Technical Aircon issue

[Deedadsy]

Fiat 500X

My AC isn’t blowing cold anymore and has started making a ‘fan’ noise. I am a single mum so worried about the cost. I have 3 questions:

1) Any ideas on the problem
2) approx reasonable cost?
3) best kind of place to take it to?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Greasytrucker]

Has it slowly got worse or all of a sudden not blowing cold? Air con systems do lose a certain amount of gas each year so do need re-gassing every so often. It is normal for the cooling fan to come on when the the air con button is pressed. What age is car and has air con ever been re-gassed in your ownership? If it just needs a re-gas expect to pay £40 up to £80 or so depending on where you take it. Ats euromaster will test the system and only normally charge you if they have to put gas in. Not normally too pricey either

 

[AndyRKett]

What is the aircon doing, is it blowing warm, is it even slightly cold? Is there a sound like air running out of a balloon from behind the dash when the aircon is running or when the engine is switched off?

It is highly probable that it may just need the gas recharging

But I believe all the Fiat 500x models used a refrigerant called R1234yf which is more expensive and less companies provide it so costs are normally over £100 for a recharge it can be done cheaper in some places with deals and vouchers but generally that’s what you have to expect.

Also there is the risk that being a woman high street chain garages may seek to tell you all the other “horror” stories of what is wrong with your car and try and upsell you on a load of crap you don’t need.

I’d always advocate speaking to a proper aircon servicing company

 

[arekp]

Help Air con not working | FIAT 500X

As an AC engineer I’m surprised something needed to be re-wired, what exactly did they need to change? Also 2 garages saying too high pressure suggests the condenser fan isn’t coming in and it’s cut out on HP, not sure if these 500’s have a separate temp switch to activate the fan. There’s not a...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[Deedadsy]

Has it slowly got worse or all of a sudden not blowing cold? Air con systems do lose a certain amount of gas each year so do need re-gassing every so often. It is normal for the cooling fan to come on when the the air con button is pressed. What age is car and has air con ever been re-gassed in your ownership? If it just needs a re-gas expect to pay £40 up to £80 or so depending on where you take it. Ats euromaster will test the system and only normally charge you if they have to put gas in. Not normally too pricey either

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. That’s really useful info. It’s 2015. I have had it for 2 years, not re-gases since having it.

 

[Deedadsy]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. That’s really useful info. It’s 2015. I have had it for 2 years, not re-gases since having it.

It started making the sound out of the blue one day.

 

[Deedadsy]

What is the aircon doing, is it blowing warm, is it even slightly cold? Is there a sound like air running out of a balloon from behind the dash when the aircon is running or when the engine is switched off?

It is highly probable that it may just need the gas recharging

But I believe all the Fiat 500x models used a refrigerant called R1234yf which is more expensive and less companies provide it so costs are normally over £100 for a recharge it can be done cheaper in some places with deals and vouchers but generally that’s what you have to expect.

Also there is the risk that being a woman high street chain garages may seek to tell you all the other “horror” stories of what is wrong with your car and try and upsell you on a load of crap you don’t need.

I’d always advocate speaking to a proper aircon servicing company

It sounds like the balloon from dashboard, when ac switched on. I would say it’s slightly cold. Thank you so much!

 

[Deedadsy]

It sounds like the balloon from dashboard, when ac switched on. I would say it’s slightly cold. Thank you so much!

 

[AndyRKett]

It sounds like the balloon from dashboard, when ac switched on. I would say it’s slightly cold. Thank you so much!

Then I would suggest it is likely just a regas that it needs

 

[Deedadsy]

Then I would suggest it is likely just a regas that it needs

You star - really appreciated as I could easily have been ripped off!

