Air-conditioning failure
The aircon on my 2007 Skoda Octavia VRS diesel with 110,000 miles was serviced a year ago. After a few months, I started to hear hissing noises in the pipework when it was first kicking in and the performance slowly degraded. I got it regassed a couple of months ago and performance went back to normal. Just a few weeks later, I started to hear the hissing/gurgling noises again and performance started to drop off.
I mentioned it to the mechanic that had done the regas (and who does most of my work for me) and the only thing he could suggest was that, given the age of the car, some of the seals might be starting to dry up. I’m reluctant to just get it regassed again, but I’m unsure about what to try next. There must be a leak in it somewhere, but if it passes the vacuum test, I don’t know how easy diagnosis might be. Should I take it to an aircon specialist? Craig Mcwiggan
Leaks can be difficult to find and the two most common areas are the seals between joints or a small puncture in the condenser. Although a vacuum test will show up a bad leak in the system immediately, slower and more difficult leaks will not always be evident. I would first ask the garage who carried out the regas if they added a UV dye – if they did, the leak may be detectable using a black light. If they didn’t, or if they cannot locate the leak for you, get the system tested by a specialist who will either use oxygen-free nitrogen to put the system under pressure while checking for leaks, or will use a UV dye which will show up any leaks in the system.