A/C Clutch broken, am i screwed?

Starman07

Hi,

Have an 06 3 series bmw.Started car this evening, and it's making an awful racket.Called into garage on way home and he tells me the AC clutch is gone. That it'll have to go back to BMW garage and could cost a fortune.I only bought the car a month ago and is still under warranty (not BMW dealer). However, warranty states that it does not cover "alarms,tyres,glass,clutches, etc.", and "this warranty covers the vehicle in the event of a mechanical breakdown..i.e, if the car will not drive.It does not cover noises and it does not cover warning lights..."

Am i completely goosed?

That's a fairly shocking warranty for a 5 year old car, I hope the car was priced accordingly. I wouldn't go to a main dealer though, BMW specialist should be able to sort it, might not be that bad costwise anyway.

Starman07

Well the warranty length isn't an issue right now seeing as its still under warranty,but is it safe to assume i have no chance of sorting this under the warranty?

Guy in the garage this eve (not where i bought it) just had a quick look and said that very few places in Ireland even do air conditioning, and that it'd have to be sent back to BMW themselves for repair. I guess i'll call a bmw specialist garage in the morning. Absolutely sickened though

Northern Monkey

Starman07 wrote: »

Well the warranty length isn't an issue right now seeing as its still under warranty,but is it safe to assume i have no chance of sorting this under the warranty?

Guy in the garage this eve (not where i bought it) just had a quick look and said that very few places in Ireland even do air conditioning, and that it'd have to be sent back to BMW themselves for repair. I guess i'll call a bmw specialist garage in the morning. Absolutely sickened though

Try scullys in clontarf?

snickers

I think rover james meant the limited cover of the warranty not the lenght of it. Warrantys will not cover consumables ie tyres and clutches however it is your air con unit ac clutch thats acting up right if thats the case your warranty should cover it if it was the actual transmission clutch then no it would not be covered.

Starman07

Yeah, pretty sh1t warranty.SIMI garage, but small outfit. Warranty does say "clutches". I'll get onto them anyways and see what they say.I've no doubt they'll try and give it short shrift as they were snotty about even valeting it, once i'd already paid for it.Thanks

Yeah, I was not commenting about the length of the warranty, for a start you didn't mention the length of it. If the piece you quoted is a direct quote from the warranty you go it's pretty clear that this won't be covered, looks like a basic engine and box warranty.

Plug

Thats bollox, plenty of places that do aircon. The clutch wont kick in if there is no gas in the system for a start. Get yourself to a cheap garage that has an aircon machine and see if there is gas inside it. Also perform a vacuum test to make sure there are no leaks in it. No aircon job should cost series money, unless the clutch is completely fcuked you may have to get a new compressor(second hand) but thats not the end of the world.

Starman07

RoverJames wrote: »

Yeah, I was not commenting about the length of the warranty, for a start you didn't mention the length of it. If the piece you quoted is a direct quote from the warranty you go it's pretty clear that this won't be covered, looks like a basic engine and box warranty.

Yeah, i misunderstood.I agree, it seems that basic, the warranty.

Plug wrote: »

Thats bollox, plenty of places that do aircon. The clutch wont kick in if there is no gas in the system for a start. Get yourself to a cheap garage that has an aircon machine and see if there is gas inside it. Also perform a vacuum test to make sure there are no leaks in it. No aircon job should cost series money, unless the clutch is completely fcuked you may have to get a new compressor(second hand) but thats not the end of the world.

He showed me where it was gone.Like the metal connectiing it was broken, and there were little shards of metal all over the floor under the engine.Hopefully i can sort it for less than a kings ransom. Thanks.

Plug

Starman07 wrote: »

Yeah, i misunderstood.I agree, it seems that basic, the warranty.



He showed me where it was gone.Like the metal connectiing it was broken, and there were little shards of metal all over the floor under the engine.Hopefully i can sort it for less than a kings ransom. Thanks.

Well if its broke its broke then, you should try any scrap yard, I wouldn't go wasting money on a new one.

johnos1984

Plug wrote: »

Well if its broke its broke then, you should try any scrap yard, I wouldn't go wasting money on a new one.

I'm not familiar with the part but if it's a big job to replace and the OP intends holding on to the car as he just bought it I'd be tempted to put in a new part. I know my local mechanic has all the equipment to fix the aircon system (I've seen my sisters Sharan missing it's front twice due to dodgy air con units) so I imagine most competent mechanics can do it and ship the part off to a specialist for repair/replacement.

It's the labour cost which will run up the bill not the cost of the part. No point having to do it again soon if the part if of unknown quality.

For what it's worth OP I think the garage should replace it but it just seems like a basic warranty they gave you when you bought it. Repay them the favour when it comes time to change again

mikewest

For what it's worth I don't think you can replace the clutch on an E90's air con compressor. I think it is replace the whole unit which is within their warranty!

Edit: post up the model and I will try and find out for sure.

colm_mcm

That's arse about it being clutch. Lousy warranty that only covers you if the car stops moving.
The fact that its an ac clutch isn't even the reason its excluded. It's because nothing is covered unless it stops The car from moving, which pretty much means nothing is really covered.

Starman07

mikewest wrote: »

For what it's worth I don't think you can replace the clutch on an E90's air con compressor. I think it is replace the whole unit which is within their warranty!

Edit: post up the model and I will try and find out for sure.

BMW 320I SE . Replacing the whole unit does not sound like a small job....

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's arse about it being clutch. Lousy warranty that only covers you if the car stops moving.
The fact that its an ac clutch isn't even the reason its excluded. It's because nothing is covered unless it stops The car from moving, which pretty much means nothing is really covered.

That's my reading of it, the car can still drive...for now, so i can see them dismissing it on that basis...

Dardania

to follow on from colm_mcm's point, it doesn't matter whether the clutch of the ac is gone or not:

your ac has failed, and there's a ferocious racket from under the bonnet. You have a warranty - get them to fix it! no if, buts or ands for them to shleeveen out of it, would be my attitude

colm_mcm

Perhaps if the belt was to 'disappear' as a result of the AC pump throwing it off and the car were to be stranded, would that mean its covered? (Presuming alternator is on same belt?)

mikewest

There are no individual parts listed on RealOEM for the air con compressor on an '06 320i sor BMW treat it as a black box i.e. replace complete unit. This is quite easy to do if the garage has the kit to drain the air con gas. £400 stg for a recon unit or €200 for a jobbie from a breakers. Zero under the basic 3 months statutory warranty, i.e. main mechanical part failed not subject to "wear and tear"

Starman07

mikewest wrote: »

There are no individual parts listed on RealOEM for the air con compressor on an '06 320i sor BMW treat it as a black box i.e. replace complete unit. This is quite easy to do if the garage has the kit to drain the air con gas. £400 stg for a recon unit or €200 for a jobbie from a breakers. Zero under the basic 3 months statutory warranty, i.e. main mechanical part failed not subject to "wear and tear"

Fair enough, i'll go back to them tomorrow and see what their reaction is, but if i'm entitled to it under the warranty, i'll definitely pursue it. Will update tomorrow. Thanks alot

ZENER

Just a suggestion, might be a good idea not to mention you brought it to another mechanic or mention the word "clutch" ? Play dumb would be my advice

Ken