2018 Subaru XV Aircon Problem

**kevindd992002** · May 11th, 2023 11:48 AM

So I had my car's AC checked at Sub-Zero PH Pateros and was charged P500 diagnostics fee just for simply doing a gauge and visual check. EEB Aire just replied to my text and sabi nila free lang ang checkup sa kanila. Sana dumerecho na lang pala ako sa kanila, ganun din naman. The diagnostic results of Sub-Zero is this:

Freon loss
"Malangis" ang evaporator because their camera showed rust in it
No problems with fans
O-ring fitting leak in compressor

Quote for repair: P22,500 for the following:
1. Baklas dashboard for general maintenance and repair
2. Complete leak test
3. Replacement of evaporator, drier, and expansion valve (all original parts)

Ganun ba talaga? Palit evaporator agad kahit may konting rust lang? I searched and parang normal naman daw ang konting rust as the car ages.

My next step would be to bring it to EEB Aire to get an estimate but what are your thoughts?

**JohnM** · May 11th, 2023 12:20 PM

Onti lang difference sa EEB-Aire and mas malapit pa so I suggest to have it done sa Pateros. If you ask nicely they might deduct the initial checkup fee from your final bill. If they saw compressor oil on your evaporator then it's a 99% chance it already has holes. If you're lucky it's just the o-ring that needs replacing and your evaporator will get a thorough clean.

Sakit talaga ng Subaru ang evaporator. When I had mine done last year puro Forester kasabay ko also with evaporator issues.

**kevindd992002** · May 11th, 2023 12:40 PM

Originally Posted by JohnM

Onti lang difference sa EEB-Aire and mas malapit pa so I suggest to have it done sa Pateros. If you ask nicely they might deduct the initial checkup fee from your final bill. If they saw compressor oil on your evaporator then it's a 99% chance it already has holes. If you're lucky it's just the o-ring that needs replacing and your evaporator will get a thorough clean.

Sakit talaga ng Subaru ang evaporator. When I had mine done last year puro Forester kasabay ko also with evaporator issues.

Ang mahal pala. Yeah, they said that they will deduct the initial checkup fee naman if I go through the repair. If it's just the o-ring that needs replacement, does that mean they won't need to replace the evaporator and the total bill will be less? Or papalitan na agad yung evaporator regardless of whether it has leaks or not?

When you say sakit talaga ng Subaru ang evaporator (I also heard rumors about this in the past), does that mean eventually mangyayari ulit tong issue na to kahit palitan na ng bago?

**JohnM** · May 11th, 2023 02:28 PM

Initial estimate nila will be the worst case scenario. A thorough leak test will determine what repairs need to be done.

Hopefully the replacement parts last longer than the ones that came with the car.

**kevindd992002** · May 13th, 2023 02:47 PM

I brought my car to EEB Aire for a free checkup since I was near the area anyway. Same diagnosis, kulang ng freon but they were not able to provide an estimate because they really need to bring everything down first. Ang nabigay lang sakin are prices of labor and all the parts that are tentatively for replacement (compressor, evaportaor, drier, valve, etc.).

One option they recommended is to replace the oring on the compressor first because there's a visual leak there. Then re harge the freon. They recommended this because maingay na din daw yung compressor. I noticed this noise when the aircon started to fail but I did not know it was connected to the aircon. Ganyan daw sa mga Subaru, kapag maingay compressor automatic kulang ng freon. Doing this option is the most conservative approach dahil kapag nawala daw yung ingay sa compressor after refilling, ok pa siya and kapag di na ulit nawala yung lamig ng AC, then yung o-ring lang ang issue. P1800 for this service.

So I went home muna to decide about it pero parang lumala na talaga yung init to the point na yung lamig nasa passenger side na lang. I brought the car to Cartech Services (Goodyear) nearby and pinarefill ko na nga yung freon. They did a reclaibration (vacuuming plus full refill of freon) with their machine after replacing the broken o-ring on the compressor. Dun sa machine, 760 mmHg naman yung pressure reading before and after vacuuming so wala na daw leak kapag ganun. The problem is hindi na totally quiet ang compressor kahit after the freon refill. So possible daw talaga na may tama na siya and eventually magfail. Pero the noise signifcantly improved from its past state. Hindi lang talaga super quiet. Ang ginawa ng ac mechanic is kinargahan niya lang yung system ng 350 grams instead of the normal 400 grams of freon dahil daw nung 400 grams yung kinarga niya medyo hindi nawawala yung ingay. Sa 350 grams hindi na ganun kaingay.

So yeah, malamig na ulit yung ac ng car, for now. Not sure what to think of the compressor though. Any ideas?

Thanks.

