Originally Posted by Cisc0

Greetings X5'ers,

The a/c on my 2002 has failed me. I first started experiencing the a/c going from cold to just barely cool. On the driver side vent, air is cold. Two center vents and passenger side, air is barely cold. So I decided to take the vehicle to AAmco for a "free a/c check". Their "free check" consisted of pressure check and any visible leaks. Mechanic claimed pressure was good and saw no leaks at plain view so he advised that a condenser vacuum and refill of dye and 10% of freon was necessary to detect further and thats when the "Free check" turned into $201.00 and another visit. After leaving the shop, a/c working fine I was pleased with the $201 dollar charge, until after driving for 2 hours. The air just got hot like I had the heater on. So I bring the car back and they pull out the florescent light to search for the "leak". No leak was found, but now the mechanic says that the cause was my condenser/auxiliary fan failure. He says that while the car is idled the fan is on, but once the car is in drive the fan shuts down causing the condenser to overheat and the compressor to shut down. So they quote me at $980 dollars to change the fan plus labor. I said thanks but not thanks. So being that I now claim to know that it is the condenser fan and since I am such a DIY'er, I purchase the fan from BMW of Manhattan for $407 and proceed to replacement. After 1 .5 hours (aamco quoted me for 4 hours labor charge @ $91 dollars) the job is done. I notice that this fan has more power than the old one and stays on with the a/c being off. So immediately I know that the fan was not the cause of this a/c fail. I turn on the a/c and it seems to be working. I drive for about an hour and boom, the a/c fails again. This time I am flagged by a person walking and when I come to a stop and look at the front of the hood, I see white gas/smoke. After researching I come to find out that this was not gas/smoke, that its the release valve from the condenser that just released all the freon due to overheat of the condenser. The fan is working properly but the a/c is not working.

This is beginning to frustrate me because the heatwave in NYC is unbearable and I don't know what else to do. Can someone please advise me of what could the problem possibly be or know of a good a/c mechanic in the NY, NJ area that can be trusted. I refuse to bring the car to the Stealer of BMW of Manhattan.

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciate it.

Thank You!!!