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[Kevin Wood]

Hmm. Sorry to say it but it looks like it's luck of the draw at Kwik Fit.

Went in today and got the feeling throughout that I was a pain in the @rse getting in the way of them fitting tyres. They didn't ask what the problem was to start with. I started to explain that it was working but only very marginally and the guy had walked off with the keys before I'd finished my sentence.

Asked me to wait in the waiting room and wouldn't discuss the process to any degree.

When they were finished it was a case of "sign here" "here are the keys".

I asked if it was working better now and the guy said "why, wasn't it before?"  not that he had bothered to find out. They wouldn't discuss any results - claiming that "we just hook it up to the machine and it does everything" so I've no idea if the rerigerant was low or if there is likely to be any other type of fault. All they said is that there are no leaks. No evidence of a before and after temperature check having been carried out.

Mentioned the "You only pay with results" advert and they insisted that they had recharged it and that's what I asked. I had specifically referred to the advert on their web site guaranteeing results or no charge.

Absolutely no difference to the cooling. To be honest I think some kind of problem exists with the system, they realised it wasn't working and that they didn't have a clue why so they tried to pull the wool over my eyes.

Think a snottogram to the manager followed by taking it to someone who knows that they're doing is in order.


Kevin

[platty]

My local one, they've got a new m/c that checks pressure & for leaks & won't re-gas if it fails....

Is your local one on Foleshill Road, on the corner of Cash's Lane???

If so i might take a trip there; i work at halfords so its only a 30 second drive!!

[cdx25]

Kevin:  >> "we just hook it up to the machine and it does everything"

Aw thats bad news that they cant tell you the detail.  Auto recovery machines tell you how much gas they have recovered by weight, so they should have been able to tell you that....  Bad luck, thats not at all helpful.

Jon

[Kevin Wood]

I'm sure it's just down to the guy you get on the day, in fairness. This guy was obviously not remotely interested in anything other than connecting the machine up, pressing the button and leaving it to it.

As with everything, get someone who's actually enthusiastic about what they're doing and it makes all the difference.

Well, regardless of the operator, at least I can hopefully have trusted the machine to charge it with refrigerant properly. The sun has come out and been on the car all afternoon so I suspect the drive home will tell me if it's made a difference (it was 14 degrees earlier so I may not have given it much of a chance TBH).

Kevin

[x25xe]

Kevin,

Did you have to pay anything for that woeful service?

If the system is now fully charged, then some diagnosis is required - i.e. what pressure is the system running at on both the high and low side, is the condenser being cooled correctly, is the received / dryer in good order, the evaporator, the expansion valve and, finally, the compressor??

Good luck with getting it sorted - and at a low(ish) cost.

[andyiow]

Just had my air-conre gassed cost £65+vat but then we are limited to 2 and only 1 could fit me in as the other was going away for a while.

My system had no gas in it but hen I have not had the air con serviced for as long as I have had the car. My seals where all good as it held the system pressure according to the gauges.

Now a happy cool omega driver again.

[Kevin Wood]

Well, I think I'll be going back to have a chat with the manager on Monday armed with a print out of the relevant page from their web site because there is a world of difference between what they promised and what they delivered.

I will be asking to see the before and after temperature measurements (I don't believe they bothered to take any) and asking for a refund if they can't produce them, especially as they claim to charge nothing if there's not a 10% difference between the two (thatever 10% means when dealing with temperatures - no doubt they work in degrees Kelvin!).

..but I am conscious that it's hardly swealtering weather at the moment, the car is new to me so I'm not familiar with a system that's working properly and maybe my expectations are not realistic. Maybe someone could confirm based on the following that my system is not working satisfactorily.

The outside air temperature was 15 degrees today, the sun was shining and I drove home (20 miles) in shirt sleeves with the climate set to "lo" and the fan at full speed. Based on other air con systems I have experienced this should have quickly lead to an uncomfortably cold car. The reality is that it was a degree or two colder than I would have preferred but I didn't really get the urge to give up and dial in some heat.

The air con does give some cooling. Switching to eco mode does raise the temperature by a few degrees at a guess. The compressor is engaging, the auxiliary fans are running at low speed and the condenser looks clean and not blocked with debris. The pipes in the driver's footwell to the heater matrix do run reasonably cool (slightly warm but not at engine temperature) so I think the HBV is cutting any significant supply to the heater matrix.

I wouldn't have minded if they'd said that there was a fault in the system that can't fix. They only offer a recharge service after all. I wouldn't really have minded paying for their efforts if they'd been up front with me and provided whatever suggestions and information they could as to what was wrong. In the event they sent me packing hoping I wouldn't argue.

Kevin

[x25xe]

Well, I think I'll be going back to have a chat with the manager on Monday armed with a print out of the relevant page from their web site because there is a world of difference between what they promised and what they delivered.

I will be asking to see the before and after temperature measurements (I don't believe they bothered to take any) and asking for a refund if they can't produce them, especially as they claim to charge nothing if there's not a 10% difference between the two (thatever 10% means when dealing with temperatures - no doubt they work in degrees Kelvin!).

..but I am conscious that it's hardly swealtering weather at the moment, the car is new to me so I'm not familiar with a system that's working properly and maybe my expectations are not realistic. Maybe someone could confirm based on the following that my system is not working satisfactorily.

