Mark 5 2.0 TDI (2008) Air con issue

[gmhendo]

hi folks
I would appreciate some insight into an air con issue I have. I noticed it was slow to go cool - like 5 - 10 minutes after which it was OK but not icy.
My service guy says the compressor is only making 11-12 bar and is probably worn out. Car had done 140K kms, not a lot I would have thought.

Dies this sound right? And I am told just $1200 will set it right again.

Any comments will be very welcome
Cheers
Geoff

[vdubmotorworx]

Yep. Ac compressors on vw are not great. Mk5 and 6 had issues. Fitted loads and the always fail your way...takes a while to get cold..when cold not 100% ac cold but is working about 60%. New compressor mate..VDUB...

[harlie]

Yep. Ac compressors on vw are not great. Mk5 and 6 had issues. Fitted loads and the always fail your way...takes a while to get cold..when cold not 100% ac cold but is working about 60%. New compressor mate..VDUB...

Classic signs of a sticky valve! New valve is a lot cheaper and requires a lot less labour than a new compressor, which is probably why industry wants to replace the compressor + drier + TX = profit. Not to mention that nearly all the compressors are factory exchange - which means they have a new $32 valve in them and are resold for how much??

[Mattlock]

Yep. Agreed. I had the exact same issue 12 months ago. Car had about 105k km on the clock. Cost me $1200 to get the compressor replaced. Even with it replaced it's nowhere near as instant as my Mazda CX-7 was but at least it works and the car is cooling within 5 minutes.

[DWBN]

Exact same problem here mate. I recently recplaced the TX valve which is said to fail, but this didn't fix the problem. I was quoted $850 for a brand new OEM compressor from VW and $600 for an aftermarket.

I ended up picking up a new aftermarket compressor from the states, and will be getting the compressor fitted, the system flushed and re-gassed next week.

[gmhendo]

Thanks very much for that guys, at least I know where I am at now.

Dubber I would greatly appreciate knowing where you got you new compressor from...

Thanks again guys

[insanekiwi]

Dwbn, could you point us to where you got the compressor from? Thanks.

[DWBN]

No worries - It's an aftermarket model, but comes with 2yr warranty so should be all good. Will have it fitted on Friday and will post the results.

[brad]

I may as well piggy-back off this thread...

I have a 2007 Octavia. I assume the AC setup is near identical to a MK5/Mk6 Golf. I'm trying to work out if there's a problem brewing that can be fixed before catastrophic failure / large bills.

I rarely use the AC - maybe once a month for 10-20 minutes and it seems to work fine.

What I have noticed is that AC off i use 0.8L/hour fuel when idling. With the AC on the fuel usage is anywhere between 1.6L/hr up to 2.4L/hour. Similarly, I use about 20%-30% more fuel when driving with AC on. It's only something I've noticed in the last 12 months but maybe it's always been like that?

I expect an increase in consumption but this seems excessive. Is this early signs of a probelm with the compressor? (eg: excessive drag).

[Idle]

The rule of thumb used to be that the AC drag approximately equalled one passenger — probably still is.

The VW units I've had show as using about .2 L/hr more at idle, probably due to the increased idle speed when the AC is on.

I'd certainly be investigating before something expensive goes wrong (if it hasn't already...)