AC issues - Evaporator replacement

[cvandenhaute]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone else experienced the same issue I just encountered. I notice whining sounds in the AC blower a while ago and yesterday when I dropped the car for 30,000 maintenance, asked the dealershipe to have a look at it. They called me back telling me it is the evaporator of the AC and they have to change it, unfortunately a hell of a job (thanks God under warranty) because of the location.

Has anyone else experience it that early (car is barely 3 years old), I always have AC on (as I always had in any other car without any issues). Wonder what could cause it?

Dealership was great and gave me a brand new X3 35i but I hope they don't mess up anything when they put the dash back together.

[TMR013]

I've had mine replaced 3 times.
BMW didn't engineer them originally to handle extreme heat, walls apparently are very thin to save weight. So if you use AC all the time, like we do for most of the year in Phoenix. It will leak.
This last one so far has lasted the longest, about 14 months, it's a new p/n so I'm hoping they improved it.
Especially since I'm now out of warranty. But if it does fail agin soon, I'm pretty sure my SR will cover it under the repair warranty.

[cvandenhaute]

Originally Posted by TMR013

I've had mine replaced 3 times.
BMW didn't engineer them originally to handle extreme heat, walls apparently are very thin to save weight. So if you use AC all the time, like we do for most of the year in Phoenix. It will leak.
This last one so far has lasted the longest, about 14 months, it's a new p/n so I'm hoping they improved it.
Especially since I'm now out of warranty. But if it does fail agin soon, I'm pretty sure my SR will cover it under the repair warranty.

Thanks, they told me the original part had flaws and they hope it has been improved. Mine lasted for 3 years but we had 2 hot summers in a row here in colorado, probably did not help. I hope the new part is sturdier, they told me there is 2 years warranty on it but does it cover labor?

Dealership (Gebhart in Boulder), was nice though, gave me a brand new X3 35i for the time of the repair...

[dcaron9999]

I picked up my 2011 135i a couple of months ago, with a weak A/C system. It is still under warranty so I took it to the dealer for verification. They went through the standard routine
(1) 1st vist: refill with freon + dye
(2) 2nd visit: inspection for leaks two weeks later revealed a leaking evaporator.
(3) 3rd visit: appointment booked in 3 weeks for the EVAP replacement.

The dealership then concluded they needed to replace the EVAP. They tore the dash apart, and hijacked my car for 3 days to get this done.

I checked on realoem.com with my VIN number , and realized that 4 different EVAP have been released for my car. Below, I have pasted the table, with parts sorted chronologically. Notice the release dates. BMW are now at their fourth revision!

Try #1 Evaporator DENSO 64119179802 $391.42
Try #2 Evaporator VALEO 01/2011 64116934781 ENDED
Try #3 Evaporator VALEO 07/2012 64119256346 ENDED
Try #4 Evaporator VALEO 64119290888

[Jrome559]

Guys, need some info ASAP in regards to a Evaporator Replacement on my M3. I took my M3 in last week because the A/C wasn't blowing cold at all, especially since I had just had the A/C recharged. Long story short, the Indy shop (cause I was tired of going to the dealership) told me I should replace two other parts along with the evaporator

1) Receiver / Drier
2) Expansion Valve

Should I? The evaporator is covered under extended warranty, but since the other two parts "aren't technically broken" they won't cover it. So I need some other advice.

Thanks guys.

[bbbbmw]

I took my 2011 135i in last week for a couple of items - including that the A/C seemed like it should be colder. They checked it and said that some "computer setting" kept the system from going below 70 degrees. Anyone else heard of that? It's much better now.

[cvandenhaute]

Originally Posted by Jrome559

Guys, need some info ASAP in regards to a Evaporator Replacement on my M3. I took my M3 in last week because the A/C wasn't blowing cold at all, especially since I had just had the A/C recharged. Long story short, the Indy shop (cause I was tired of going to the dealership) told me I should replace two other parts along with the evaporator

1) Receiver / Drier
2) Expansion Valve

Should I? The evaporator is covered under extended warranty, but since the other two parts "aren't technically broken" they won't cover it. So I need some other advice.

Thanks guys.

They had to replace these to parts on mine together with the evaporator

[cvandenhaute]

Originally Posted by bbbbmw

I took my 2011 135i in last week for a couple of items - including that the A/C seemed like it should be colder. They checked it and said that some "computer setting" kept the system from going below 70 degrees. Anyone else heard of that? It's much better now.

Sounds like BS to me: when they fixed mine, they made a test at 65 degrees in order to make sure that it could reach that temperature, i will try to scan the report they gave me.

