A few weeks ago I was driving and all of a sudden my A/C stopped blowing cold air. I took it to a local mechanic and he said he couldnt figure out what was wrong and told me to take it to the MINI dealership. Instead of that, i took it to a toyota service shop where my friend works and he and his friends looked at it. they put something on the compressor to tell the pressure and said it was abnormally high but never the less, it had pressure. They thought it had something to do with the fan clutch (or clutch fan, im not sure) because the compressor seemed fine. On the way home, i pass a MINI dealership so decided to pay $100 to have them figure out the problem. They estimated $1500 for a new compressor, dryer (anyone know what this is?), a cleaning of the entire system, and labor. I believe they are ripping me off.

Does anyone have any similar problems or any idea what could be wrong here? I dont understand how i would need a new compressor if it had pressure and seemed as if it was working correctly. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks

 

When my A/C wasn't blowing cold air, it was because of a leak and all the freon was coming out.

 

the freon level is normal. thanks! any other ideas?

 

Did your friend check and see if the compressor was running? If not did you guys check and see if the power wire to engage the compressor had 12v?
The $1500 estimate sounds about right, the compressor is expensive, priced one out yesterday.. around $800. I believe the condensor/dryer is around $200 You need 4 o-rings at about $3 each. .91 lb R-134a
$15........ Labor hrs would be about 2.5-3.0. Sounds about right.

BTW: the dryer is made onto the condensor. Most common practices on A/c work calls for new dryer when exchanging compressors.

 

When I had my 03 MCS, I had the same issue off and on for about three years. Every six months or so, I would lose the cold charge in my AC. The dealer would recharge the freon and I'd be good for another half a year or so.

They performed several leak tests and found nothing to indicate a loss of the cold charge.

Right before I sold it, the dealer called me and informed me that the local service rep had been in and they had asked him about my issue.

The rep authorized the installation of a new compressor under warranty. While installing the compressor they found a pinhole leak that was letting the freon escape.

I'd recommend having a leak test done first.

 

Thanks so much for your help. That will be the next thing we check. Probably cant get to it until next saturday. another Texas week without AC. lovely...

 

finally took it to Baviarian Hyper Sports here in Houston, (i definitely recommend them to anyone in the houston area...extremely honest and they know their stuff). it could either be the wiring harness or compressor, or both. they wont know until they take the engine out. we decided to save up money and get it fixed with them next spring when it starts to get warm again. thanks for yalls help!

 

Good to know Hotjanitors2.

Anyone know when the freon should be recharged? It's been about 4 years on my MINI now and it doesn't seem as cold as it used to be. It could be the global warming though.