OK so the weather just started getting hot here and I noticed my car a/c was not blowing cold... took to a shop that was recommended highly by 2 people so I felt safe (I am real wary of car shops lying to me cause I am a girl). Anyway, they put dye in it to see if there was a leak anywhere and they put freon in for me to get me cold air and said come back in a couple days when the dye had time to settle (looked this up online and found it was normal procedure), so anyway went back and was told there was a leak in compressor- he told me not to worry cause the freon should last me for the season so I wont need to do the expensive repair- well freon only lasted like a week- went back and he said hole in compressor wasnt big enough for it to have leaked so he did the dye thing again- went back and he said ends up its the evapartor core with huge hole. Said he didnt see it first time cause its under dash. To make a long story short- had to get a new evaporator core which is only a $100 part BUT $600 in LABOR because they had to remove the dash. OK, so I got the repair done.... worked FABULOUS for 4 days AND NOW ITS BACK TO NOT COLD AIR!!! I AM FURIOUS!!!!! Monday I am calling him back cause they are closed until then. What do you think I should do yall? Shouldn't they have to fix my car for free? All that money in labor and they misdiognosed the problem? Also I remember initially when he gave me the quote he also said my expansion valve needed replaced, and then I noticed on my invoice they didnt replace it- maybe THATS the problem? All I know is I am scared to death this is gonna end up costing me a lot more money and I am so pissed off. Any advice on how to deal with this?

You dont have to pay for it for "come backs" just as the tech makes no money for come backs.

A/C systems are real easy to fix and diagnose.

Do you live around Chicago, IL if so I'll stop by and tell you the problem with it.


- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

Thanks! I WISH I lived near your area! Why are these guys having such a hard time fixing my a/c? I wish I knew what was wrong with it. Do you think its possible its just something simple they didnt do after replacing evaporator core? Do you think it could be b/c they didnt fix the expansion valve?

lovesstar wrote:Thanks! I WISH I lived near your area! Why are these guys having such a hard time fixing my a/c? I wish I knew what was wrong with it. Do you think its possible its just something simple they didnt do after replacing evaporator core? Do you think it could be b/c they didnt fix the expansion valve?

Well lets assume they diagnosed it correctly. And it was your evap leaking. Well if they say didnt tighten up the fittings correctly the refridgerent will leak out. If they didnt charge it up correcty it will leak out.

Lots of things can be wrong, it might be leaking out someplace else also.

The first thing I'd is hook up a set of pressure gauges, should be like 30 on the low side 150 on the high, somewhere around that is a good rule of thumb.

Pressure readings basically are the best diagnostic tool, as our your hands, feeling the temp. of the lines will tell you a lot.

If a line that should be cool is hot, you have a restriction.

good luck in getting it fixed

Dont let them bull @!#$ you around just cause your a 30 something girl by the way.





- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

Thanks! Yeah, I am really nervous about taking it in tomorrow. One, cause I hope they know what they are doing. Two, because I don't want to get screwed anymore than I already have.

ok so I took the car to the shop today, they say they need to replace the o-rings in the compressor. Does that make sense?

yes, orings that are leaking will cause u to lose freon. hard to detect sometimes.


Ryan1

But can you replace the o-rings without having to replace the whole compressor?

Hi Jenny,
Your profile dosen't say where you are, if your in the atlanta area I'll help get it right. The "O" rings should have been replaced when they did the other work, just common sense as they are cheap (about $4 for all of them) and prone to leaking. I would have a big fit if they tried to charge me for more freon because they didn't change those out to start with. I do all my own auto work (i'm a control system engineer, an older guy too 47) and a couple of shops tried to shaft me several years ago on A/C work. Bottom line is they should replace the cheap/easy stuff if they take the system apart and evacuate it. That includes the "O" rings, Orafice tube, and have a good look at the hoses & connectors. The dye should appear in just a few minutes if it's leaking enough to go down in 48 hours, so either they didn't use the UV dye like they said or were trying to get it out quick.
My 2 cents worth.

Thanks Don, but no I am in SC. He didn't charge me to recharge the a/c, in fact he sorta admitted it was his fault about the a/c not working. I am still furious b/c I am STILL waiting for him to replace the o-rings. If he doesn't call by the end of business day today I am calling him cause I will be damned if I go the weekend with no a/c all due to his screw up. I PAID for a/c, I expect a/c. I wish I knew someone in this area I could make my "car husband" (trustworthy guy to do my car stuff), instead I have to get sick to my stomach when I need anything done to car cause I think I am gonna be screwed.

I understand fully. I've been a couple of 'gals "car husband" through the years as I've got a little sister and don't like to see women screwed over on car stuff. Most professional mechanics don't intentionally try to screw women over but some do. There's a couple of things i don't do with cars, but i'm pretty picky when i have work done and usually visit one of the NAPA service centers in my area. The NAPA people and Gemini seem to be pretty good from what i've seen around here.
'later sweetie.
Don