Air Conditioning Service

[stargazerplus]

This maybe should be in the specialist section, but the mods can move it

Just thought it might get more attention here and be of use to each and every one of you!

I am fussy who works on my cars but I decided to go to Kwikfit today to suss out their aircon service. I am really surprised to say that I was very impressed. There was a queue of customers and the independent I rang was busy for the next two weeks. Before I let them touch mine I watched carefully to see what was going on with the guy in front of me's car. I also decided to take the risk because they have a leaflet the says they would give your money back if it wasn't 10% colder... mine ended up nearly 30% colder.

The equipment they use is only two months old manufactured by Robinair in Italy, which seems to be what the independent specialists use. It is fully automatic and they enter in the make and model of car. The machine then pulls off and measures the gas (mine had 790g and should have had 950). It also pulls off the oil and holds a vacuum of -1bar fot 20 minutes. It then recharges with the correct amount of gas.

Well the difference is remarkable. They measured my car when it came in with a big probe down the centre vent for a couple of minutes, climate set to low and fan to max/air to vents. Temp was 12.9 c. After the service the temp was down to 8.3 c. The car is five years old 80000 miles and had never had aircon work.

Oh and I forgot to say that once the equipment has pulled a vacuum on th e system it does a leak test. I think £45 is a bargain seeing as all the other quotes were about twice that. Their guy had been on a training course and all they will do is refrigerant and oil recovery and recharge but the difference i todays 30 c heat is remarkable!!! And no I don't work for kwikfit...

I'm going to take the C class in tomorrow. Apparently they're only doing a trial, so I had to call HO to find out which centres has the equipment. I used the Gants Hill branch near Ilford.

 

[stargazerplus]

Here's the printout...

 

[stats007]

Thanks for the info - sounds like a good service.

 

[stargazerplus]

I wouldn't normally go near kwikfit with a bargepole. They are desiagned for people who don't have a clue about cars Maybe ok for a tyre in an emergency:bannana:

There was a guy having a complete disc and pad changed on a BMW 3 series and I was keeping an eye. The "brake specialist" did seem to be taking his time over the job.

There was a queue of four peole after me for aircon, so maybe this service is gonna take off for them. I wouldn't be surprised if they upped the $$$

 

[BTB 500]

Good info., thanks. We're going to try one of the branches in Guildford tomorrow (the Woking one doesn't do aircon).

 

[stargazerplus]

Give head office a ring. They'll tell you the nearest branch that does it. This is a pic of the machine... translated from Italian

 

[BTB 500]

I had to search around a bit to get the head office number ... couldn't find it on the website! Anyway it's 0870 606 0654. Seems not that many Kwik-Fits do aircon, none of the Guildford ones. Nearest to me is Staines.

 

[stargazerplus]

Their number's on this page... freefone 0800 222 111!

http://www.kwik-fit.com/

All of the east london centres in a five mile radius did it when I called to check.

 

[Shude]

I take it they didn't find a leak though?

 

[stargazerplus]

I take it they didn't find a leak though?

No they didn't... I'm not sure what answer you were expecting here

At the risk of grannies and eggs, we all know that car a/c systems gradually lose refrigerant due to the nature of their construction, as opposed to domestic fridges, which have an all metal sealed system, and therefore need recharging every few years when efficiency drops.

What I would point out is that the technician said to me that if they do find a leak, they will not get involved.... they WILL regas the system, but their money back if not 10% colder doesn't apply. They seem not to be into system maintenance or inspection, simply refigerant and oil recovery, leak testing (they pull a vacuum for twenty minutes to do this and to remove any moisture) followed by oil and refrigerant top up.

I stood very close by (this is one of the good things.... you can't stand next to a Merc tech at a dealer!!) and watched their every move, even making sure they selected the correct vehicle in the machines menu system. Once started everything else is automatic.

I have now had the 98 c class done as well with even better results. No leak detected but only had 575g of gas when it should have had 850g. Temp at vents dropped from 10.9 to 6 degrees.

 

[BTB 500]

Their number's on this page... freefone 0800 222 111!

I rang that first but it seems to be an automated service - I selected "nearest service & MOT centre" and it put me straight through to Leytonstone (I was ringing from work in London) - the guy there gave me the customer services number I posted above. Rang them, they asked for my postcode and gave me the nearest centre that did aircon.

