The statement is only ridiculous if you don't understand how an a/c condenser works, it needs to be in the airflow over the front of the car to be able to transfer heat efficiently & hence why it's as susceptible to impact damage as any forward facing component. If you sheild it or manufacture it with thicker pipes it won't work as effectively.... Will you also be requesting puncture proof tyres & bulletproof glass to the windscreen!?!.I've since been told by the UK MD that it's a risk of everyday driving that the air con could be taken out, and he even compared the air con to tyres, windscreens and headlights as parts of the car that are susceptible to damage! I found this statement to be completely ridiculous
The statement is only ridiculous if you don't understand how an a/c condenser works, it needs to be in the airflow over the front of the car to be able to transfer heat efficiently & hence why it's as susceptible to impact damage as any forward facing component. If you sheild it or manufacture it with thicker pipes it won't work as effectively.... Will you also be requesting puncture proof tyres & bulletproof glass to the windscreen!?!.
Audi are under no obligation to issue a recall as it's not safety related.... I would imagine if you could go back twenty years on any forum you would have the same 'it's a design fault arguement' in reference to the coolant radiator. No manufacturer that I'm aware of fits an additional screen between the grille / bumper & rad pack, at the end of the day it all comes down to money. It's not a design fault as has been suggested & no manufacturer will ever agree that it is & open the floodgates for every retrospective claim for a rad or condenser that has ever been fitted to car!.Yes we all know how the Condenser works but this is about minimising risk and balancing operational efficiency. As motorists we have to accept that our vehicles are at risk from a variety of potential problems when using on the road but it is not unreasonable for us to assume that a manufacturer such as Audi will have minimised the risk as far as is reasonably possible during the design / development stage. I would find it very hard to believe that there couldn't be a mesh guard provided that would sit between the grill and the condenser which would balance the two and by providing this Audi would then have taken all reasonable steps to rectify what is becoming an on-going issue.
I suspect the head in the sand approach from Audi is down to the fact that any action to rectify the problem will result in a recall and removal of the bumper which takes a considerable amount of time even for an Audi technician and for every hour a car sits in the workshop under recall that is an hour the Audi must reimburse the dealerships. No doubt Audi believe it is more cost effective to deal with individual cases as and when the arise than issue a recall. They can not then offer any other item as that would be an acknowledgement on their part that there is an issue.
You would possibly see a wet mark if there's been a loss of oil or if U.V dye has been previously injected into the system to leak trace in the system.Lost the use of my air con yesterday, scanned with vcds and the fault code was:-
262914 - Refrigerant Pressure B10AB F0 [009] - Too Low. The refrigerant pressure was 1.0 bar
Cars booked in for next week and I'm a bit nervous to say the least. I checked the radiator through front grill and it does has some marks on it.
If the radiator is damaged, would there be any sign of the leak, like a wet mark ?
Thanks
Ive noticed the change you refer to on mine .. yes.Just out of interest. When you put the A/c on does the rev's increase. Due to the increased load on the alternator? I have pushed mine on previously on my old golf and a3 and it did. Where as I tried it out and it did not in this motor. Thanks in advance for replies.
Bad times... diagnostics to confirm.. will tell you if pressure in system is low. Compressor wont switch on if thats the case.Balls. That means mine is gone also and explains why it's not demisting this winter as quick ..
Hi I just put my A3 in for its first service wit 19000 on the clock . Found out the Air con would not stay on , informed my local Audi garage . They stated it was not covered in the warranty and would cost £829 pound to fix . After refusing this payment to fix my car . They contacted Audi themselves who said thy would pay some of the cast if I paid some of it myself . I grudge paying it but got the car fixed . The garage sad they had only hered of this happening about this before . Will look at fitting some mesh to prevent this happing again.My brand new Audi S3 has a hole in the air con condenser.
Have a look at the front grill... There are 3 x 4cm x 55cm gaps in the front grill giving a clear line for stone damage to the air con condenser. This is a clear design fault in my mind which will mean regular damage if you travel at motorway speeds. That's fine if you don't mind regular £800 bills to fix it because Audi have refused to cover it on the warranty despite this clear design fault.
This car is not fit for purpose. Be very careful before you buy one and only buy it if you're happy to drive at slow speeds!!
Has anyone else tried their air con lately?? Check it out because this has to be a ticking time bomb for damage and an £800 bill :-(
In the end, I got 75% off the bill and paid £181. The 75% was covered by Audi UK. Derby Audi weren't interested. And my story was also published by the Guardian
I have the same issue with the air condenser on my 2016 A3. My local Audi dealership quoted me £960 to fix it. After speaking with Audi UK, they have offered a 50% discount. They won't go any lower.
I'm planning to go down the small claims court route. Has anyone had any success doing this?