Ulpian said:

I've had my A/C for 90,000 miles and it is on most of the time. It cools in the summer, especially in this mugginess, and it dehumidifies in the winter.

It is the one convenience I wouldn't do without.

I do know that drivers who only use their A/Cs occasionally have the most problems, because the seals dry out and the system loses gas, which contains the lubricant. I have a Doblo of course, but the pipes are still exposed to all the crap on the roads, and I drive in all weathers. A/Cs shouldn't go wrong so make sure you get them to fix it, whatever it takes.

Sometimes the radiators spring a leak of course.

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If it's actually making the car cool then it would suggest that there is no issue with the condenser. Sounds more likely that there's something wrong with the internal temp sensor in the cabin or whatever it is that actually controls the system.

306maxi said:

If it's actually making the car cool then it would suggest that there is no issue with the condenser. Sounds more likely that there's something wrong with the internal temp sensor in the cabin or whatever it is that actually controls the system.

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Yes.

Ulpian said:

I've had my A/C for 90,000 miles and it is on most of the time. It cools in the summer, especially in this mugginess, and it dehumidifies in the winter.

It is the one convenience I wouldn't do without.

I do know that drivers who only use their A/Cs occasionally have the most problems, because the seals dry out and the system loses gas, which contains the lubricant. I have a Doblo of course, but the pipes are still exposed to all the crap on the roads, and I drive in all weathers. A/Cs shouldn't go wrong so make sure you get them to fix it, whatever it takes.

Sometimes the radiators spring a leak of course.

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Really? i just use it if it is too hot. Otherwise i use the fan.

It's nearly always too hot without the A/C. I prefer to be cool in the car, and sometimes I just leave it on and turn up the heat if it is too cool :devil:
With a Diesel the cutting in and out is imperceptible and it makes practically no difference to the fuel consumption.

I wonder if the OP had a split condenser, but the later bloke sounds like he has a switching or thermostat problem.

If anyone is familiar with the UAE its like 9 months of hot then 3 months of "cool" 15-20 degrees Celsius. So the Aircon is working almost 24/7. Plus the car is so rare here i couldnt find someone on the road to ask about his/her AC problems. And my car has only done 30K km

I have the manual control panel, so its ALWAYS on the furthest blue dot (coldest possible) so the internal temp sensor wouldn't be an option.

Maybe i should contact fiat directly because here we only work with dealers
Any other suggestions or contact info for Fiat anyone can provide??

I lived in Oman for nine years in the seventies and eighties, so I know why you need good A/C!

You mentioned the warranty and stated that you have had the car less than two years. Isn't it still guaranteed then? if so write a polite letter to the dealer explaining what he has done and requesting that he completes the repair. If he refuses email a copy of the letter to Fiat and see what they have to say.

Failing all that there must be specialsts about who could sort out any problem, or at least determine what the problem is - no?

It really shouldn't be that difficult to fix an A/C. Is there another dealer within striking distance - Muscat maybe?

Ulpian said:

I lived in Oman for nine years in the seventies and eighties, so I know why you need good A/C!

You mentioned the warranty and stated that you have had the car less than two years. Isn't it still guaranteed then? if so write a polite letter to the dealer explaining what he has done and requesting that he completes the repair. If he refuses email a copy of the letter to Fiat and see what they have to say.

Failing all that there must be specialsts about who could sort out any problem, or at least determine what the problem is - no?

It really shouldn't be that difficult to fix an A/C. Is there another dealer within striking distance - Muscat maybe?

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There is another dealer in Dubai around 160kms away i might go there as a last resort but am not ready to pay for the A\C to get fixed in another dealer if the car is still in warranty. You might be familiar with the mental charges they ask for here!! $1000 for the rear bumper without the parking sensors
I might ask them to give it a check which will cost me around $200!! and then take the report to my dealer...

Do u have any idea about how i can contact fiat directly?

Google up Fiat head office in Turin.

If there is no English version you might go to the Italian Embassy and ask somebody for help with an email or letter exchange?

However, Fiat sells in many Arabic speaking countries so they must have people who can manage correspondence in Arabic.

I can well see that you don't want to spend any money on a guaranteed car. Make sure you get every exchange in writing so you build up a dossier of your problem's history.

And tell your dealer what you intend to do, that might encourage him to try harder. This is the first thing I would do: and try to remain calm and collected at all times, it helps.

Ulpian said:

Google up Fiat head office in Turin.

If there is no English version you might go to the Italian Embassy and ask somebody for help with an email or letter exchange?

However, Fiat sells in many Arabic speaking countries so they must have people who can manage correspondence in Arabic.

I can well see that you don't want to spend any money on a guaranteed car. Make sure you get every exchange in writing so you build up a dossier of your problem's history.

