Air Con - Does anybody recommend regular servicing

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Had my 2000 reg E320CDi about 18mths now and am very happy with it. The car has air conditioning with climate control fitted.

The question - is it better to leave well alone (until something malfunctions), or have the system serviced at regular intervals? If you listen to what air con specialists advise they recommend an annual check over for leaks, regas and replacement of the receiver/dryer (you get a similar reponse from auto trans specialists re fluid change, which we all know is over the top).

I would be interested to know other peoples views and experiences on this.

I am a preventative maintenance person, I don't like to neglect anything that does require servicing.

 

[television]

Hello Malcolm, the first effects with air con needing charging is that though the air may be cold, it never gets icy cold, or that in very hot weather it fails to get cold, that is the time to have it re charged. Other than using it on a regular basis, I have never seen any other service info.
Problem with leaving in a uncharged state, is that in taking in moisture, it makes the drying process more difficult.

Malcolm

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Hi Malcolm,
Thats my line of thinking, I don't bother switching the air con on and off and therefore that will hopefully keep the seals lubricated. As I understand it apart from component failure lack of use is the biggest problem.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Retired]

My car is just about 8yrs old. The climate control is on all the time so it doesn't suffer from lack of use. About 2 years ago the a/c couldn't cool the air properly so I had it regassed.

Thats all the attention its had and it works perfectly.

 

[Blobcat]

l always recommended keeping the AC on all year as it dries the air in the winter so enabling faster screen clearing. I regularly set it to full cold and on my previous vehicle never had any AC problems in 9 yrs.
My E320CDI's AC did not work when I bought it, easy to spot, compressor not running. MB regassed it and added a dye, this lasted a couple of months then they replaced a part (3 yrs ago, so I can't remember) and regassed all under warranty.
This is a B/H weekend and quel surprise the sun has been shining. Went to get some tyres for my bike and thought that the car was too warm. Set the AC to full cold and only ambient air blowing through. Checked when I arrived home, compressor not running again. So it looks like I'm out of gas and a probable leak somewhere.
Any best advice as to what has failed?

 

[panason1c]

As far as A/C is concerned, i am firmly in the 'if it aint broke..dont fix it' category.