The outside air temperature was 15 degrees today, the sun was shining and I drove home (20 miles) in shirt sleeves with the climate set to "lo" and the fan at full speed. Based on other air con systems I have experienced this should have quickly lead to an uncomfortably cold car. The reality is that it was a degree or two colder than I would have preferred but I didn't really get the urge to give up and dial in some heat.

The air con does give some cooling. Switching to eco mode does raise the temperature by a few degrees at a guess. The compressor is engaging, the auxiliary fans are running at low speed and the condenser looks clean and not blocked with debris. The pipes in the driver's footwell to the heater matrix do run reasonably cool (slightly warm but not at engine temperature) so I think the HBV is cutting any significant supply to the heater matrix.

I wouldn't have minded if they'd said that there was a fault in the system that can't fix. They only offer a recharge service after all. I wouldn't really have minded paying for their efforts if they'd been up front with me and provided whatever suggestions and information they could as to what was wrong. In the event they sent me packing hoping I wouldn't argue.

Kevin

Agreed - your system does not seem to be running a peak efficiency - like you, I would expect the car to be too cold.

Also agree with your other comments - good luck with the refund.

I expect the Kwik Fit people work at -273 degrees Kelvin - certainly in the brains department anyway!

[Andy B]

..........
 the sun was shining and I drove home (20 miles) in shirt sleeves with the climate set to "lo" and the fan at full speed. Based on other air con systems I have experienced this should have quickly lead to an uncomfortably cold car. ........

As the climate control in will disregard the thermostats when set to HI or LO you should should have been surrounded by brass monkeys holding their ball in their hands on your way home. It should have been uncomfortably cold.

[Bo Bo]

My local one, they've got a new m/c that checks pressure & for leaks & won't re-gas if it fails....

Is your local one on Foleshill Road, on the corner of Cash's Lane???

If so i might take a trip there; i work at halfords so its only a 30 second drive!!

Yep that's the one, think the guy's name that did mine is Jacob (it was certainly something biblical), Halfords hey, I was only in there yesterday.....

[Bo Bo]

I'm sure it's just down to the guy you get on the day, in fairness. This guy was obviously not remotely interested in anything other than connecting the machine up, pressing the button and leaving it to it.

As with everything, get someone who's actually enthusiastic about what they're doing and it makes all the difference.

Well, regardless of the operator, at least I can hopefully have trusted the machine to charge it with refrigerant properly. The sun has come out and been on the car all afternoon so I suspect the drive home will tell me if it's made a difference (it was 14 degrees earlier so I may not have given it much of a chance TBH).

Kevin

Sorry to hear that Kevin, our inexperience's couldn't be further apart.
The guy that did mine was really enthusiastic, I got readings before & after & a printout & an explanation all the way through. He went on to tell me about the two different types of oil they put in depending on your system & they're viscosity etc. etc. etc. in the end I was getting fed up......

[Kevin Wood]

Sorry to hear that Kevin, our inexperience's couldn't be further apart.
The guy that did mine was really enthusiastic, I got readings before & after & a printout & an explanation all the way through. He went on to tell me about the two different types of oil they put in depending on your system & they're viscosity etc. etc. etc. in the end I was getting fed up......

Well, I was hoping for the same but, as I said, it depends on the guy who gets the job. I can imagine when someone who lives to fit tyres draws the short straw to become the air con "expert" he is unlikely to approach it with the same enthusiasm.

I'd have loved to have soaked up some information from them about how it all works because I hate having to deal with something I don't 100% understand.

Oh, well. I'll be relating your experiences to the Camberley branch manager next week and contrasting them to my own.

Cheers,

Kevin

[Bo Bo]

Sorry to hear that Kevin, our inexperience's couldn't be further apart.
The guy that did mine was really enthusiastic, I got readings before & after & a printout & an explanation all the way through. He went on to tell me about the two different types of oil they put in depending on your system & they're viscosity etc. etc. etc. in the end I was getting fed up......

Well, I was hoping for the same but, as I said, it depends on the guy who gets the job. I can imagine when someone who lives to fit tyres draws the short straw to become the air con "expert" he is unlikely to approach it with the same enthusiasm.

I'd have loved to have soaked up some information from them about how it all works because I hate having to deal with something I don't 100% understand.

Oh, well. I'll be relating your experiences to the Camberley branch manager next week and contrasting them to my own.

Cheers,

Kevin

I've just had a call from Kwikfit asking about the service I received (& trying to sell me car insurance), maybe you will too.....

[Kevin Wood]

I've just had a call from Kwikfit asking about the service I received (& trying to sell me car insurance), maybe you will too.....

Oh, I do hope so...
I'm waiting by the phone, Mate!

Kevin

[platty]

My local one, they've got a new m/c that checks pressure & for leaks & won't re-gas if it fails....

Is your local one on Foleshill Road, on the corner of Cash's Lane???

If so i might take a trip there; i work at halfords so its only a 30 second drive!!

Yep that's the one, think the guy's name that did mine is Jacob (it was certainly something biblical), Halfords hey, I was only in there yesterday.....

Well i might pop in there in the near future because my aircon appears to do absolutely nothing, when it is set to "LO" on full pelt it just blows cool air at me, there is no chill to it at all.

Not at halfords for long, got 2 more shifts next week (tues & thurs eve) then packing my bags and moving down south with the fairies.

Thanks for getting back to me.