Air Conditioner Condenser Leaking.
I bought my 2004 Arc Convertible (a lease returned car from California with 55,000 miles) several weeks ago and only recently discovered the air conditioner was not blowing cold. The weather has been cold here in Oregon so I did not need it. I took it to the dealer and they evacuated the system and refilled with refridgerant and test dye to check for leaks. A week later I took it in again and the black light revealed many leaks in the condenser. To their credit the dealer agreed to replace and repair the condenser at their expense. My question, is this leakage common? The front of the car was not torn up with rock chips etc, but something caused the condenser to have many small leaks (down on the lower front). Love the car so far. I would have not been very happy having to pay for this at $700. for the condenser and $180. to refill.
Answer:
I can't imagine it only costing you $880 for a condenser replacement and recharge. $1880 is more like it. Glad the dealer is covering it. Condenser leaks have not been commonly reported. I find it surprising you had multiple leaks. Sounds like corrosion in that case. Do you live near the coast? Incidentally, I just found a leak using a $30 kit from an auto parts store. This included a UV penlight and r134a with dye. I was shocked at how well it worked. I have paid for this service before, and $200 is the right ball park. And that's just to find what needs to be fixed! I was calculating cost of parts (including dealer markup), cost of recharge, and labor. There is no way a dealer is going to charge you THEIR cost for a condenser. To do the job proper, you also need a new receiver/dryer (any time you open the system this needs to be replaced). I'll bet they go 3 hours for labor at $110/hour (at least). I think I paid $1300 for a new condenser in a Chrysler minivan about 4 years ago. That included the recharge. Most condensers now are all aluminum. They used to be aluminum fins with copper tubing. Those lasted longer. Manufacturers switched to all aluminum to save weight. Just FYI. I checked on-line prices for condensers. They run $350-600 depending on whether you have manual or auto trans, and whether you by aftermarket or OES. So $880 sounds about right for a dealer price to you. They warn about stripping the aluminum threads when you install these.