Rich_Jenkins

Well, it kinda sorta does . My car's ('17 C2) Maintenance Manual does include "air conditioning and instruments" within the bloc for "Test drive" under the 20,000 mile / 2 year Maintenance. To be honest though, I'd guess rather more cars are brought in by their owners for AC concerns about it not working, than fastidious techs placing a temperature probe in the center vent for 8 minutes.

Schorsch

2014 Carrera 2 - first hot day this year in Germany. AirCon is blowing cool air out of vents on max setting. I guess it should be cold to freezing what is coming out the vents. Internet research aka BOSCH Service site stated that EVERY AC system does loose the coolant/lube inside the system over time and that it has to be refilled and checked for leaks periodically.
Maybe they write that, because the want to make money … who knows!?
Also does anybody know, what coolant is in there?
R 134a or R1234yf ?
Maybe that is different in the USA and Europe and rest of world!?

Mozella55

Well, since you asked I'll say that I know, as does anyone else who holds a license to handle refrigerants.
Unlike your home refrigerator which has the compressor sealed inside a can containing refrigerant, your car's compressor is shaft driven from a belt attached to the engine. The seal around this rotating shaft, which has refrigerant on one side and the atmosphere on the other is very good but not perfect. Over time refrigerant is lost even without a genuine leak. It's just a fact of life and it is NOT something your dealer makes up in order to pick your pocket.
If you lift the hood and look around you will see a tag listing the kind of refrigerant you have in your car. That is a law in the U.S. and I suspect it is in Europe too although I don't know that for sure. However, I can say that when I lived in Europe all my cars had that refrigerant tag.
If your A/C system is not as cold as you think it should be, have it checked at an air conditioning specialist shop. They are almost always less expensive than a dealer and you can expect them to have more knowledge and experience too. They will connect gauges and thermometers to find out how much refrigerant you need, assuming all you need is a top off. It is not good practice to simply add a can of refrigerant without using gauges and also having a bit of knowledge about how these things work.

vanlieremead

GM years back turned on the compressor when the defrost was enabled just to run the compressor in the winter. That might help dry out the air as well.

Maintaining proper pressures in the system is important to performance as well as mileage. A full system will cool better and will turn itself off more often than a system low on refrigerant. I’m hoping that manufacturers move to electric compressors that aren’t belt driven. My hybrid Camry had one.

asellus

Careful, that's gonna upset some of the conspiracy theorists around here.

Mozella55

The fact that all automotive A/C systems leak a little bit doesn't mean people who work on these systems are not out to take you for a financial ride.

Where you MIGHT get your pocket picked is if your dealer has designated the floor sweeper (a crack head kid who's Dad asked the dealer to give him a job after Dad bought his third high-end Porsche) as their A/C specialist. He routinely just dumps in a can of R-134-A and says, "job done".

Of course, many dealers have genuine A/C experts working there and they know their stuff, but I would much rather take my car to an A/C specialty shop and deal the the mouth-breather working there where at least you can count on them owning a set of gauges. Unfortunately, you might run into a shop who tries to sell you a new (but not really needed) compressor.

These days everything is a crap shoot when it comes to good service. You just gotta' cross your fingers.

To delay the inevitable day you need your refrigerant topped off, especially if you live in a cool climate, be sure to turn on your A/C system to some mode which will force the compressor to run for a few minutes every month. If you let a shaft and seal sit stationary for 11 months of the year, you are more likely to leak refrigerant faster than if you exercise the components from time to time.

Noah Fect

The compressor supposedly runs full time in a 9x1 car, modulated by a swash plate. So there's actually no need to remember to run the A/C off-season. It's powered on at each startup whether you want it or not.

Of course, that still doesn't guarantee freedom from leaks, just means you can't do anything to worsen or improve the odds.

Schorsch

Alright, feedback on my AC service in an independent BOSCH Service Center here in Berlin Germany on my 2014 C2:
The system was very low on R134a. Less than 100 Gramm was remaining. The personal did a pressure test and everything was fine. The system did hold pressure for more than 20 minutes.
They refilled the system with a total of 840 Gramm of R134a. Also they put some UV-contrast liquid in there, so if there is a leak they can find it easy by looking at the hoses with UV-light. The service guy told me that some customers put leak-sealers in, which could damage the pump and also damage the service machine, which takes the refrigerant out of the car and back in again. So be advised to NOT add any leak-sealer under any circumstance.
The service valves are where the cabin air filter is located in the frunk.
The AC is working great again.
The service was 134€ which is 70€ for the service (flat) and the rest for the refrigerant.

What I wonder: If the AC is running all the time, why is there an AC OFF button and what does it do?

LexVan

The AC does not default to be running all the time. The FAN is the one that always defaults to the on position. FYI.