2009 air conditioning not working

[labatt]

Hi all -

I have a 2009 e70 4.8. The air conditioning is blowing warm. I just dropped it off at the dealer (still under extended warranty) and they said that if they have to recharge it I will be charged $150. The car is only 4 or 5 years old so I expressed my concern that, if it needs to be recharged, there has to be a leak somewhere. They said this is normal for an x5 and that even charging after a couple of years happens.

AC should be a closed loop system so recharging it means there's a leak, right? And should a car of this age be leaking? Is there anything I can say, or anyone I can call, if they say they can't find a leak but have to recharge?

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Chris

[bawareca]

R134's molecules are really small and it is a known fact that they escape little by little thru the walls of the rubber hoses.That is why the manufacturers do their best to make every possible line out of aluminum,but some has to be rubber.Still,5 years look like a short period to loose so much freon for the AC to stop working,but X5's hold relatively small amount of freon-700g or ~1.7 lbs.
If the recharge gives you another 4-5 years you should be good.If the AC stops working again n a year or so you can go back to the dealer and ask for warranty on a repair not done right(leak not discovered).

[TriX5]

I recharged the AC on my 2003 e53 in 2007 or 2008 at the dealer. They did the whole evac and refill. It worked fine for a number of summers, I seldom run it in the winter period.

Then in 2010 it stood around a body shop for several weeks to fix something minor while I was out of the country and when I got it back the AC was dead. I decided to recharge from a bottle I bought at an auto parts store and now we are another four summer seasons down the road. Started right up when the weather finally picked up a week or two ago.

So it can happen and not be a great big issue.....good luck.

[labatt]

Turns out it was pretty much empty and they suspect the evaporator... so they won't be charging for the refill. They put dye in it and I need to use it for a few days and then bring it back.