air con recharge (kwik Fit)

[cejsmith]

I've now got my blower working so I thought I would get the a/c recharged.

Is the kwik fit deal any good? It seem like you can't lose.

 

[andy_k]

you can't lose but you don't get an aircon specialist looking at it just a machine.

No bad thing really but our local guy charges £60 - I figured that the extra £15 was worth it.

the only downside to kwik fit is that they use recycled oil/gas and a specialist will use new

 

[renault12ts]

Here you go:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/68075-kwik-fit-air-con-service.html

 

[timskemp]

Just had mine done at kwik fit, as long as you don't suspect there's anything wrong with the system I can't see any problem with it.

 

[lynall]

Andy pretty certain they have to recover all the refridgerant to do vac test and they will put it back in plus some more if it needs it, if they used new gas all the time they would charge a lot more than £60.

Our machine at work prob same as qfit one, plug into car, tell machine capacity of system using sticker under bonnet, start machine up, it pulls all gas and oil out does vac test, sticks correct amount of oil back in then the gas.



Lynall

 

[andy_k]

Andy pretty certain they have to recover all the refridgerant to do vac test and they will put it back in plus some more if it needs it, if they used new gas all the time they would charge a lot more than £60.

Lynall

Yep, he does recover all the gas to do the vac test to one cylinder (in his case marked 'OLD' - then he repaces it with new oil/refrigerant from a different cylinder.

 

[lynall]

Andy that must cost him a fortune in recycling charges?



Lynall

 

[robert.saunders]

As Andy says, that's what the air con specialist did with mine, a re-gas is £45 with him if you take the car to him, £49 if he comes to you, a service is only a few ££ more.

Back to the OP, I wouldn't discount CoolCar (Richard who is local to me mentioned that there is franchise which goes to MK) but then I have no affiliation with them , so not sure if this is advertising or not

Top service with knowledgeable people doing hands-on work, not a plug n play machine

 

[cejsmith]

I've now had it done by Kwik fit, the job seems to have worked, I now have cool air

They did have one problem, that was get the gas back in , they could only use the low presure input, but in the end they managed to get the kg plus of gas in.

Not bad for £45 I think.

 

[Laurie]

I had my mitsubishi done around a year ago. It's held up well and still blows cold.

 

[Alps]

3 years and still cold as anything! Kwik fit deal was good for me, i guess if you suspect somethings wrong you go to a specialist!

 

[SilverSaloon]

one month on from getting the Picasso re-gassed by KwikFit - the car isnt cold anymore.

they said they did a leak test before regassing.

car is going back there for them to look at it.

 

[corned]

in his case marked 'OLD'

Doesn't stop him replacing that with a 'NEW' sticker afterwards though!!!

 

[vijilants]

one month on from getting the Picasso re-gassed by KwikFit - the car isnt cold anymore.

they said they did a leak test before regassing.

car is going back there for them to look at it.

Their leak test is fairly useless unless there is a massive gaping hole in the system.

Futhermore they do not inject a dye in order to be able to trace the leak.

Looks like you will have to get a refund and take it to a specialist to trace the leak.

 

[panason1c]

Had my ML regassed at KF couple weeks ago, the vacuum leak test that the machine performs is useless at detecting small leaks as 3 days later i lost all the gas (due to my condensor radiator leaking) even though the machine reported 'no leaks'.

After fitting a new rad i went back and they (reluctantly) recharged the system at no extra cost to me.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Their leak test is fairly useless unless there is a massive gaping hole in the system.

Futhermore they do not inject a dye in order to be able to trace the leak.

Looks like you will have to get a refund and take it to a specialist to trace the leak.

its booked in for them to try and re-gas it again and/or try and see whats wrong. probably will end up getting a refund. to be fair, it probably isnt their fault - probably something wrong with the car but i was assured at the time their computer wouldnt allow them to regas if there was a problem...

 

[andy_k]

Their leak test is fairly useless unless there is a massive gaping hole in the system.

Futhermore they do not inject a dye in order to be able to trace the leak.

Looks like you will have to get a refund and take it to a specialist to trace the leak.

if they don't detect a leak, there is no need for dye

From what I've heard, if they do detect a leak, they just send you away to get it fixed.

 

[vijilants]

if they don't detect a leak, there is no need for dye

From what I've heard, if they do detect a leak, they just send you away to get it fixed.

Agreed, but what I meant was even if there is a leak, they are unable to tell you where it is leaking from as they are not equipped or trained to do that sort of thing.

All they do is regass it again and send you off and if it packs up again, they give you a refund.

Not really a good practice as you are not supposed to be pumping this stuff into the atmosphere.

Their suction system simply does not register for small leaks.

 

[panason1c]

From what I've heard, if they do detect a leak, they just send you away to get it fixed.

Correct, they have no diagnostic training, equipment (or knowledge) to deal with any a/c faults, the fitters are simply trained how to hook up the machine, programme it and switch it on!........they didnt even programme it correctly on my first visit which would have prevented the oil injection!!

When i went back after losing the gas i commented that i thought it would be better if their machine pressure tested the system rather than vacuum testing as the system might not show a leak under vacuum (as in my case) where it might under pressure, the KF guy i went to thought that a/c systems worked solely under vacuum and was surprised to be told the system reached quite high pressures in operation.

 

[johnsco]

Correct, they have no diagnostic training, equipment (or knowledge) to deal with any a/c faults, the fitters are simply trained how to hook up the machine, programme it and switch it on!........they didnt even programme it correctly on my first visit

......... the KF guy i went to thought that a/c systems worked solely under vacuum and was surprised to be told the system reached quite high pressures in operation.

WELL - I AM SURPRISED