[TwinTurboed]

Class action lawsuit for all these AC evaps going out? I am going out of warranty this december and crap like this is what scares me. My car had only one problem in its 4yr 42k miles life, the Comfort Access module went out and got replaced under warranty. I hope nothing else breaks.

[cvandenhaute]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboed

Class action lawsuit for all these AC evaps going out? I am going out of warranty this december and crap like this is what scares me. My car had only one problem in its 4yr 42k miles life, the Comfort Access module went out and got replaced under warranty. I hope nothing else breaks.

The dealership told me not to worry: the replacement evaporator has a 2 years warranty, not sure whether I feel better now

[Jrome559]

Originally Posted by cvandenhaute

They had to replace these to parts on mine together with the evaporator

I guess I'm trying to avoid paying out of pocket for the two other parts. Considering that if they break, they are covered, I guess I'll take the chance unless someone else has a better idea.

[Mark16q]

mine done early also. My dash has never sounded right since then...lots of creaks and crackles that weren't there before but at least the a/c works.

[Bill B.]

Originally Posted by Jrome559

I guess I'm trying to avoid paying out of pocket for the two other parts. Considering that if they break, they are covered, I guess I'll take the chance unless someone else has a better idea.

ALWAYS change the drier and the expansion valve when opening the system. The receiver drier has a desiccant in it (hence the drying) that shouldn't be exposed to atmosphere as it will absorb moisture, also the drier acts as a debris filter and is expected to be replaced. The drier may not catch all debris in the system and some will make its way to the expansion valve.

The expansion valve also has a screen in it that can get clogged over time. The easiest way to clean it is just to replace it.

If you don't have these replaced, you risk eventual damage to the compressor.

[Jrome559]

Originally Posted by Bill B.

ALWAYS change the drier and the expansion valve when opening the system. The receiver drier has a desiccant in it (hence the drying) that shouldn't be exposed to atmosphere as it will absorb moisture, also the drier acts as a debris filter and is expected to be replaced. The drier may not catch all debris in the system and some will make its way to the expansion valve.

The expansion valve also has a screen in it that can get clogged over time. The easiest way to clean it is just to replace it.

If you don't have these replaced, you risk eventual damage to the compressor.

Thanks for the info, that helps, Too bad the Extended Warranty won't cover it until they break, but considering all the parts aforementioned are covered, I guess I'll just take the chance. Thank you again

Jerome

[JHZR2]

Does anyone know the rough cost for this repair out of pocket? Does bmw generally give goodwill discounts if recently out of warranty? I'm going to use a sniffer in the duct and test mine. It's obvious my last few starts that I smell refrigerant when I start the car (not operating, AC blows cold and is fine then). Very frustrating.

[halfhalo]

I was roughly quoted 16-1850 for mine yesterday, but that may be lower than normal since there is a bit of a discount due to the 4 attempts it took to align my driver side window after a regulator replacement.

[dcaron9999]

SA estimated that my EVAP replacement came out to close to $3000CAD, covered under warranty of course. Most of the costs were labor...

With my car coming out of warranty in May 2015, I may pull the trigger on the BMW extended warranty before that date, if I decide to keep the car.

Performance/track modification on the car so far sit around $5500CAD (see signature), and half my "investment" may be recovered by a part-out ...

Would get a pre-owned E92 335i (sexy as hell to me), E92 M3, E46/M3, Porsche 2005-2007 997/911, or 2009 Porsche Cayman S as a replacement.

Could carry over most track/lapping mods from E82/135i to E92/335i rather simply ...

Decisions-decisions ...

[blackpixi7]

I replaced the evaporator by myself. Everything under the dashboard had to be removed, and apart from ripping nearly everything out of your interior it really wasn't that bad of a job. Just tedious. The messiest part is removing the heater core and ensuring no coolant contacts the interior and footwell carpet. PM me if anyone has any questions about the job.

[Gregoriovv]

Originally Posted by cvandenhaute

Hello, I was wondering if anyone else experienced the same issue I just encountered. I notice whining sounds in the AC blower a while ago and yesterday when I dropped the car for 30,000 maintenance, asked the dealershipe to have a look at it. They called me back telling me it is the evaporator of the AC and they have to change it, unfortunately a hell of a job (thanks God under warranty) because of the location.

Has anyone else experience it that early (car is barely 3 years old), I always have AC on (as I always had in any other car without any issues). Wonder what could cause it?

Dealership was great and gave me a brand new X3 35i but I hope they don't mess up anything when they put the dash back together.

I just bought my car last week and when I had it checked out at the dealer they pulled the service records. The evap had been replaced earlier this year. No problems yet so far though. 2010 135.