My air con is no longer cooling the air and the air coming through has become noticeably more humid ( I live in a high humidity envionment). Prior to this happening, for a few months I had vapour coming through the left air vents. No smell and at least the air was still cool then. I was told at the time this was normal in high humidity environments.

When I switch on the air con in AUTO mode the fan speed goes to 3/4 of full speed and simply stays there with the air coming through not particularly cold. The other thing I've noticed in association with this is that the green light on the AUTO switch remains on. Before I distinctly remember being able to select this mode off and armed.

Does anyone have any ideas about what is at fault, could it be the AC control panel or is it something related to the AC system itself - a leak perhaps?

Also I have spoken to a mechanic about it and he reckons that it could possibly be expensive to fix, depending on the problem, not because of parts but because of labour as for certain faults the whole dash has to be removed to get to the offending parts. Does this sound reasonable?

Many thanks for any help you can give.

__________________
2002 X5 4.4i. Black with beige leather interior. Sports Pack.