Folks, between a new computer, new job, and vacation, I've been away for a few months. I'm back, logged in, forum is bookmarked again.

Long story short: I was involved in an accident in May 2009 with my 2007 G35x. (I found this forum trying to pass the time while it was fixed.) The front driver side of the car took the impact. When the car was fixed the AC seemed weak and didn't always work. I assumed the refrigerant needed to be recharged. The air also smelled musty after the AC was used. At it's best, the AC seemed to be about 60% of expected and it would often peter out on warm days. Some days it wouldn't work at all, only blowing warm air.

In July 2010 I brought the car to the dealership to have them recharge the system. They had the car for 3 weeks and brought in a corporate tech and couldn't fix the AC. The system was holding a charge and they found no leaks. They vacuumed and recharged the system multiple times. They replaced the compressor and expansion valve. They finally said that it was caused by the accident and to take it to the body shop.

Last month I dropped it off at the body shop. They checked the dampers (not clogged with debris, working fine) and the drain lines (not clogged, working fine). They also confirmed that the system was charged and not leaking. At it's lowest temperature my AC air was at least 10-degrees (F) warmer than any other car onsite. The body shop then brought the car back to the dealership.

No one (myself, the body shop, or the dealership) believe the AC issue was caused by the accident. However, nobody can figure the problem. My car is at the dealership so they can try to run more diagnostics.


Does anyone have any ideas?


Thanks,
WAldenIV

The only thing I can think of is to have the shop make sure none of the lines are pinched. A musty smell is sometimes normal shortly after using the A/C but is more prevalent if the evaporator is not getting the temperatures quite low enough. I can only assume they have checked the electronics and a pinched line can easily occur in an accident and be missed if its not in a very visible area.

That said, if you had the repairs paid for through an insurance company, put the company on notice. Once it is diagnosed, if it is determined that the damage was caused by the accident, then it should be included as part of the claim. They will not agree to pay for any of the diagnostics up front though as they need to be shown that the problem is indeed related to the accident. Let any shops you work with know once they find the problem to allow the insurance company to inspect it if they desire. If the repairs are done anyways, take photos and keep the part.

It almost seems like the condenser isn't working adequately

Do you know what your pressures are showing from L and H sides?

tollboothwilley wrote:It almost seems like the condenser isn't working adequately

Do you know what your pressures are showing from L and H sides?

I don't have the values, unfortunately.

They have replaced the compressor and expansion valve and yet did not replace the dryer? The AC has been subjected to ambient condition several times when they 'break' the lines to replace components. The dryer readily absorbs moisture and could be saturated by now, restricting refrigerant flow. Of course, you may have pinch/restriction on the AC lines as a result of the accident. Take it to an AC specialist where they can hook up pressure gauges and most likely diagnose the problem correctly.

WAldenIV wrote: I don't have the values, unfortunately.

These values really help to narrow down problems in an AC system malfunction.

Was going to suggest a new dryer as well.

Still not fixed and I'm getting pissed off.

They parked the car outside two weeks ago and the windshield was cracked at the base on Monday. They had to fix that this week.

By now they should have (and could have) replaced the entire AC system.

I called this morning and they said they manually opened the "amplifier" (I suspect they meant "actuator", but I can't say for certain) and the AC is finally hitting the correct temperatures. They said that the computer controls the "amplifier" and that it seems to work now that they opened it manually. They are just waiting to see if the "amplifier" is in fact faulty, or was simply stuck one time.

I'm having the same issue with my G35S. Initially told me to much freon n let it all out. They attempted to find relay switch with no luck. So two mechanics told me it was condenser system all needed replaced. Well, that's a chunk of change. No, taking it to a guy who works on a/c n exhaust systems. He advises me that can't check if a mechanical problem without being charged with freon. I mean wth? Because I'm a woman? Very frustrated!!! Suggestions?