And tell your dealer what you intend to do, that might encourage him to try harder. This is the first thing I would do: and try to remain calm and collected at all times, it helps.

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Thank you for the guidelines i was really not planning to be calm but ill try this time, and i will let you know!!

I thing I don't understand: You pay a lot of money for a car in which you spend considerable amount of time and people are stinting on extra pennies that air con uses to keep them nice and confortable? Go figure!

Melanabb said:

I thing I don't understand: You pay a lot of money for a car in which you spend considerable amount of time and people are stinting on extra pennies that air con uses to keep them nice and confortable? Go figure!

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Its either you have something useful to share with us, otherwise no thank you!

mazenimad said:

Its either you have something useful to share with us, otherwise no thank you!

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I spend a year in the Middle East in 1985 and I vividly remember the A/C stopped working in a Mazda 323. It was unbearable but I didn't delay getting it fixed. I reluctantly returned to UAE on a flight that was won in a raffle and stayed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for about a week and never saw a Fiat. You mentioned about spending $200 in having another dealer look at it. That sounds like a good idea since July is the second hottest month with temperatures in the high 40s.
IIRC the A/C in the North Amercian 500s has a more 'meaty' compressor and may be more capable at running 'flat out' compared with the European models.

Melanabb said:

I thing I don't understand: You pay a lot of money for a car in which you spend considerable amount of time and people are stinting on extra pennies that air con uses to keep them nice and confortable? Go figure!

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I'd put it stronger than that - while the comfort is a boon, it's the added safety of having aircon that's important in my view; reduced fatigue on long drives in hot conditions, and mist-free windows in damp/wet conditions are important safety factors. It's also very common to see non-a/c cars with one or more windows wound down in hot weather, increasing noise - and hence fatigue - and hurting aerodynamics - hence reducing the a/c's effect on mpg.

babbo_umbro said:

I'd put it stronger than that - while the comfort is a boon, it's the added safety of having aircon that's important in my view; reduced fatigue on long drives in hot conditions, and mist-free windows in damp/wet conditions are important safety factors. It's also very common to see non-a/c cars with one or more windows wound down in hot weather, increasing noise - and hence fatigue - and hurting aerodynamics - hence reducing the a/c's effect on mpg.

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Driving in temperatures in excess of 45 degrees and not having A/C IMHO is foolhardy. In relation to the 'effect on mpg' the price of a litre of petrol in UAE is around €0.40 and it's likely that it will be reduced substantially in price. Getting the A/C fixed asap is a bit of a 'no brainer'.

loveshandbags said:

Driving in temperatures in excess of 45 degrees and not having A/C IMHO is foolhardy. In relation to the 'effect on mpg' the price of a litre of petrol in UAE is around €0.40 and it's likely that it will be reduced substantially in price. Getting the A/C fixed asap is a bit of a 'no brainer'.

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Guys with ac on ALL the time in urban driving i get 9.0l/100 km instead of lets say 8.3l/100 km so the difference is barely anything. That comes up to like 5 euros a week more on petrol with 1.7euros a liter = )
In extra urban driving it hardly makes a difference, 0.5l/100km at most.

Dropped the car yesterday to the dealer, had a long talk with him and they gave me a car to drive meanwhile, and I can tell you they have no idea what is wrong with my car. So they concluded that changing the A/C compressor and pipes will fix the problem.

Got the car today afternoon, seems like the problem is fixed BUT another one came up!!!!
The old problem was so intense that i actually forgot how the A/C originally felt!

The problem with the new compressor is that if i stop for prolonged periods of time the grill temps increase drastically (becomes warmer). Does that happen to everyone? When the car is running and on highways its perfect.
Can someone please share their thoughts with me

the air con will get warmer when there isn't all that air going over the condenser. Sounds like it's working fine

Sounds fine to me - if you think about it, you've got a heat exchange system - if you make one part cold another part is bound to get hot - a fridge gives out a fair quantity of warm air.

306maxi said:

the air con will get warmer when there isn't all that air going over the condenser. Sounds like it's working fine

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babbo_umbro said:

Sounds fine to me - if you think about it, you've got a heat exchange system - if you make one part cold another part is bound to get hot - a fridge gives out a fair quantity of warm air.

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Thanx alot really appreciate the swift replies from everyone here now am happy

Just for info I have just replaced my AC condenser now 7 years old as the old one was perished and worn through as it's in the front. I removed the front bumper about an hours work(easy) and the local AC chap bolted on the new unit (£73 EBay) he charged £78 to vac the system refill the lub/oil, dye and re-gas. Whilst I had the bumper off I lined the inside with a mesh to reduce stone damage to the new condenser.