All of the east london centres in a five mile radius did it when I called to check.

They told me the aircon service is being piloted in the London area.

Edit: the website says

Air-con recharge is only available in selected centres in the South East of England.

 

[Shude]

What I would point out is that the technician said to me that if they do find a leak, they will not get involved.... they WILL regas the system, but their money back if not 10% colder doesn't apply. They seem not to be into system maintenance or inspection, simply refigerant and oil recovery, leak testing (they pull a vacuum for twenty minutes to do this and to remove any moisture) followed by oil and refrigerant top up.

As pointed out earlier the 10% thing is pointless because of the scale:

Now may be a cynic but if I was getting air at 20C when expecting a 4C primary output temperature would not be that impressed if they claimed a triumph by producing 18C!

It is illegal to re-gas an air conditioning system if it is leaking, however I had mine done a few years ago and although no leak was detectable (by vacuum) the gas was gone in a fortnight...

£45 however is a bargain

 

[BTB 500]

They seem not to be into system maintenance or inspection

Yup, the website says

It is not a service where component parts are fixed or replaced.

 

[stargazerplus]

As pointed out earlier the 10% thing is pointless because of the scale:

I agree... the 10% thing is pretty pointless... the results, however were more like 30%, which is cool

£45 however is a bargain

And yes it was a bargain.. both cars regassed and operating efficiently for £90!! I had rung lots of places which were miles away from me and was quoted upwards of £60 + vat. And the fuel costs of getting to Wembley, Surrey or Kent were enough to put me off trying this route. The mobile guy I tried couldn't fit me in for three weeks and said that if the system was working and as the car was only five years old it should be left alone.

Just make sure you watch what they're doing. They nearly regassed the W202 c as a W203!!

 

[Shude]

Just make sure you watch what they're doing. They nearly regassed the W202 c as a W203!

The independent I took my car to just used the weight of refrigerant listed on the cross member, the 202 and 203 are probably the same, in fact they're all probably the same although there should be no mistakes, the wrong amount of gas could obviously cause problems.

 

[stargazerplus]

Yup, the website says

Thanks Bill! I couldn't find this on the website... I now have and though I would post the whole blurb

Recharge or no charge at Kwik-Fit

Like other parts of your car, your air conditioning performance deteriorates over time. Every year, a vehicle can lose an estimated 10% of the gas that is required to keep your air conditioning system working efficiently. For this reason, most car manufacturers recommend that air conditioning is recharged or serviced every 2 years. Without this regular maintenance your car engine will have to work even harder to keep you cool which means it will need to use even more fuel.

With an air conditioning recharge at Kwik-Fit we will assess and top-up your air conditioning system so that the gas and lubricant content of the system is optimised in accordance with manufacturers’ specifications. It is not a service where component parts are fixed or replaced.

Let Kwik-Fit recharge your air-con while-you-wait for £44.95. As part of our recharge service, we use the latest air-con diagnostic equipment to check and optimise your vehicle’s air-con lubricant and refrigerant levels. In under an hour, our specially trained technicians will show you the difference in you air-con system before and after the recharge.

And you only pay by results!

If your coolest air-con vent temperature doesn't improve by 10% or more – you pay nothing. Contact your nearest centre for details.

Air-con recharge is only available in selected centres in the South East of England.

 

[stargazerplus]

The independent I took my car to just used the weight of refrigerant listed on the cross member, the 202 and 203 are probably the same, in fact they're all probably the same although there should be no mistakes, the wrong amount of gas could obviously cause problems.

I've just had a look at Mercedes Wis. Most models are 850g ie 202, the 220 takes 950g or 1050g with rear aircon and the pre 2004 203 only takes 750g. The 124 takes 1050g. So they are all slightly different. The amount of oil topup varies considerably and I think it also depends on how much extra refrigerant they have to put in. The machine topped up the S class with 12ml of PAG but the C class with 22ml, probably due to the fact that it required much more gas.

 

[BTB 500]

Phoned Kwik-Fit Staines ... they are open 10:00 - 4:00 on Sundays, but not for aircon!

 

[gary350]

My dealer is doing an air con service for £84.

gary

 

[agriff]

Air Con

Just booked in at Dorking branch as it's almost en-route from Norwich to Fareham. There are garages local to me offering £39.00 but I don't know if they do exactly the same or a lesser version.