**dr. d** · May 13th, 2023 08:41 PM

i would do the time-honored "let us wait and see how things go".
as it is kasi, "what else can go wrong that hasn't gone wrong yet?"
i mean, i do not think your expenses will get worse if you procrastinate. nasira na ang nasira, and i do not think may ibang masisira pa na hindi na sira ngayon.

btw,
"ganyan sa mga subaru..." is also an oft-mentioned phrase.
every other aircon man says that, exchanging his current costumer's car model in lieu of subaru.

seriously, if i were me, i'd have the o-ring replaced and fill 'er up with freon and wait and see what happens.

errr,
what are their thought$ about that compre$$or, po?
tingin ba nila, ay palitan na?
your evaporator might yet prove re-useable... they have to check it using leak test.
their hecho-derecho proposal above is "worst-case scenario" and also maximizes the hit on your pocketbook.

i recently had my 1gen innova's compressor replaced for about 13K...
the compressor was ok, but the magnetic clutch was kaput, and they couldn't remove it from the compressor.
they showed me the problem, and i agreed with their issue.

i am wondering,
are subaru aircon components so special, as to warrant extra expense?

are compressors rebuild-able?

**kevindd992002** · May 13th, 2023 09:30 PM

Originally Posted by dr. d

i would do the time-honored "let us wait and see how things go".
as it is kasi, "what else can go wrong that hasn't gone wrong yet?"
i mean, i do not think your expenses will get worse if you procrastinate. nasira na ang nasira, and i do not think may ibang masisira pa na hindi na sira ngayon.

btw,
"ganyan sa mga subaru..." is also an oft-mentioned phrase.
every other aircon man says that, exchanging his current costumer's car model in lieu of subaru.

seriously, if i were me, i'd have the o-ring replaced and fill 'er up with freon and wait and see what happens.

errr,
what are their thought$ about that compre$$or, po?
tingin ba nila, ay palitan na?
your evaporator might yet prove re-useable... they have to check it using leak test.
their hecho-derecho proposal above is "worst-case scenario" and also maximizes the hit on your pocketbook.

i recently had my 1gen innova's compressor replaced for about 13K...
the compressor was ok, but the magnetic clutch was kaput, and they couldn't remove it from the compressor.
they showed me the problem, and i agreed with their issue.

i am wondering,
are subaru aircon components so special, as to warrant extra expense?

are compressors rebuild-able?

I already had the o-ring and had the freon refrigerant refilled at CarTech services earlier. Malamig na ulit, of course. The compressor noise is so much better now but I don't know if the sound it produces now is really noise or just normal.

What I'm more concerned about now is that according to the CarTech mechanic earlier, when he refilled the freon at spec (400 grams, +-25 grams), medyo hindi nawawala yung ingay. Well, he started at 350g, tapos 370g, tapos 390g, then finally at 400g. But he ended up going down to 350 grams para less load sa compressorat mawala yung audible noise. Basically, ang sabi niya is ayaw na niya taasan pa ulit dahil baka lalong masira yung compressor. So technically, it's undercharged by about 12.5% now. I know overcharging is bad but undercharging is bad too, right?

**dr. d** · May 13th, 2023 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by kevindd992002

I already had the o-ring and had the freon refrigerant refilled at CarTech services earlier. Malamig na ulit, of course. The compressor noise is so much better now but I don't know if the sound it produces now is really noise or just normal.

What I'm more concerned about now is that according to the CarTech mechanic earlier, when he refilled the freon at spec (400 grams, +-25 grams), medyo hindi nawawala yung ingay. Well, he started at 350g, tapos 370g, tapos 390g, then finally at 400g. But he ended up going down to 350 grams para less load sa compressorat mawala yung audible noise. Basically, ang sabi niya is ayaw na niya taasan pa ulit dahil baka lalong masira yung compressor. So technically, it's undercharged by about 12.5% now. I know overcharging is bad but undercharging is bad too, right?

i would have my compressor charged just right. not over, not under.
feel ko, "undercharging" is not good for the compressor.

anyway,
i'd just use it and see how things develop from there.
malay mo, it was that defective o-ring 'sall...

**kevindd992002** · May 13th, 2023 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by dr. d

i would have my compressor charged just right. not over, not under.
feel ko, "undercharging" is not good for the compressor.

anyway,
i'd just use it and see how things develop from there.
malay mo, it was that defective o-ring 'sall...

Feeling ko din yung defective o-ring talaga. I did see na may crack yung o-ring when he replaced it. Pero do I need to bring it back to them to make sure it gets charged to spec and disregard his recommendation? Baka kasi ayaw niya parin gawin dahil para sa kanya mas masisira yung compressor kapag ganun.

**dr. d** · May 13th, 2023 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by kevindd992002

Feeling ko din yung defective o-ring talaga. I did see na may crack yung o-ring when he replaced it. Pero do I need to bring it back to them to make sure it gets charged to spec and disregard his recommendation? Baka kasi ayaw niya parin gawin dahil para sa kanya mas masisira yung compressor kapag ganun.

these are my thoughts.
we normally get billed, according to the amount of freon they put in.
i would probably ask them to charge it to spec and bill me accordingly. bahala na what happens later.
kasi naman, kung sira na siya even before, adding or subtracting freon wouldn't amount to much anymore.