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Is there any point in having the aircon system serviced before it actually stops working? Mine is 7 years old and has never been serviced.
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Interestingly the a/c system on these rarely gives trouble.So if you feel the performance is up to spec ,I would leave it alone.I run an 02 model ghia and have never touched the a/c system;It still blows freezing cold air.hth
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I've heard a few stories of a/c systems having problems after a service, particularly leaks from the valves.
Mine's nearly seven years old and I'm inclined to leave well alone unless it's performance starts dropping off.
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...Interestingly the a/c system on these rarely gives trouble...
I had the aircon on my 52-reg Focus temperature tested not long before I got rid of it last year.
Dealer said it was blowing as cold as the day it left the factory.
I think the oft-repeated advice about using aircon regularly is worth taking.
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I run my aircon at least once a week all year round just to get the seals lubricated / pump running whether I need it or not. As far as I can tell it's as cold now as when it was new with no servicing intervention.
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I had the Mondeo aircon/climate serviced a couple of years ago, it made a difference, I thing the gas was low.
However the '98 Clio's aircon has never been touched and it is still icy.
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If it's working as well now as it was when you bought the car, I wouldn't bother.
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Thanks everyone. I've decided to leave it alone.
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Also run it full hot once a month to kill off bacteria.
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Some interesting points. Certainly a very good idea to run the system for about 10 mins once a week all year through and as MD says run it on hot to kill off any bacteria. In winter you can use the system for demisting so you would probably be doing this anyway.
Also it is true that the system fitted to the Focus gives few problems, I have been told this by several air con specialists. Whether this applies to all Fords I don't know.
There is no reason why a recharge service should cause problems unless the tech has done something wrong.
Now the thorny issue of recharging. It is widely accepted that car air con systems will lose from 5% to 10% efficiency a year (depending on who you speak to). From the day it is filled at the factory it is beginning a very very slow decline. I see parallels here with something like shock absorbers on a car - the decline is so gradual that people don't notice it until they need new ones (due to an MoT maybe) and then they notice the difference in the way the car feels.
My cheap runabout car is a 2007 Focus Ti-VCT, just on 26000 miles and 3.5 years old. I've just had the aircon recharged for £47 at a trusted family-owned garage. They extract the gas and measure the difference between what is in the system compared to what it should be. They vacuum test, clean and recharge with recycled gas and new compressor oil. Mine was about 25% down.
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" I've just had the aircon recharged for £47 at a trusted family-owned garage."
Anywhere near London ?
I've just had my 07 Focus done at Fords for £65. My wifes 06 is okay at the moment, but I'd like an alternative option.
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>> I've just had my 07 Focus done at Fords for £65.
Sounds about right. My local Ford franchised dealer currently has a special offer of £60 ~ normally £90.
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Ford Focus - 03 2.0 Aircon system service - carmalade
