I've had my '11 since new have have 63k+ and run the AC every single day without issue....
A/C died a few weeks ago with barely 30k on my EX....
I posted this on another national site, but forgot to here. I have a 2012 EX base, which has been on the road since December 23rd, 2011.
It started to get weaker and weaker over a pretty long time (like months) until it could barely blow cool air, especially while rotting in traffic. So, I took it into Fairfax Kia. The tech told me it had 11 pounds left. It is supposed to have 20 lbs. He discharged and recharged the system and put dye in it to see if it is leaking or just normal under heavy use. The tech is going to check it again at my next oil change. This is the very first problem I have had with the car so I can't complain really! It didn't leave me stranded, and is of course still under warranty. As far as I can remember I have never had an A/C problem on a car so soon.
I researched whether loosing half of my Freon over 3 years is normal or not and found a mixed bag of results. It was fixed last Friday and is still blowing ice cold. What do you guy's think? Leak or normal under congested and dense suburban use?:question:
It started to get weaker and weaker over a pretty long time (like months) until it could barely blow cool air, especially while rotting in traffic. So, I took it into Fairfax Kia. The tech told me it had 11 pounds left. It is supposed to have 20 lbs. He discharged and recharged the system and put dye in it to see if it is leaking or just normal under heavy use. The tech is going to check it again at my next oil change. This is the very first problem I have had with the car so I can't complain really! It didn't leave me stranded, and is of course still under warranty. As far as I can remember I have never had an A/C problem on a car so soon.
I researched whether loosing half of my Freon over 3 years is normal or not and found a mixed bag of results. It was fixed last Friday and is still blowing ice cold. What do you guy's think? Leak or normal under congested and dense suburban use?:question:
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I'm willing to bet you've got a leak somewhere. Refrigerant doesn't just disappear. It escapes past the O-rings over a LONG (5+ years usually) period of time if everything is good.
But that said... if you have to have it topped off every couple of years, no biggie. Not like it's R-12 and cost $40/lb. Still though, they should find and fix the leak for you. Worst case scenario the leak is in one of the components so I would still want it found and fixed.
But that said... if you have to have it topped off every couple of years, no biggie. Not like it's R-12 and cost $40/lb. Still though, they should find and fix the leak for you. Worst case scenario the leak is in one of the components so I would still want it found and fixed.
Thanks guys. I was wondering how refrigerant could be lost on a sealed system, and still considered normal. I remember owning a 92 Saturn SL2 that did the same thing. Every 25 to 30K it had to be recharged. Eventually a new compressor and evaporator solved the problem permanently.
Next time I am over at the dealer for an oil change they are going to check it. If it is low again I am going to push harder for them to fix the problem under warranty instead of just treating the symptoms. I have had three modern new cars since 2000, and all of them had working A/C until I sold them. (2001 F-150 and a 2003 Mazda Protege). My wife had a 2004 Mazda 6 Sportwagon V6 that did exactly what mine is doing now, and right after her warranty expired they wanted $1700 to replace everything.
Next time I am over at the dealer for an oil change they are going to check it. If it is low again I am going to push harder for them to fix the problem under warranty instead of just treating the symptoms. I have had three modern new cars since 2000, and all of them had working A/C until I sold them. (2001 F-150 and a 2003 Mazda Protege). My wife had a 2004 Mazda 6 Sportwagon V6 that did exactly what mine is doing now, and right after her warranty expired they wanted $1700 to replace everything.
I had mine recharged about a year plus ago, no issues since but was doing the same as you mention of slowly just not getting/staying cool.
Yes, that is exactly what happened, at the end only the passenger side had cool air, then no cool air at all while idling at lights, traffic, etc.I had mine recharged about a year plus ago, no issues since but was doing the same as you mention of slowly just not getting/staying cool.
Going by our build dates; both our cars A/C died with similar times out on the road. My car was born on 10/11. Oddly, my name is also Chris...and you stole my first choice in color (I have never seen an EX or LX in Corsa so I bought the Spicy Red EX).
Ac is blowin strong in my Dec build date 2012 EX. :hope:
Ac is blowin strong in my Dec build date 2012 EX. :hope:
How many miles do you have so far Jacksonville?
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