A/C not working well - 2002 S60 T4 AWD Turbo 160kms

[kdaide]

With the temperature warning up here in Canada I needed to use my A/C. To my dismay, the A/C is not as cool as I remember it being last summer and after a 45 minute drive, the fan was still blowing because the temperature had not reached the 22C that I had it set the climate control at.

Is there an easy way for me to tell if the compressor is gone or it it just needs more refridgerant. If there is a leak in the system is this an expensive repair? Is it normal to have to replace the refridgerant after 5 years? Should the car computer be raising any warnings?

2002 S60 T4 AWD Turbo 160kms

Regards, Kevin

[MadeInJapan]

Unlike their predecessors, the S60 is suppose to have a pretty stout A/C unit. Unfortunately the only accessible port (if you lift your hood you'll see it on the left hand section, just off center above the radiator- a round cut out w/ a cap on it sticking up through the plastic dam) is a high pressure port so you'll have to have an A/C person or the dealer read what the pressure is. Definitely if the pressure is low, have gas added to the system. It is strange that you might have lost some but not highly unusual. For the fan to come on and stay on I would say that the compressor is fine...the condenser, or rather the condenser coil on the other hand could be very dirty and not allowing a good heat exchange and this might be all that's wrong with it. It can be cleaned from the outside- looks like a small radiator that sits below your regular radiator. If they do have to add some gas, keep an eye on it and if seems to loose some again, have some dye added to the system so the leak can be traced the next time around.

[JRL]

There's no pat answer.
You may have got a small stone hole in your condensor, have a small freon leak from a connection, the CCU temp control could out of internal adjustment (broken).
There could be several reasons, have a qualified mechanic look at it