[jjjetta]

Hi all. 2001 9-3 (base) with 24k miles. I was driving in HOT temps yesterday on a three hour trip. Was about 105 outside. Anyway, all of the sudden, car start blowing hot air. No noises, not overheating, just stop blowing cold. So I turn the a/c off and keep driving (going from stop and go to 80mph and back, due to traffic). Called the dealer, they said as long as the car isn't overheating, it should be safe to drive. Closest dealer is too far away from where I am now. Got off the phone with dealer about 10 minutes after it happened, took a chance, turned a/c back on. Blowing ice cold for the rest of the 2 hour trip.

Anyway, driving home tomorrow. iCar is under warranty. What should I tell the dealer to check out? Obviously isn't compressor....could be be a bad switch or something? I know when I take it in, the a/c will be working just fine (my luck), so I want to be able to tell them to check something out.

Any ideas? At this point I am just glad it came back on and didn't overheat, but I would like to know that its safe to drive and that I can rely on it.

Thanks!

 

[JMarkert]

I sort of vaguely remember reading that ac's had some kind of cutoff to keep them from icing up and/or overheating when they work too hard. I would think that stop & go & 80 would come close. I say vaguely because I can't remember if i heard it here, the volvo board, or somewhere else.

 

[jjjetta]

I was wondering about that. I was running it hard, but no harder than I ever ran my turbo Jetta.

I guess the Saab is a design that is older (from 94, right?) than my 2002 Jetta was.

 

[busaboy]

You don't tell the dealer what to check out - you just tell him what happened, and please fix it!

 

[earthworm]

You don't tell the dealer what to check out - you just tell him what happened, and please fix it!

Copied :What should I tell the dealer to check out?

Busaboy, you and I are on the same page, but you turned to it before I did.
This is something men do - more than women , and it is difficult to "let go"..
Just , as you would with a doctor, relate what happened in sufficient detail..
Avoid telling the mechanic "what to do".. or even "helping" him..

 

[jjjetta]

Well normally I wouldn't tell a mechanic what to do, since I have next to zero knowledge of car mechanics, but I know how dealer mechanics are when something is intermittent. If I take the car in when the a/c happens to be blowing ice cold, they won't look at anything.

If I had a component or problem to mention (a TSB or something?), it might help guide them in the right direction.

I wouldn't tell them HOW to do it, since I certainly would never attempt it, haha.

On a side note, my cat was at the vet for almost a week when he was throwing up. They wanted to charge me for tests and meds and boarding when they didn't fix him. I mentioned ULCER, they gave him ulcer meds at my request, he was fixed right away....so sometimes you do have to tell people what to do....have to speak up...its your money after all!

 

[JMarkert]

On a side note, my cat was at the vet for almost a week when he was throwing up. They wanted to charge me for tests and meds and boarding when they didn't fix him. I mentioned ULCER, they gave him ulcer meds at my request, he was fixed right away....so sometimes you do have to tell people what to do....have to speak up...its your money after all!

What kind of stress do you put on the poor thing? :cheesy:

 

[hcsant]

The exact same thing happened to me this past tuesday, it was close to 100F outside, and then all of the sudden my a/c stopped blowing cold air, and only warm air was coming out (I was in stop and go traffic by the way). So I turned it off for a few minutes, then turned it on again. In the beginning cold air would come out for a few seconds and then it returned to hot air again. I figured I prob needed a recharge on my a/c so I left it off for the rest of the trip home. About 3 hours later I went out again (its cooled down outside a bit by now) and everything worked fine.

On thursday i took my car into the dealer and had him check it out (car is still under warranty). This is what was written on my service form: "evac found over 1 pound low. recharged with dye, tested for leaks, none found. At this time system is working as designed". So apparently, my a/c needed a recharge, and whether that was the reason it stopped blowing cold air Im not too sure, since it worked fine later that night. It hasnt been as hot out lately so I dont know if it will happen again...

 

[Munki]

There is a thermal cutout on the body of the compressor. If the compressor temp goes above 140 deg F then it cuts off the A/C.

It could be that.

 

[jjjetta]

thanks. i will mention that they check for low freon levels and also the thermal cut-off. maybe that piece is mis-reading temps or something....

thanks again!

i will check back in next week on this thread to let you know what the dealer does, if anything.

 

[hunt.dogshome]

Your vet sounds like my doc - worse than useless. My vet is tops though. Only problem is he charges more (more!) than Saab. Dogs get better treatment than humans in UK. Sigh....

 

[jjjetta]

Just got off the phone with the dealer. The compressor is bad. Of course, the part is on back order for a few weeks. They say it should make it until then, prodviding I don't do any hardcore stop and go followed by really fast in 105 degree temps again.

Covered under warranty obviously.

 

[hcsant]

now im beginning to wonder if my compressor is bad too, or if it is the thermal sensor doing its job...to me it doesnt seem like a compressor problem since your air speed and strength never changed (just like mine), but I am no expert with hvac systems...maybe i will talk to my dealer about it...gotta get the most out of my warranty while i still can! keep us updated!

 

[jjjetta]

I forget exactly what they said, but something about a "pressure" something on the compressor. At extreme high loads and temps it is out of spec. So not sure if that means just a small aspect of the compressor is bad, or what. All I know is, they don't have the part!

That is crazy to me. Its a freaking 2001 GM car! Oh well, at least the a/c has been working fine since that incident. Could be worse!

 

[JMarkert]

That is crazy to me. Its a freaking 2001 GM car!

Um, given GM's internationally recognized commitment to quality (sarcasm intended), what did you expect?

[Sorry, haven't bashed GM for a while, couldn't resist ]

Realistically though, it IS a four or five year old car by now, so things like this aren't completely unexpected.

 

[jjjetta]

Oh, you misunderstood me. I am not saying that I don't expect problems. I ALWAYS have car problems. Even with Hondas. Thats why I buy VW's and Saabs. Can't be any worse, and at least you get some style and substance along with your occasional problem

My point was that, being a GM car, a simple thing like an a/c compressor shouldn't be so hard to get! I could understand having parts availability issues for a rare car, but a GM car? No excuse for that in my opinion.

 

[JMarkert]

Oh, you misunderstood me.

Indeed I did ;oops:

Just for laughs, it might be worth checking out the online suppliers to see if they have one. Not much point in getting your a/c up to spec in october. Although I suppose that with the Warranty issue you'll just need to wait for the GM supply line to crank into action. It is kind of crazy to have to wait that long for a pretty standard part.

 

[jjjetta]

I thought about checking online, but I don't need any reason to lose respect for the dealership so early in the ownership experience, haha. Because I am sure I could locate the part in 10 seconds by doing a simple google search.

The a/c works just fine, so I am not gonna lose sleep over it. I have a feeling I will have bigger battles to fight as the car ages, haha. Oh well, they certified it, so its on THEM!

 

[Rob in Atlanta]

That is crazy to me. Its a freaking 2001 GM car! Oh well, at least the a/c has been working fine since that incident. Could be worse!

The compressor is made by a Japanese company.

 

[hcsant]

jjjjetta, have you had your compressor replaced yet? Today it was around 95F outside and all of the sudden my ac stopped blowing cold air again . Then later at night it worked fine. Just to remind you, all my dealer did was add more freon and sent me on my way, even though he said he did a thorough diagnostic. Im wondering if a new compressor will utlimately fix this problem, as im sure we both had the same problem with our cars. Gotta get the most out of my warranty!