AviBen

As I got out of my 4-1/2 mo.-old TTS this afternoon (after a spirited drive home), I heard a hissing sound from the right front of the car that didn't stop. Called my dealer, they were open a few minutes more, drove the 5 miles there, during which the A/C shifted from blowing cold to blowing warm. Got there, a tech drove it, then checked it over -- yep, something with the A/C, hopefully I'll hear something Tuesday. I'm guessing/wondering it's something from a pebble, but....? Anyone have a similar experience?

I feel guilty about feeling so disappointed; I'm actually a lucky guy to have the luxury of worrying about first world trouble with a high-end toy. There's a whole lot of misery and suffering in this world -- who the hell am I to worry about a g-d car! (Still....)

Nanook

It's a machine..they break..all machines do...then we get it fixed and once again life is grande... until the next time they break

Some break more than others...most break more than ours.. :thumbs

worf928

Spirited driving, followed by a hissing accompanying diminishing A/C function.

Yup. Pebble put a hole in one of the A/C condensers.

Here's further guess: $271 for the part. 3 hours labor to install and flush and charge the A/C with $50 worth of refrigerant. $771.

worf928

Oh....and then ~$300 for Zunsport grills.

AviBen

Got a good link for the appropriate grille for a 991.2 TTS? I checked the Zunsport website and can't tell what's appropriate, must be "user error" (me!).

JW1

Rennline will be coming out with their grilles for the 991.2 TT/S soon. I was fortunate enough to be asked to test fit a set. They are sending me the grilles next week. If everything goes smoothly, I would imagine the grilles should be ready for purchase soon after that for both cars with and without ACC. I believe the Zunsport grille is just for cars with ACC.

worf928

Here's the link for 991.2 Turbo w/ACC

https://www.zunsport.com/en/porsche-grilles&filter=333

AviBen

Thanks!

Hawkeye911

My A/C went out on my 991.2 TTS also after about that same time period. In my case, it was the fan itself. They replaced it in a day via warranty.

I've noticed my seat cooling is not as cold as it once was, I need to get this checked out at some point next. I'm in a hot/humid climate (and I drive 100% with the top down unless it's raining), so I'm sure I'm taxing the system.

zagaone

The seats don't cool the air going through them. The system is just a fan inside the seats that suck the air under the seat and push it through the seat and into your back. Things like open motoring or the season temperature make the air inside the car warm faster and that is what you are experiencing. Try closing the roof and coolder a/c settings.

medacus

This is exactly what happens. I was wondering why seats weren't as cold with the top down.

Hawkeye911

Very good to know, thank you!

AviBen

Well, today I was told by my dealer that it was indeed a puncture in the passenger-side A/C condenser unit, likely from a rock or pebble, not covered under warranty. The quote for replacement and repair is over $2,300; they'll see what they can do on the cost, which includes 5 hours of labor at $249.50/hr (including time already spent diagnosing the problem). I don't think I have much choice but any input would be appreciated. I've felt treated well by my dealer and their personnel from the sales process through warranty work up to now (there was a little needed), they often seem to go the extra mile, I just could use some more information if anyone has any.

And, it certainly looks like a new mesh grille is in my immediate future -- any idea how much labor time is involved?

Thanks to everyone for their input!

worf928

Oh my. Before you authorize the work, make sure they're including a Porsche-branded glycerin-based lubricant.

My $271 for the part is based upon this link from Sunset Porsche.

While that link is to a 991.1 part, the part is not different for 991.2. (According to PAG's on-line PDF for parts.)

As far as I know: That price is probably less than 20% off of Porsche's MSRP (regardless of what sunset's site says.) Dealer mark-up is rarely-less than 20% over MSRP. Dealer cost is 75-80% of MSRP. So at 120% of list dealer margin is what? 60%

My guess was a wild-a$$ed-guess. It takes an hour or so to R&R the bumper cover(*). 30 minutes to evac and charge the A/C system with a commercial-grade machine. That leaves 1.5 hours to R&R the plastic shroud and condenser - and that was the WAG part.

(*) I've done it once to mine. I'd need to do it two more times to get a better estimate of book time. Might be 1.5 hours.

I did calculate the labor cost based upon what I thought was a reasonable rate for Illinois: $150/hr.

5 hours is their labor and 250 is the rate. Fine. That's 1250. Fine. Gotta pay for the loaners, marble floors and free latte. Where's the other $1050?

It's possible that there may be some odds and ends (single-use fasteners, EPA-related charge for 'disposing of the refrigerant evacuated from your system (even though they didn't)), but...

... I would ask what price they are charging for the replacement condenser and if it's more than ~420 I'd show them the link above and try to shame them into accepting ONLY a 20% margin above cost.

It's also possible that one of the lines to/from the condenser was damaged. You can click through that link above to the exploded diagram for the A/C system and see what the component prices are.

Yeah, service center's parts sales generate margin. But, more than 20-25% is highway robbery in my book.

Two options:
- Rennline grills installed while the cover is off (should be less than one hour labor in conjunction with the condenser R&R.)
- Zunsport grills (if yours is w/ACC as per previous link) that you can install in 30 minutes from the outside.

I took my bumper cover off to install Rennline grills (Zunsport's were NA at the time) only to find out that the Rennline grills didn't fit my non-gizmo-optioned Turbo. I ended up with Zunsport grills.

worf928

Oh, and you'll need a new receiver/dryer (dehydrator $66 at sunset) and 4 o-rings ($1.60 each LOL.)