Went to the Volvo dealer to get my 2015 XC70 T6's A/C recharged--blowing hot air. They gave me an estimated $367 plus tax to sign, as a diagnosis fee--covering evacuation, recharge and adding dye to check for leaks, with additional parts and labor to be assessed as needed. I agreed and signed. Waited over one hour.

Service advisor said the diagnosis was that I needed a new compressor and might as well do the auxiliary belt at the same time, for $2,300. I asked if the A/C had been recharged and she said no, the compressor is bad. As I probed further, she said it was the clutch, it is not engaging.

I mentioned that as far as I understood, if the refrigerant is low, the clutch may not engage. Was the refrigerant checked? She replied no, tech determined that the clutch was bad. I asked why a recharge was not attempted, to see if refrigerant was low. The service advisor asked the tech and said that the tech said the car does not have a low pressure switch. How is that possible?

They decided to charge me for one hour labor at $195 ($211 including tax) for diagnosis rather than the $367 for recharging. They don't have the compressor in stock, I would have to go back.

I came home and googled. All car A/C systems have both High Pressure AND Low Pressure switches. The XC/70 has its Low Pressure connection hidden under the cowl.

It is disturbing that the tech would say the car does not have a Low Pressure Switch. Are they just trying to rip me off?

Another Volvo dealer had tried to rip me off when I had a ABS Tone Ring issue by saying I needed to have the ABS Control Module replaced for $3,300. I replaced the rear axle for $1,000 and the problem was solved, and all the cascading faults resolved.

Are all Volvo dealers becoming totally dishonest? Used to be diagnosis was free, and at least credited against repair. No more. Now they all want to do diagnosis first, one hour at minimum, and it is not credited against repair. And they've raised their labor rates to near $200 per hour. That's automatically making one hour of labor for free. Seems dishonest.

What Gives?

 

OK - a couple of things - if you think your AC needs to be "recharged" - that must mean you think it is low and then that would mean there is a leak, correct? Has anyone talked about that? Where is the leak? Freon is put in by weight, The only reliable way to tell if it has leaked out (or is low) - is to take the freon out and weigh it (modern ac recharging equipment can do that) So if it's low - where is the leak? How much freon was recovered? (that would be an hour or two in labor time for that process)

But - let's move on to things that might cause your ac to not blow cold if it's still full. Your T6 uses a variable displacement compressor. There is a valve on the compressor that changes the angle of the swash plate, That changes the stroke of the compressor pistons - which changes the displacement. That valve can get clogged or go bad. (google volvo compressor displacement valve) I've replaced many valves to solve the "ac not cold" problem on many later 6 cyl engines. (and other brands of cars also that have variable displacement compressors)

But - most dealers will recommend a new compressor if the valve is bad. Because there is certainly a possibility that a new valve won't fix 100% of the cars - so they just replace the compressor that has a new valve and a new clutch and doing it that way there will be fewer not fixed cars and fewer pissed off customers with not fixed cars. (we all want 5 star or positive reviews! If not others read those bad reviews and you go out of business!)

To sum up - You might be able to solve your problem with simply a new valve - the system does has to be empty to change it. But you will have to find a shop willing to diagnose (for $$) and replace only the valve (again for $$, mostly with no guarantee that the problem will be fixed)

"Used to be diagnosis was free", well years ago I tried to do that (or avoid that discussion!) - but it turned out the techs working on flat rate (commission) - wanted to be paid for their time. So as a shop owner I had to tread a fine line between charging the customer for the time spent on the car, and paying the tech for the time he spent on the car - whether it was actually fixed or just "diagnosed".

I eventually thought of my shop and techs as doctors - when you go the the doctor for an ailment - you don't question what his "diagnostic fee" is - because insurance pays for the code he puts in. Unfortunately there is no set of codes, or insurance for car repairs. The techs are just guessing (using their best judgement), just like your physician does.

For your ac clutch not engaging - one possibility is the 6 cyl clutch has a "dampening" ring, perhaps for noise reduction, in between the clutch parts. That ring comes loose and jams preventing the clutch from engaging. You can either simply remove the broken " dampening ring" or replace the clutch to solve the "clutch not engaging" problem. The last 6cyl clutch I replaced took about about an hour. So - there are many possibilities, but the dealer is going to choose the one that most likely will give him 100% success rate.

Sorry for your troubles..

Perhaps - seek an independent evaluation of your AC problem - but don't expect the "diagnosis" to be free, We all want to be paid for our time, just like all your doctors do. .

 

I went in and signed to pay for a diagnosis and evacuation, recharge and dye, to see if leaking and to fix. The estimated fee was $367 plus tax. I agreed and signed. Then they came back with you need new compressor, and upon questioning, said it was the clutch not engaging. I mentioned that if refrigerant was low, the clutch would not engage, as far as I understood. But they did not do that. I asked why not, and the advisor said the tech said the car does not have a low pressure switch. How can that be? I don't understand.

I search Google and confirmed that all auto A/C systems have a high pressure and low pressure switch. The XC70's low pressure side is hidden under the cowl. I could not find it at first either. But for the dealer's tech to say the car does not have a low pressure switch made me think that they just wanted to hit me for a compressor.

I don't mind paying if they are honest and competent. But if they are just trying to make more money and B/Sing, I object to that.

Just like the other dealer mentioned---I pointed out the issue, told then I replaced the speed sensor, then had the tone wheel fault code, and the cascading failures of ABS, ESC, Tire Monitor, collision, etc. only left rear--then they sat me down and wanted to charge me $3,300 for an ABS Control Module--which at most was $1,200 for parts and one-to-two hours to replace, but it was not the problem, it was the tone wheel on the axle. The various Volvo dealers all want to do a diagnosis--one hour labor for nothing. Finally I found one who would do an axle replacement for 2 hours of labor, I bring the part--no guaranty of the job since they did not diagnose, to which I said was fine. Solved the problem.