 

[ClassicFiat500]

Fiat 500X

My AC isn’t blowing cold anymore and has started making a ‘fan’ noise. I am a single mum so worried about the cost. I have 3 questions:

1) Any ideas on the problem
2) approx reasonable cost?
3) best kind of place to take it to?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi I had a similar problem, took it to main Fiat Agent they quoted £1300 to replace the front air con rad (condenser) they said it is common problem as the odd stone can damage it. If you look through the grill you may see lots of fly debris . Rather than trust Fiat agent I took the car to a air con specialist in Milton Keynes I have copied my post below, it may help.
Just out for what they can get out of you!
My Air conditioning is now blowing cold, I took the car into Glyn Hopkins Fiat Milton Keynes hoping they would correct the air con under my extended warranty NO! I left the car with them for the morning & when I collected it they presented me with a bill for £168 for doing a health check on the car. Did they do the job I asked ? NO ! “Sorry your AIR CON is not under our warranty”. 40 miles & 3 weeks prior to letting them have my car I took it to my non Fiat garage for an M.O.T it passed with no problems also a report on brakes & pads which were fine, however Glyn Hopkins in Milton Keynes said I need new disks, new pads, a new air con condenser, new timing tensioners all this they wanted £3000 The brakes they said needed immediate attention, they had the service history with the car that clearly shows everything is up to date & in good order. Not surprising I told them to get lost. I then took the car to G.P Auto’s in Milton Keynes they re-gassed the air con & also added a leak stop fluid as they said the gas leak was just a tiny pin prick of a hole it should do the job with no problem. Yes it has, so the moral is BE VERY CAREFUL what MAIN DEALERS TELL YOU! 2 weeks later & still blowing nice cold air.
The total bill from a NON DEALER £128!

Slight but important info- According to Fiat Dealer List Glyn Hopkins are not on their list of dealers, they are only listed as Assistance not retailers in Milton Keynes, the nearest Dealer is Motor-Vogue in Bedford
If it is the condenser where a stone may have penetrated it and the hole is small enough its well worth going to an air con garage who may be able to sel it then re gas the air con. It worked for me and is still working 2 years later. Mine is an Abarth Anniverario

Fiat 500X

My AC isn’t blowing cold anymore and has started making a ‘fan’ noise. I am a single mum so worried about the cost. I have 3 questions:

1) Any ideas on the problem
2) approx reasonable cost?
3) best kind of place to take it to?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[ClassicFiat500]

Hi I had a similar problem, took it to main Fiat Agent they quoted £1300 to replace the front air con rad (condenser) they said it is common problem as the odd stone can damage it. If you look through the grill you may see lots of fly debris . Rather than trust Fiat agent I took the car to a air con specialist in Milton Keynes I have copied my post below, it may help.
Just out for what they can get out of you!
My Air conditioning is now blowing cold, I took the car into Glyn Hopkins Fiat Milton Keynes hoping they would correct the air con under my extended warranty NO! I left the car with them for the morning & when I collected it they presented me with a bill for £168 for doing a health check on the car. Did they do the job I asked ? NO ! “Sorry your AIR CON is not under our warranty”. 40 miles & 3 weeks prior to letting them have my car I took it to my non Fiat garage for an M.O.T it passed with no problems also a report on brakes & pads which were fine, however Glyn Hopkins in Milton Keynes said I need new disks, new pads, a new air con condenser, new timing tensioners all this they wanted £3000 The brakes they said needed immediate attention, they had the service history with the car that clearly shows everything is up to date & in good order. Not surprising I told them to get lost. I then took the car to G.P Auto’s in Milton Keynes they re-gassed the air con & also added a leak stop fluid as they said the gas leak was just a tiny pin prick of a hole it should do the job with no problem. Yes it has, so the moral is BE VERY CAREFUL what MAIN DEALERS TELL YOU! 2 weeks later & still blowing nice cold air.
The total bill from a NON DEALER £128!

Slight but important info- According to Fiat Dealer List Glyn Hopkins are not on their list of dealers, they are only listed as Assistance not retailers in Milton Keynes, the nearest Dealer is Motor-Vogue in Bedford
If it is the condenser where a stone may have penetrated it and the hole is small enough its well worth going to an air con garage who may be able to sel it then re gas the air con. It worked for me and is still working 2 years later. Mine is an Abarth Anniverario

I must add when my air con stopped I had a sort of whistling noise for a while although the heater was working and the fan just blowing air in from outside. It now blows ice cold air in as it should. If you go onto my posts you may be able to see what I did to avert the problems happening again as it’s a quite common problem. Best of luck and I can certainly sympathise with you

 

[DexterDog313]

My air con doesn't work but unless I live in the Sahara desert then don't need it. Especially in England

 

[ClassicFiat500]

