Stone through condenser

RiseToMe

Hi folks,

Bought a 09 Auris six weeks in a Toyota Dealer for my wife as she is expecting so we need a 2nd car.

Air Con didn't work (blows etc but not cold) from day one so regasssed it that week and it seemed to perk up a little. Car wasn't being driven but shes on maternity now so had to bring it out of hiberation and low and behold - no air con again. Went to get it regassed (in case I had done something wrong regassing it myself) and there's a leak in the radiator (I presume he meant condenser).

Rang dealer- not covered on warranty but bring it back in so they can check it out and will replace O rings and hoses FOC to see if they can fix issue. Got a call to say theres a stone chip in the radiator (again I presume condenser as no coolent loss and they say its fine to drive til part comes in).

Service manager is gone to talk to salesman re cost but my issue is that I feel a hole in the condenser and air con not blowing cold should have been spotted by the Toyota "90 point check" (as well as a dud battery that I had to get replaced within two days of ownership- FOC by dealer).

I get that a stone chip can happen a windscreen and I wouldn't expect leeway on the bill - the joy of car ownership. However what I do have an issue with is that this hole wasn't picked up on prior to the sale - I would've expected that the 90 point check would look at stuff like this (and the battery!).

Any point in following up on this or is just a case of suck it up and pay?

shietpilot

The stone could have went through the radiator during your ownership. It's very hard to prove that it existed before you got the car if it wasn't spotted.

RiseToMe

shietpilot wrote: »

The stone could have went through the radiator during your ownership. It's very hard to prove that it existed before you got the car if it wasn't spotted.

Despite the fact that the aircon never worked and a regass just obviously leaked straight back out?

Not arguing with you, really just trying to rationale this whole thing. As I do understand that it could've happened anytime, the fact that it never worked and then as soon as it was sat for a day it wouldn't start due to a faulty battery hadn't filled me with confidence that they actually checked anything. I am more than aware it's a chicken and egg situation, but I can't help but feel this was present already and shouldve been spotted, not least as it didn't work from the start.

I think it'll be a case that she gets the good car with the air con and I get this one as I can't justify the cost in fixing it when we are passing it along in six months!

Henry Ford III

Cost of a used condenser might not be prohibitive.

zilog_jones

You should have got a print-out of the 90 point check when it was serviced, and if not they should be able to provide one. Unfortunately the problems you have may not have been covered by it - the aircon for example probably isn't tested at all, as it's more essential mechanical and safety related stuff that is checked IIRC. They could have done some basic voltage check of the battery, but it may not have been sufficient for determining if it was actually bad. I have the checklist at home but forget exactly what's on it...

RiseToMe

zilog_jones wrote: »

You should have got a print-out of the 90 point check when it was serviced, and if not they should be able to provide one. Unfortunately the problems you have may not have been covered by it - the aircon for example probably isn't tested at all, as it's more essential mechanical and safety related stuff that is checked IIRC. They could have done some basic voltage check of the battery, but it may not have been sufficient for determining if it was actually bad. I have the checklist at home but forget exactly what's on it...

A voltage check carried out by the breakdown assistance guy showed the battery was bad and when I brought it down they said themselves the battery was entirely kaput.

Anyway to update, they are replacing it FOC, they just need to order in the part, so fair play to them. Got to say I'm impressed.

Toyotafanboi

Out of interest, when you felt the air con wasn't working, twice, why didn't you bring it to the dealer or involve the dealer in getting it regassed.

Or I suppose to phrase it better, when you felt the air con wasn't blowing cold, why didn't you return it to the dealer for diagnosis under warranty as your first port of call as opposed to bringing it for 2x independent regassings first?

RiseToMe

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Out of interest, when you felt the air con wasn't working, twice, why didn't you bring it to the dealer or involve the dealer in getting it regassed.

Or I suppose to phrase it better, when you felt the air con wasn't blowing cold, why didn't you return it to the dealer for diagnosis under warranty as your first port of call as opposed to bringing it for 2x independent regassings first?

When I first noticed it wasn't blowing cold I wasn't going to down and ask for a regass as it's a consumable like windscreen wash, I presumed there wasn't an issue with it due to the "extensive front to back checks" they go through before sale and that a regass would sort it.

I regassed it myself the first time, the second time it came to my attention in the weeks following my initial regass that there's a company that test and do it in the estate I work in so rather than driving 50km to the dealer for a diagnosis I called in a favour there to see what the issue was before making the trip down.