Well Horse Pucky :(

[29aholic]

A little over a year ago I bought a beautiful red 2011 Camaro. Nothing fancy, just a base car with a V6 and manual tranny. Been a great car.
Took a post tax season break and ran down to Texas for a visit with family and friends. Somewhere on the way back it toasted the A/C compressor. Fine, it happens. I bought a warranty when I bought the car, so after the what the warranty covered I am out $235.00.
Less than a week later that compressor went out. Back to the shop. The shop covered it because it was under warranty.
A week and a half later the second replacement toasted. Back to the shop. Put a GM compressor on this time. Drove it for a couple of weeks, A/C seemed to work just OK but not great. Back to the shop. Another $75.00 and a new pressure transducer I am back on the road.
Two weeks later THAT compressor is toast. Back to the shop this morning. Was advised that apparently when one of the other compressors (I am thinking the original factory one) went out it dumped metal in the system. Now it needs another compressor, and new evaporator, and the entire system cleaned and flushed. THAT's gonna be another $600.00 with the shop cutting me a break on the labor.
SO, all in I am at just shy of a grand in this deal.


Happy Birthday to me....

 

[cherrypointmarine]

Just think what it would have been without the warranty . Sometimes they work out .

 

[DeathGrip]

That trash in the system shoulda been cleaned out the first time.

 

[Jessie]

Or AT LEAST after the 2nd,3rd or 4th one

 

[jbtrucker]

Sorry for your troubles in this terrible hot weather. My dad had A/c problem on a Crown Vic and kept taking it to dealers who could never fix the problem . He finally asked a retired machinist to take a look and he found a vacuum leak within an hour. A small section of hose was cut out slipped back on the fitting and done.

 

[gman51]

Yep when a compressor fails the whole system needs flushed or the powder like substance in the system will more than likely trash the new compressor. Usually the drier and orifice tube are plugged up also and should always be replaced.
I would ask did they pull a vaccuum and test for leak down due to leaks in the evaporator or condenser. Or did they do a freon sniff test for leaks? If they didn't do that then how did they determine the evaporator was bad?
Why isn't the warranty covering the evaporator and ac repair? Some warranties are written that they don't cover a lot of repairs. Some are down right ripoffs. I have known three people that got totally screwed by expensive warranties that shouldn't have. Everyone should closely read the warranty to find out what will void their warranty and what it will not pay for. The wording can get the warranty company protected but not you. There is a big difference between broke and naturally wore out. Oil leaks caused by bad seals are not covered so if the part failed because of a bad seal then the part is not under warranty. If a person does not have proof of authorized maintenance at manyfacturer recommended mileage then opps your repair is not covered. Read your warranty, especially after market warranties before you pay a lot of money for them.
When a salesman says with this warranty all you have to do is put gas and oil in it you better run from that liar.

 

[delcrossv]

Well, I can commiserate somewhat. AC died on the '99 Suburban:
New compressor, condenser, accumulator, lines (including new lines to the back evap.) Almost $2k all in.

Good for another 20 years, I guess.

Edit: And Happy birthday, Curtis.

 

[gregintenn]

I'm thinking the shop should at least eat this repair.

 

[sophie]

That trash in the system shoulda been cleaned out the first time.

Absolutely, positively, system should have been flushed the first time and we never replaced a compressor, that we didn't replace the accumulator and flush the system. Then we could stand behind our work and for the most part, not worry about it.

 

[DeathGrip]

I'm thinking the shop should at least eat this repair.

Putting the blame on the insurance ain't gonna cut it. The customer should have been informed of any extra charges needed to do this common job properly. If I was the shop and the customer wanted me to do the job half butted I'd pass on it altogether knowing this would be the outcome. This shop sounds like a bunch of tire changers and that's giving them more credit than deserved.

 

[ancient-one]

I had a 1992 Olds 98 and the compressor went out so I took it to a shop where I knew the owner since he was a kid. This was back, probably 18 years ago. They quoted me around a thousand dollars to make the needed changes and flush. I thought that they were doing some stuff that wasn't needed until he came down from his office and explained it.

When they were through he knocked about two hundred dollars off of the bill. It pays to be nice to little kids. He always cut me a break on anything that I had done. He always said he was going to be a millionaire at age forty and he was. His house is on a private airport and he has his own airplane.

 

[LVSteve]

Total incompetence on the part of the first shop followed by more of the same.

Most shops in Vegas won't do a simple compressor swap, it has to include the dryer and the orifice tube. With the system apart to change those parts they stand a chance of being able to flush out the other debris.

 

[A10]

The shop should have done it right the first time. When our old Durango copmressor canned up that was the first thing our mechanic did, clean and flush the system. Sorry you had to deal with it, that was either ignorance or incompetence that lead to the ongoing issues.

 

[29aholic]

It's kind of a touchy situation as the shop is also a client, but I did pose the question as to why we had to go through 4 compressors to come to this conclusion.

 

[DeathGrip]

It's kind of a touchy situation as the shop is also a client, but I did pose the question as to why we had to go through 4 compressors to come to this conclusion.

And the answer/explanation was?

 

[29aholic]

And the answer/explanation was?

I didnt push it, but it was obvious he knew they screwed up. The labor and new compressor is all on him.

 

[loknload]

They should have flushed the system when they installed the first replacement.
That's the first rule of refrigeration work since you don't really know what killed the compressor to begin with.
Back in the day we use to flush systems with R11 now what they use I have no idea.
It's good though your being covered under warranty.....