I have received a letter from my dealer suggesting I should take advantage of their air conditioning service for my 8 month old 1.2 dynamic, which has currently covered 3,500 miles. A fiat supplied leaflet outlines two levels of service - and the cost is £30 for the first level (check operation and condition - and provide an antibacterial treatment) or £100 for the next level which involves more through checks and renewal of refrigerent gases.

The air conditioning is not been used much over the past 8 months (of winter!) - but following advice received I have switched it on every few weeks to discourage any problems created by lack of use.

This letter seems to me to be seasonal marketing exercise, and I am inclined to leave the air conditioning until the vehicle requires its annual service in August/September. Do forum members have any comment?

Thanks,

Andrew56

personally I leave the air conditioning on all the time so it never grows any bacteria, and stays working well... (in my last car it stayed on for two years and 80k without a hint of a problem) only lack of use causes problems, besides, the aircon dries the air, so de-misting is much more effective with it on....

I however have the 1.9 diesel, so it doesn't really effect power... with the 1.2, you may notice lack of power, and increased fuel economy, you turning it on for 10 mins every couple of weeks, should have the same effect of keeping it working....

the letter is deffo just to drum up business for them... as long as your aircon is working well, don't bother wasting your money... (my opinion!)

Andrew56 said:

The air conditioning is not been used much over the past 8 months (of winter!) - but following advice received I have switched it on every few weeks to discourage any problems created by lack of use.

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Use it in winter/rainy season as removes moisture from inside of windows,clears faster in winter aswell

Is AC effective with heat on as well as cold when demisting,? I have'nt tried it.

My car's nearly four, and the A/C has been on most of the time. No probs at all.
As they say, NOT using it is what causes the seals to dry out (the lubricant is in the gas) and the gas to leak.
And you can leave it on and set the temperature wherever you like. It's as useful in winter as summer because, as said, it defuggs the windows very quickly.
One day they all need re-gassing of course, but at least, with use, you shouldn't need an expensive repair job.
If you don't keep in on very regularly then at least use it for twenty minutes every week.

Air con compressor effectively use up (takes away) 7-9bhp when in use,so remember car is using more fuel than normal.

Daver said:

Is AC effective with heat on as well as cold when demisting,? I have'nt tried it.

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Absolutely.
Was on the M25 yesterday and the car was misting up like hell (I guess technically it'd be steam in hell..... ....).
The only way I could clear it was with the aircon and heat on, done in seconds. Knowing AC saps power and uses extra fuel I switched the it off and within 30secs the car would be fogged up again.
Thought something was wrong or I had a big leak or wet patch somewhere inside.
Then I realised I'd had the recirculate on!

T14086 said:

Air con compressor effectively use up (takes away) 7-9bhp when in use,so remember car is using more fuel than normal.

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Yup so if your car is 80bhp 10% of your fuel/energy is being wasted, a/c has its time and place but being left on constantly is a bit of a wast and not needed in the UK climate. Just think what 10% extra mpg would be!

Try it on a KA or similar sized engined car...70mph on motorway then put air con on....drops a good 5-6mph,however when i'm sitting in traffic this summer I'd be thinking wish I had a air con car(I say that every summer ).

A good tip to prevent bacteria growing in a/c cars is to put the heater on full at the end of the trip to dry out the air ducts. I find doing this once a week works fine. There is no need to spend money on a 8 month old system, just follow the good advice on here and it may need re-gassing when it's 4 or 5 years old.

im an a/c engineer, car that old should not need regassing so dont waste your money! Unless your air con has leaked then it doesnt need regassing, probably worth having it checked over and cleaned for 30 quid nice smell lol, any a/c questions can ask me lol and if anyone in the nhants area needs a/c looking at or a recharge then drop me a message!

Seeing as you are an a/c engineer Puntoruletheroad.......I am a little concerned about bacteria growth in the air conditioning system and the best way to keep the system in top condition and the seals lubricated.
Is there a way of eliminating/minimizing bacteria growth.....and where abouts in the system does it grow?
Is it best to run the system for 10 minutes a week or month?
Many thanks for your advice.

Ulpian said:

As they say, NOT using it is what causes the seals to dry out (the lubricant is in the gas) and the gas to leak.

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Superboy said:

best way to keep the system in top condition and the seals lubricated.

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Hey,

Bacteria growth happens on the evaporator coil, (inside your car) this is because it gets damp when used thus mould forms etc etc, i would recomend having it cleaned, but the regas is complete ****e unless it needs it!!

(If it needs a regas then it has a leak so it shouldnt affect you until a few years)

I ussualy run my a/c weekly.

1. in the winter to demist the van
2.in the summer to cool me down

if you run your ac but turn the heater up then you will get hot/warm but dry air because its been air conditioned.

You should run the a/c as much as poss i would say, fridge systems (a/c) contain oil which obviolusly lubricates the system.

So like the above said run it regulary to keep it all lubricated.

:idea:

Thank you for your advice.
How often should the 'Evaporator' be cleaned, can I do it myself and is it correct what the other guy said about if you run the system on with hot air that will help stop/clear out the system?

Any of you around Hampshire/Berkshire I can recomend Chris who trades as Azure Air con in Basingstoke. He is a helpful guy and not looking to gouge you. He will be able to place me if you mention the Marea which proved a tough nut to crack.

You can do it yourself i think halfords sell some ac cleaning stuff but to be honest having it done at a garage will be easiest! I have never cleaned it on my van and i use the ac 24/7/365 days o the year lol

i suppose once a year would do! depends on usage.

You could turn the ac off and run the blower with your heating on full to dry the evaporator off but tbh i have never done it!

If fiat are offering a clean and check over the ac system for 30 quid then theres nothing to loose matey



but tell them where to go when they try giving you a re gas

Great, thanks a lot mate.

I've noticed that after I've run the a/c, when I switch it off I get a noticeable musty smell (sometimes happens the next time I start up). My GP's only 4 months old and I've only used it a bit so far so I can't believe I have mould growing anywhere but there is that smell...

My previous car (Astra) went for 5 years without a regas - and also had a bit of funny smell AFTER using the air con. Sort of a damp river smell.

In both cars, it disappears after few minutes.

Any ideas (esp. PuntoRuletheRoad?)

You might want to check out http://www.kwik-fit.com/air-conditioning.asp - they are charging £19.95 for a clean and £44.95 for recharge