Air Conditioning Re-Gas

[mwsmith29]

Upon buying my ex lease car XE I started to realise that it had a few niggles that needed attention. One came to light when the weather improved during early May and it became clear the air conditioning was barely functioning.
With the dual system set to maximum cooling there was slight cooling of the air from the L/H fascia vent but non from the R/H fascia vent so I had to resort to opening the windows to stay cool.

Research on the internet indicated this was a common fault on the XE and sometimes required the replacement of the air conditioning condenser which leaked either as a result of stone damage or possibly just unsatisfactory quality.

A further complication was that the gas used on these cars is the modern environmentally preferred R1234yf type which is not commonly available through the usual vehicle service centres such as Halfords, Quickfit etc and it can be considerably more expensive.
After a few phone calls I located a service centre in Skipton North Yorkshire that quoted a reasonable price and they seemed very reassuring.

The re-gas successfully restored full function to the air conditioning system and two months later it is still fine.
The technicians explained that as my car still had 25% of the gas remaining in the system a leak was unlikely and many cars now needed gas services every few years.

My previous daily runabout an X-type did not need any attention to the air con in all its thirteen years so I will keep my fingers crossed.

[mike020150]

Keep your fingers crossed. After very similar symptoms, my XE has just had its condenser changed under warranty and it seems, it's not alone. According to the dealer, there is a dubious quality pipe as part of the plumbing which can fracture. I am also currently in discussion about a slack upper offside condenser mounting on the new condenser in case that caused excessive movement and fatigue of the original. In my case, when grasping the top offside of the condenser, it can be moved several millimetres back and forth which is unlikely to be good engineering practice or to Jaguar original specification. Mike.

[mwsmith29]

Thank you Mike.

My fingers are crossed. I will check the upper mounting on my car and any further information may be helpful to those of us without warranty.

There will be more and more of us as time goes by.

[mike020150]

According to dealer sources, this is a known weakness affecting not just the XE but also XF and the SUVs. No-one is specifically blaming the loose grip of the top offside condenser mounting but having checked a few cars, my dealer says to his surprise, most appear to be the same. So, to eliminate it as a possible culprit, I have removed the excess movement by installing the simplest of solutions. The condenser has a convenient metal loop which looks as if it were designed to engage with the top mounting (it doesn't on my car). I have threaded one cable tie through the loop and added a second tie through the first one. The second tie can then be located under the retaining bolt of the top mounting and tightened to restrict movement of the condenser. It may not be a Jaguar approved modification but at least it stops the excessive condenser movement and it may give the associated pipework and easier time. Time will tell. Mike.