Passat B6 AC

[BrettD]

Having some issues diagnosing an AC problem.

Living in Nth Qld AC is something you notice..currently mine is starting warm but then cooling down.
Then other times it wont get 18 degrees.
I have had it looked at, but apart from having to tear it apart to access components, is there anything that should be investigated that may seem obvious?
There are no obvious leaks, it has had gas topped up....
Thanks

[damo_t]

I had similar symptoms in my R36. The compressor only kicked in after revving past 2000 rpm.
It turned out the compressor was failing. Unfortunately to fix I was advised to replace the compressor and condensor with de-gas, flush of the lines and re-gassing.
During the flush, they found metallic shards which were from the compressor. I guess it's essential so not to reintroduce the shards in the new parts.
Also, to do it all, the front bumper had to be removed. So very labour intensive. Cost me ~$2k. But A/C is running perfect now. 2.5-3 degrees from the vents almost instantly.

Hope my experience is helpful to you.