I had the heater recall done a while ago.
Last weekend we went down to the seaside and used the aircon for the first time since the recall. The light came on but the air blew no cooler than with it off.
Got back home, tried listening, couldn't hear the compressor click on or see the revs go down, when I turned the aircon on.
Checked the fuses (which look nothing like what the manual says), all seem OK.
Had my local chap look at it. He said there was NO GAS AT ALL in the system, re-gassed it, now working OK.
It's under 4 years old; is this usual or something to do with the recall?
Thanks

you should be using the air-conditioning regularly, the system doesn't just pump gas around it also increases the pressure in the system and pumps oil around, this keeps the seals supple and lubricated. If you don't use it the rubber o-rings in the system can dry and crack and let the gas out the expansion and contraction of the parts with the system keeps the o-rings in place and keeps them moving so they don't dry out. This regular use keeps the system healthy.

If you don't use it then the gas can and will leak out.

Have the system refilled, with gas oil and dye, then if it does leak again the dye will leak out as well, with an ultra violet light it's then very easy to locate where the leak is coming from and fix the problem should it happen again in the future.

There are so many seals in the system it's not practical or cost effective to go round the whole system replacing them all, so using dye to find any leaks is the most effective method.

When they refill the system they should do a 30 minute vacuum and hold test where they suck all the gas and any air out of the system and leave it with a negative pressure for 30 mins to see if the pressure remains the same, if it loses the vacuum then its likely there are leaks.

Take the car to a proper Aircon specialist if you continue to have problems, they are much more knowledgeable than your average garage mechanic, have more time to spend on it and will do things properly, they also don't tend to cost any more than going to the mechanic and most of them will come to you and do the work on your drive way

Had exactly the same. Didn't realise that the Aircon had stopped working until about 3 weeks after is had the recall work done (it was much colder then). I contacted the dealership who were adamant it was nothing to do with the recall work they did, but they did agree to have a quick look. They just said 'it's out of gas, that's all' .
I didn't have them regass it as they said they would also charge a diagnostic fee if they did!
So I then took it to ATS. They said it was odd that the system appeared to have been completely evacuated as if for some repair work had been done requiring evacuation and then forgotten to recharge afterwards.

Anyway, they vacuum tested it and could find no leaks so the recharged it with some UV dye. It work fine for about 10 days.
I now need to take it back for them to black light and try and find where the leak is.