Air conditioning suddenly stopped blowing cold air.
'02 MSC, never needed a re-charge. Do I have to take it to the dealer or can any mechanic do it? The fans work OK. I've read the similar posts. Please be kind with your answers.

 

any mechanic could look at it just becareful on who you take it to. remeber the dealership works on these every day not just once in a while. also warranty with all repairs at any dealership in the country

 

Thanks for your reply, joevista. I did take it to the dealership. It was the compressor and I did buy an extended warranty from MINI. I want to keep my car and this made sense for me. Again, thank you for your thoughtful reply.

 

how's the avg. life time with a/c compressor?
Mine stop working also, 03 with 50k miles. is it common?

 

Mine stopped working at 60,000. '02 MCS

 

Mine was replaced on my 2005 MCS. Don't remember the mileage, but it was covered under warranty so I guess < 36k.

 

My compressor and expansion valve had to be replaced at 16,750 miles!

 

How much did it cost to have the compressor and expansion valve replaced?

 

Replacing the compressor and expansion valve was a little over $1350.00, but I have an extended warranty. I believe the parts were almost $700 for the compressor and $143 for the expansion valve. According to the Bentley manual, you have to take the battery box and left lower dash out of the Cooper to remove the expansion valve. It's up under the dash but you have to get to both sides of the firewall. I didn't check what had to be removed under the bonnet on the S. Unrelated but... when I push the tab button I can't make a paragraph. The page just jumps and I lose the cursor. It's a Macintosh. I hate reading long posts without paragraphs, mine included .

 

Yes, that's exactly what I paid for my new condenser. Honestly, the service advisor had just walked in to tell me the bad news just as I was ABOUT to SIGN up for an extended warranty. I did get the warranty anyway. That was a quick $3,300, including the air conditioning fix. I love this car, but fixing this and that, is just out of my unemployed league. The warranty, BTW, goes with the car if I sell it.

 

The A/C in my daughters '03 Mini (not S) just quit working....at over 100k.

I took it to the local BMW dealer, as we don't have a Mini shop in Wichita, and they said it has a leak inside the compressor....and hence needed a new one.

However, I just had them charge it up (only took one can of R12, or whatever) thinking that a seal somewhere was dry and that the recharge might lubricate and fix.....but no such luck.

I'm not wanting to start with the most expensive part ($900 quote for the part from dealer), and have some additional concerns:

1. My daughter now tells me there was some noise before it quite...not sure what kind, but not normal.

2. The clutch does not engauge on the compressor....I would think that even with a leak the compressor should attempt to function.

3. I remember a cooling fan coming on when the A/C is activated and there is no fan running now.....is this normal?

Again, I'm not sure I want to pay for a new compressor, plus labor, only to find out that it's a fan....or relay.

I've checked all of the A/C and Fan fuses (except the F1 & F2 are a box style and I'm not sure how to check) all of the blade fuses look correct.

Any suggestions before I bend over and take it from the dealer?

Thanks,

Damon