My AC has worked perfectly up untill now. The other day I was driving using the AC and a lady tells me at a stop light that my car is smoking. I pull over and look and I cant find anything. Two days later my AC is blowing warm, so I suspect a leak. I take it in to the dealer and they say I have bent AC lines since I have had previous body repair since they see overspray from the bumper fender paint blend and to test for a leak they will charge me $200. Only thing I have had done is replace the front bumper due to hitting a curb after the bumper was cracked. That's it and that was over a year ago, AC has worked fine from then untill now.
Anyway they could not find the leak so they filled the AC back up with 134-a and said it's good to go. By the time I got home it all leak out again. I see the dye they put in to detect the leak. It's the AC line that runs by my Automatic transmisson to under the car, I think the high pressure line. So what should I do. Try to fix it my self or pay them or fight the warranty claim? Please help.

Thanks
Jared

 

The only thing you can do to fix it is replace the line, evacuate the system and have it recharged - can you do that yourself? If not, and you don't want to pay your dealer to do it, find a good local A/C shop and let them do it, there's nothing magical about the MINI A/C system.

I think without seeing exactly where the leak is that you probably did damage it in the crash, those lines don't just split on their own......you might have a hard time proving otherwise. If you filed an insurance claim on the damage, you might be able to file an addendum and get it fixed that way.

 

If you want to DIY,

What you'll need to do first is replace the bad/leaking AC line, and then get yourself the required ammount of Freon from Autozone.

Where are you located? If you want I can let you borrow or sell you what you need to evacuate the system yourself. I have compressed-air driven vacum solenoid that will suck the system down to about 27 inches.

After which you can load the system up with oil/freon as required. Theres not a whole lot to R134a systems as mentioned.

 

The dealer put in new freon and dye to detect the leak and could not find one. I found the leak on one of the lines when I got home because the green dye is all over my transmisson and control arm and I can hear it leaking. I have the AC fill gauge and cans of freon. I also tried putting in the AC stop leak freon too but it all leaked out. There is no pressure in there now. So I guess I will have to pull the bad line out which look like it will take a ton of time. The new line cost $162 on realoem.com. Anything else I should know? Any ideas on how long this should take? It's the AC line on the driver side that runs from the top of the engine bay down under or by the transmisson by front tire and under the middle of the car it looks like.

Thanks again
Jared

 

Here a pic from real oem. It's part number 2. The leak is right about where the #2 is. How long does anybody think it will take to do? What's the job say for hours? Of course it's the most exspensive part of the system.

Update: dealer says it's not a warranty issue. So I will have to pay. If I am right on the part above, it's $162 for the part, 2.4 hours labor X $110 an hour = $264, $199 for evac and replace r134-a and then the first initial $199 for recurve and dye that they never charged me since they couldn't find a leak. So a total of $824 for some stupid AC leak. Sounds like I'll be doing it my self. I have most the tools. If anybody has any other help, let me know. Thanks again.

Here's a link to the pic on realoem
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...40&hg=64&fg=60

 

If you don't have access to the vacuum pump, just change the line out and take it somewhere to have it evacuated and charged, that'll save some money.

If the dealer says it's a 2 hr job, it probably is. Depending on your skill level and tool assortment, it could be a 2 hr job for you, or all day......you're the only one who can answer that, but it sounds like you can find your way around the engine compartment OK, you were able to find the leak and the new hose on Real OEM, so you're not a total noob.

I've never seen stop leak used succesfully on an A/C system.

What about calling your insurance agent and having them reopen your accident file for an addendum. Is it on the same side of the car as was fixed before? If it is, it's possible that it could be collateral damage.

 

I never claimed under my insurance since it was only a new front bumper 2 screws and paint. About $500 for everything. My deductable was $300 so I decided to do it my self and not risk my insurance.

 

I can't tell if you already paid the dealer $200 to charge the system. If you did they should not at least apply that to the repair.

If not, a good independent shop is the place to go. Preferably one with Mini experience as those hoses are not really easy to get to. But if you do it yourself be sure you have the Bentley manuals. And then you'll have to go to a shop with the right tools to do the evac and recharge which could cost $125 depending on where you go.

Rich

 

Well I had a complete loss of R134 from my Clubman A/C and it turned out to be a Compressor suction line that connects with the Evaporator. It was especially irritating to be told the line was on national backorder and could take a month to get. MINI USA customer service is now an oxymoron IMO. The Dealer managed to locate a hose in about one week. It is a differnt p/n than any I see for the R56 : 64 539 224 857 , but the fact is they do fail on their own. If the dealer is so sure make them show you where the bent line is that failed. If it looks more like a seam leak it may be a manufacturing defect.

Now my A/C doesn't get quite as cold as it used to. I expect that I will hear its within normal range specs... I'm wondering if having the leak for a week or two got moisture in the system. If so they probably should have replaced the dryer also. I see on RealOEM the dryer costs more than the suction line so I can see how that would figure into their thinking.

 

I never had to pay the first $199 since they could not find the leak at the dealership and the pressure was holding. And they can't say it was out of warranty. So they ate that cost, but if I go in I will have to pay that. So I will try it myself. If I can't do it I will have an AC shop do it.

Thanks everybody

 

MaxGseeker, what caused your line to fail? Vibration? Rubbing on something? Since it was a suction line, it didn't just burst from pressure....

 

I'm not understanding something. The line in question, is it defective because it was damaged from the front bumper repair?

If not, I don't see how they could deny it if they can't prove the line was damaged from an accident.

Also, how does one get overspray in the engine compartment if you're replacing a front bumper?

Surely, they didn't paint the bumper on the car!!!!

Mark

 

i hate Mini/BMW service but love there cars. I've dealt with a 335i lemon buy back due to 6-7 HPFP replacements, so I got a 328i instead and cash. They are so hard to deal with. I hate dealing with them, they always try to pit the blame on the owner. HPFP was all bad gas so they say. Anyways this Mini has been pretty good so far, knock on wood!!!

The paint over spray was when I had some rock chips on the fender painted at the time as the bumper and a little got on the black side skirt and the car is pepper white. They look for that type of stuff just so they can put all blame on you. I've owned a lot of BMWs and this Mini and I might take a break and go another brand for a while when my 328i lease is up and I'll sell the Mini.

Thanks