A/C failing

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DonDakin

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
387
Location
Montreal Quebec.....
Well it looks like my ac compressor is dieing. The compressor makes a lot of noise on startup. I need to cycle it a few times to get it running. Then it seems to work normally and it cycles on and off.

I brought it in and they confirmed it will be covered by warranty. Its good luck for me because the 3 year warranty runs out in augest.

This is the second component to fail on my car in 3 years the first was the charger about one year in.

The compressor price is a whopping $ 3000.00

Completely ridicules. The 3 kw charger was something like $4500.00 again kind of nuts.

I love this little car but the parts are crazy expensive. I will be crossing my fingers when the warranty runs out.

Don.....
 
That's just nuts. You can buy a used i for ~$7-$8k. Do you have any part numbers? It might be possible to use an electric compressor sold via another manufacturer if it's similar enough.
 
DonDakin said:
I brought it in and they confirmed it will be covered by warranty...
So far, so good. I still haven't heard of anyone spending any significant $$ on fixing their i-MiEV, with about the worst being the replacement Remote. Buying a backup i-MiEV may not be a bad idea... I have such a collection of old Saabs and parts for them that I could keep at least one going forever, IF I hadn't weened myself off ICE and am no longer interested. :roll:
 
Good to hear they cover it under warranty.

The AC failed on my 2012 - it was just over the mileage allowed but they covered it under warranty. When they quoted me $4,000 with labor , I told them don't bother, I don't need AC here in Canada.
The told me it's a must in order for the Quick charging cooling to work and to warranty the battery pack

So once the Warranty is over on the Charger & the AC unit, (I believe 3 years)

DonDakin said:
The compressor price is a whopping $ 3000.00

Completely ridicules. The 3 kw charger was something like $4500.00 again kind of nuts.

The cost of the battery pack is the least of our worries, - (8 Years warranty)
 
I just had mine replaced 3 weeks ago under warranty and I too fall into the harsh winter category (around -25C in Jan and Feb)

I was driving home from work and when at a stop sign the car gave an alarm and displayed 2 warning lights "electrical Motor unit warning" and RBS "Regen-braking System". The car went into turtle mode so I pulled over. Tried turning the car off-and-on a few times but the alarms stayed so I called road-side assistance. With the tow-truck on the way I tried the car again and the alarms were gone. So I cancelled the tow and drove home without any trouble. My wife took the car out an hour or so later and she had the same problem when stopped at a red light. Drove it home under turtle (only a few kilometers) and had it towed. The dealer said that with their diagnostics and a call to mitsubishi technical support they determined the problem to be in the A/C unit. So it was replaced under warranty took a week for the new system to come in and they said the part alone was $2k plus installation and it required an A/C tech and a High-voltage technician.

The strange thing is I didn't have the A/C (or defrost) on and probably haven't used it in a month. So far so good though, I haven't had the warning lights return yet but I don't understand how the a/c unit can cause the car to have a meltdown like that.
 
When I first switched on my A/C with the first really warm weather this past couple of weeks, I noticed that it sounds like a little diesel motor running, with a few bolts loose as well...
I still haven't had it looked at since it cools the car just fine, but I will have a dealer look at it when I finally book an appointment for the battery bolt recall I received a few months ago.
I really hate to have A/C work done, as I have noticed it never works as well as a factory new unit. One mechanic told me it is because there is always some compressor oil left over when they evacuate the system, and after new refrigerant is added the system usually becomes less efficient with the surplus oil. Not sure if that explanation holds water, but I will keep the forum updated on what the A/C diagnosis was after I have it looked at.
Martin
 
So, that makes 3 AC units, all in extreme cold winters (compared to what I see anyway). Perhaps like most everything else, the car continually monitors and runs diagnostics on the AC compressor.

Is it possible that the system pressure simply gets too low when it's that cold? Does the problem go away when the car warms up? That still doesn't explain the mechanical failure of the compressor come summer, though.
 
DonDakin said:
I love this little car but the parts are crazy expensive. I will be crossing my fingers when the warranty runs out.
Don.....
Wow Don- would that make you the least-lucky list member? I haven't had a single failure.... Regarding the cold-weather AC units, I've encountered failure in residential portable units operated in freezing conditions when the condensate line froze up, causing icing of the coil and upstream failures, but that was with a lot of runtime. Even if your AC ran during fast-charging or defroster operation last winter, I'd doubt it would be enough for the evaporation coil to ice up and stay iced.
 
Im not so sure about the cold climate link also. In the winter i almost never run the ac. I think the owners manual says to run it a little each month to keep it lubricated And prevent it from siezing up. I did run it a little in the winters but who knows...

Just to get the facts straight its still working but the startup is ruff... Once it starts cycling its ok. So i think that is better then the other failures that caused the battery to drain. Its getting swapped out because I'm near the end of the warrenty. If this happened in september i would probably just live with it.

The tech did also mention a case of an ac motor shorting with an intermittent turtle light. This i see as a really bad failure mode. When the ac system can bring the car down, thats pretty bad.....

Anyways the compressor is in so now i just have to get there and do the compressor and the bolt kit recall at the same time.


Now all i have to do is have an inverter and moter failure within 2 years and then a cell failure within the following 3 years and i would basically have a new car (incrementally)


Don.......
 
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