Common aircon problems on the 2019 Qashqai?

[burg]

I had our car re-gassed just two months ago and it's already starting to blow warmish air again over the past couple of weeks. I'd originally thought it just needed re-gassing as we bought it at 3 years old, it's now 4 years old and at a guess it's never been re-gassed. Protyre did the re-gas and said the machine wouldn't be able to identify a pinhole leak but wouldn't let them continue if a larger leak was identified, they've said there's nothing else they can do or check and suggested that I look to get it "Nitrogen aircon leak tested".

I've phoned a few local garages that have been mostly clueless so gave in and finally just rang our local Nissan garage knowing my wallet was about to get punished. We have a care plan with them so get our MOT, Servicing and extended warranty via them but as you'd expect that doesn't include diagnostics. The guy from the Nissan garage told me it's very hard to tell without taking it in for an inspection which is fair enough and that would cost £165 to identify the issue and if it's a mechanical part failure then the repair would possibly be included in the extended warranty. If it was something like a stone that had flung up and damaged the condenser then that would not be included.

Ideally I'd be able to find a local garage to run a cheaper aircon test to identify the issue and then if it's a mechanical failure I can take it directly to Nissan to claim on rather than needing to pay for their diagnostics (if possible - or are they going to want their own checks regardless). I thought I'd ask on here if there are any common problems with this model first, as I've seen posts for the 2015 condensers but not the later years.

Thanks!

[burg]

Classic found an answer shortly after posting this..... It's highly likely to be the condenser by the sounds of it. I've found a local guy who does a re-gas and full leak test, if a leak is identified it's just a small leak finding fee instead of the full refill cost. If there is a condenser problem that isn't caused by a stone I'll get Nissan to repair it under warranty before going back for a re-gas.

[flyingguy]

I'm fairly certain but to repair anything covered by warranty they will need to do their own diagnostics! But also keep in mind you don't have to go via nissan for the warranty, call the warranty company direct and they should clarify but I think you can go elsewhere, the advantage with Nissan is that they handle the claim for you whereas an independent likely you would have to do the work, I.e. send the report and claim back the money.

[Dodo78]

The air conditioning fluid is colored to detect leaks. If there is a leak try to locate it by going through the entire circuit. If you are lucky, the leak may be caused by a 2 cent gasket.

[burg]

I'm fairly certain but to repair anything covered by warranty they will need to do their own diagnostics! But also keep in mind you don't have to go via nissan for the warranty, call the warranty company direct and they should clarify but I think you can go elsewhere, the advantage with Nissan is that they handle the claim for you whereas an independent likely you would have to do the work, I.e. send the report and claim back the money.

I thought this might be the case which has made me think it might be worth cancelling the warranty all-together after my next service in October as I'd realistically never want to pay for Nissan to do the diagnostics unless it was a proper engine/electrics failure or something!

A local Aircon specialist has told me "I'd need to check it over but I'm almost certain it's the condenser if it's a J11 QQ. It's the most common aircon problem I get.", he charges £20 for a leak test which would verify that and £280 to fit a full replacement aftermarket condenser, new seals and a re-gass which seems reasonable. That's left me in a bit of a tricky situation I think as I'm now left with these options:

1. Pay Nissan £160 to diagnose the issue which will probably end up detecting a faulty condenser by the sounds of it, hopefully a warranty claim on the part and fitting and then have to presumably pay them for a re-gass as the system will now be empty. I'm guessing this will mean £300+ out of pocket even with the warranty claim (if that's how it works - perhaps the re-gass is included as technically the faulty part has caused it to lose it).
2. Pay the aircon fella £280 to just do it all... What a waste of "warranty".

With option 1 if it turns out a stone has in fact damaged the condenser it would also not be covered by warranty and I'd end up getting the other guy to change it out anyway. I'd then just be down an additional £160 in Nissan diagnostics! It sounds like the condenser issue can be spotted visually though so it should really be something Nissan can quickly look at rather than needing a full diagnostic, I think we know they won't though..... I'll ask. I didn't know I might be able to claim directly though, I'm happy to pay upfront for an indy garage to diagnose/fix and claim it myself though if that's an option. Thanks!

[flyingguy]

I'm fairly certain but to repair anything covered by warranty they will need to do their own diagnostics! But also keep in mind you don't have to go via nissan for the warranty, call the warranty company direct and they should clarify but I think you can go elsewhere, the advantage with Nissan is that they handle the claim for you whereas an independent likely you would have to do the work, I.e. send the report and claim back the money.

I thought this might be the case which has made me think it might be worth cancelling the warranty all-together after my next service in October as I'd realistically never want to pay for Nissan to do the diagnostics unless it was a proper engine/electrics failure or something!

A local Aircon specialist has told me "I'd need to check it over but I'm almost certain it's the condenser if it's a J11 QQ. It's the most common aircon problem I get.", he charges £20 for a leak test which would verify that and £280 to fit a full replacement aftermarket condenser, new seals and a re-gass which seems reasonable. That's left me in a bit of a tricky situation I think as I'm now left with these options:

1. Pay Nissan £160 to diagnose the issue which will probably end up detecting a faulty condenser by the sounds of it, hopefully a warranty claim on the part and fitting and then have to presumably pay them for a re-gass as the system will now be empty. I'm guessing this will mean £300+ out of pocket even with the warranty claim (if that's how it works - perhaps the re-gass is included as technically the faulty part has caused it to lose it).
2. Pay the aircon fella £280 to just do it all... What a waste of "warranty".

With option 1 if it turns out a stone has in fact damaged the condenser it would also not be covered by warranty and I'd end up getting the other guy to change it out anyway. I'd then just be down an additional £160 in Nissan diagnostics! It sounds like the condenser issue can be spotted visually though so it should really be something Nissan can quickly look at rather than needing a full diagnostic, I think we know they won't though..... I'll ask. I didn't know I might be able to claim directly though, I'm happy to pay upfront for an indy garage to diagnose/fix and claim it myself though if that's an option. Thanks!

I'd call Nissan warranty and ask what is covered or not on the condenser, apparently there were issues with stones flying up and causing leaks. Nissan told me that later models were fitted with a tray to protect (not sure if that's true or not). We just had a new gearbox fitted under warranty via Nissan, the end bill which I was given was over 10k! IMO worth paying the £300 a year or whatever it is for something major like that.

[burg]

I popped in today to ask and the woman in the dealership wasn't particularly helpful but she said if they deem the condenser to be faulty then the diagnostics fee and replacement is covered under the warranty so essentially free to me. If they deem it's not a fault (so perhaps a stone hitting the condenser) then it's £165 diagnostics and whatever cost to fix it if you want them to fix it - I'd then go to a third party for the replacement. She said there was no other option if I go with them, even if they identify the condenser to be the issue within the first 5 minutes it's still £165..... classic.

I'm going to get it leak tested first given it's so cheap to do so and if the guy deems it to be obviously the condenser AND there's no obvious stone damage I'll take it into Nissan and try my luck. Hopefully they come to the same conclusion and I don't need to battle them... It seems like a common enough problem but the woman in the store said she'd not heard of many having a problem, mine is a 69 plate so towards the end of the J11 times.

[Cod]

I've just replaced my condenser as it failed, 2019 1.7dci. It turned out to be the lower port on the condenser had corroded inside so needed a new one.

I replaced it myself but the place near me quoted £310 for a replace and re-gas. Cost £20 and 5 minutes for them to find the leak.