330D aircon not blowing cold

[ChasW]

The aircon on my wife's 330D does not blow cold air. It was re-gassed last July. What I notice is that when switching on the aircon there is no compressor sound or evidence power drain from slight movement of rev counter as there has been with other cars I have owned. Being new to BMW ownership I don't know whether to expect these signs when aircon is activated. The car is under warranty but if what i have described is normal and I just need a re-gass then I'll keep away from the main dealer prices. Any thoughts welcome.

[_Hoppers]

From my experience, when the aircon has failed on my cars it's been caused by a leaky condenser. My wife's car aircon failed last year, garage did a compression test and they said everything was ok so re-gassed it. One week later it stopped wroking again, under further investigation they found the condenser was leaking.

[helix402]

As above. It shouldn’t need an annual re gas.

[ChasW]

Thanks both. I'll contact the dealer as there's 2 months left on the warranty.

[anonymous-user]

...and BMW have had recalls on AC condensers. Or at least what they call product improvement programmes or some such.

[_Hoppers]

REALIST123 said:

...and BMW have had recalls on AC condensers. Or at least what they call product improvement programmes or some such.

'Quality Enhancement'

[_Hoppers]

ChasW said:

Thanks both. I'll contact the dealer as there's 2 months left on the warranty.

Don't get fobbed off with a 'just needs regassing again' reply. Hopefully it's been regassed with a dye additive so the source of the leak can be viewed under ultra violet light.

[8Tech]

100% thats a condenser leak.

[ChasW]

Postscript

Condenser replaced and system re-gassed today, all under warranty.

[cymro]

Had the aircon regassed 12 months ago on my 2015 320D Touring. On a 340 mile trip back from Cornwall a week ago couldn't get the aircon down to the usual cool temperature. Car has been serviced today and dealer has said the aircon condenser has been punctured probably by a stone. Does anybody know about BMW providing some additional protection to the condenser under a recall type procedure. Also anybody have any experience of a BMW contribution to a new condenser fitment when out of warranty as it appears that the protection of the grille is not good enough?

[Mr Tidy]

cymro said:

Had the aircon regassed 12 months ago on my 2015 320D Touring. On a 340 mile trip back from Cornwall a week ago couldn't get the aircon down to the usual cool temperature. Car has been serviced today and dealer has said the aircon condenser has been punctured probably by a stone. Does anybody know about BMW providing some additional protection to the condenser under a recall type procedure. Also anybody have any experience of a BMW contribution to a new condenser fitment when out of warranty as it appears that the protection of the grille is not good enough?

Good luck with that! :

My Z4 was diagnosed with a condenser failure a week ago, so is booked in for a new one - but as it's a Coupe it gets hotter than I'd like just now.

Thankfully the climate control on my daily is working!

[Sim89]

My 2014 330d had no AC when I bought it - just warm humid air. The car is still under warranty until Aug, 2019. BMW were not interested in looking at it under warranty terms and were insistent that if they found a stone hole (known design fault) in the condenser or anything else they deem 'non-warranty', they would not replace it under warranty and I would be liable to pay the £180 diagnostic fee, plus the part and labour for replacing the condenser (probably around an additional £3-400) or whatever else.

As it turns out, I paid £50 for a regas from a local garage and it has worked fine since for a few months. I was surprised that it had leaked out in 5 years, but apparently it can happen through normal usage.

Don't expect BMW to help even if the car is under warranty. They are judge and jury in their own court.