My air con doesn't work but unless I live in the Sahara desert then don't need it. Especially in England

I must be a little OCD whatever car I have owned Everything has to work, the 1st thing anyone looks at when buying a used car is -“does everything work?” Plus we are coming towards the summer & why not have your air con if it’s there. I can’t stand anything thats nt working 100%

 

[DexterDog313]

I must be a little OCD whatever car I have owned Everything has to work, the 1st thing anyone looks at when buying a used car is -“does everything work?” Plus we are coming towards the summer & why not have your air con if it’s there. I can’t stand anything thats nt working 100%

Yeah I suppose. The ac comes in handy for demisting windows in winter. But I am a bit of a Jeremy Clarkson. Few years ago when we had that heatwave. My old ford ka never had ac so I stuck a shower head to the roof connected to a water tank. Kept me cool but don't think plod would of been too impressed

 

[AndyRKett]

Its air conditioning, not air cooling. So aside from the ability to make the air cooler it also dries the air making the cabin a much more pleasant place to be especially in any temperatures north of 25'C which in the summer we do tend to get a lot of even in the UK the biggest problem with UK weather is not so much the heat but the humidity, its the high humidity that prevents the human body being able to regulate its own temperature well.

throw in Climate control and now you just set what temperature you want and forget about it.

I drive convertible cars with the roof down and the aircon on, because if its 30+ degrees then I want some cold are blowing on my feet and face and avoid heat stroke.

 

[Deedadsy]

Hi I had a similar problem, took it to main Fiat Agent they quoted £1300 to replace the front air con rad (condenser) they said it is common problem as the odd stone can damage it. If you look through the grill you may see lots of fly debris . Rather than trust Fiat agent I took the car to a air con specialist in Milton Keynes I have copied my post below, it may help.
Just out for what they can get out of you!
My Air conditioning is now blowing cold, I took the car into Glyn Hopkins Fiat Milton Keynes hoping they would correct the air con under my extended warranty NO! I left the car with them for the morning & when I collected it they presented me with a bill for £168 for doing a health check on the car. Did they do the job I asked ? NO ! “Sorry your AIR CON is not under our warranty”. 40 miles & 3 weeks prior to letting them have my car I took it to my non Fiat garage for an M.O.T it passed with no problems also a report on brakes & pads which were fine, however Glyn Hopkins in Milton Keynes said I need new disks, new pads, a new air con condenser, new timing tensioners all this they wanted £3000 The brakes they said needed immediate attention, they had the service history with the car that clearly shows everything is up to date & in good order. Not surprising I told them to get lost. I then took the car to G.P Auto’s in Milton Keynes they re-gassed the air con & also added a leak stop fluid as they said the gas leak was just a tiny pin prick of a hole it should do the job with no problem. Yes it has, so the moral is BE VERY CAREFUL what MAIN DEALERS TELL YOU! 2 weeks later & still blowing nice cold air.
The total bill from a NON DEALER £128!

Slight but important info- According to Fiat Dealer List Glyn Hopkins are not on their list of dealers, they are only listed as Assistance not retailers in Milton Keynes, the nearest Dealer is Motor-Vogue in Bedford
If it is the condenser where a stone may have penetrated it and the hole is small enough its well worth going to an air con garage who may be able to sel it then re gas the air con. It worked for me and is still working 2 years later. Mine is an Abarth Anniverario

Wow! That’s a lesson. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain your experience. Much appreciated

 

[The Panda Nut]

I must be a little OCD whatever car I have owned Everything has to work, the 1st thing anyone looks at when buying a used car is -“does everything work?” Plus we are coming towards the summer & why not have your air con if it’s there. I can’t stand anything thats nt working 100%

I call it OCD car. I suffer the same. And yes it is strongly OCD symptomatic. Stand back and think about which things are important. I do agree aircon must work. Panda condenser repalced at dealer 5 years ago was £300 all in. £1300 is outrageous. Use an aircon specialist as already suggested.

 

[850kd]

In over 80k miles the aircon condenser is the only failed component on my car fem new (apart from 2 taillight bulbs)
The condensers cost about 120£ plus fitting labour . mine cost about £400 including the regas.
My advice is to go to a specialist aircon place for the best service, no point in regassing it until its checked out.