an independant automotive a/c specialist and try sourcing the parts from somewhere like GSF (German Swedish and French) who seem to be in most major towns now. They can often supply genuine parts at less than the dealer, or obtain suitable non-OE parts at a fraction of the cost.

[stimulator]

Owning a car with A/C is a bit like having a pet by which I mean it's not just for Christmas it's forever..

 

Basically if you do not use it you will loose it.

 

What model C3 do you have? Some have automatic a/c which is where you dial up the temp you want and it will maintain that. Others it is manual. However both are controlled from the same place just in front of the gear lever under the radio, the hand book covers both in detail.

 

As another member has said the oil that lubricates the syetm is contained in the refridgerant. A sthe seals in the compressor dry out if not used, the lubricant prevents this, the refrigerant boils off and escapes into the atmosphere.

 

Once you have it repaired then run it at least 10 mins a week to keeep it happy.

 

Now a contraversial bit. I have two C3s, I had a Pic before all have/had a/c, this is run all the time winter, spring, summer and autumn with the result that the a/c on the now 4 year old C3 has never had to have any maintenance done on it. It is still operating correctly. Why do I run it all the time? Comfort, and the lack of window misting when the weather is cold or wet. The cost about 1 to 2 mpg.

 

Now eqaute that to the repairs bills that you have had or about to have, a big difference in my favour.

 

I do know that the a/c on my neighbours VW golf packed in and he was told he needed a new compressor £700 but he went to another garage, a VW specialistr not main dealer and got it repaired for £40 as it was a circuit card, try a Citroen specialist not your dealer. As for a recharge, my dealer says he will do it on service for £100 Renault dealer will do it for £56 so where would I go.

 

There is a farther part of this reply, a friend of mine lived in Spain, bought a VW with aircon, never use it as she hated the cold air, did tell her that you can heat it up with the heater (which you can) but she didn't. When she sold the car it was worth 2500 euros less than it should have been becauise the a/c didn't work.

[nwaterhouse]

One of the things to consider with air-conditioning, is that the oil that lubricates the system is suspended within the refridgerant gas.

 

Therefore if you don't use the air-con, the system doesn't get lubricated and consequently can fail when it is switched on, as the moving parts have seized up.

 

I'm fairly sure that there is something in the handbook about ensuring that you run the air-con for a minimum of 10-15 minutes at leats once a month, year round.

 

I've had problems with the a/c on my C3 (also now 5 years old, but at 76k) but this was due to the pipework failing and allowing the gas to escape on two seperate occassions. Citroen have now modified that "dodgy" part and things have been OK since, touch wood.

 

Sorry thats not much help to you in this instance, but you might want to try an independant Peagueot / Citroen specialist or an independant automotive a/c specialist and try sourcing the parts from somewhere like GSF (German Swedish and French) who seem to be in most major towns now. They can often supply genuine parts at less than the dealer, or obtain suitable non-OE parts at a fraction of the cost.

 

I have checked my hand book. No warnings, just a helpful suggestion to run it for general comfort and humidity reduction