Help, AC doesn't work

[TX]

I started hearing a groaning/whine noise under the hood a little while ago. I thought it was a failing power steering pump. Then today my AC isn't cool. On the way to work today the far right vent is slightly cool and by the time you get to the driver left vent it's hot. Driving back from work tonight it wasn't working at all. Turning the AC compressor on and off with the switch causes the groan to stop. This looks like a failed AC compressor that has leaked out the gas correct? Car is an 09 with 42K miles. This seems a little early for an AC compressor to fail. Anyone have a history with this or input? I see the dreaded compressor is $1200 plus other parts, shop fees, dealer costs, etc.
Thanks guys,
X

[haparide]

Ouch That sucks... This doesn't necessarily mean the refrigerant has leaked out. Most likely the clutch in the compressor is/has failed since you are hearing noises as the relay for the compressor clicks on and off. However you are probably going to need to replace the compressor anyway which will break the system open anyway. Just do it responsibly

[MTM]

The E92 (and maybe E90?) has a pretty well known fault in the evaporator coil of corroding and causing leaks. I would have this checked before you swap compressors. My bet is that this leaked out over time, and the low freon level maybe caused the compressor damage.

If you don't have a set of gauges, you can always try a refill kit from someplace like Autozone just to see if the system is full, and if it will hold a new charge.

[TX]

Well add me to the list for a blown evaporator. Dealer is replacing under warranty. They say it's a massive Job. They have to pull the entire dash and everything around it out of the car to do the job. He said I'm lucky I had a warranty. Car is 09 with 43K miles on it. Garage Kept. How could this fail?

[gsmooth33]

This is exactly why I just purchased an extended warranty

[Shredicus]

Originally Posted by TX

Well add me to the list for a blown evaporator. Dealer is replacing under warranty. They say it's a massive Job. They have to pull the entire dash and everything around it out of the car to do the job. He said I'm lucky I had a warranty. Car is 09 with 43K miles on it. Garage Kept. How could this fail?

Humid environments seem to kill them prematurely

[nthretourNAFTW]

poorly designed OEM evaporator by French company Valeo is known to fail. You can see on bmw oem parts that they are on their 3rd revision and the f$%*&g part still fails.

AC seems to be the most widespread weakness of the car.

[vegaseric]

Yep... the previous evaporators seem to be ticking time bombs. At least the ones BMW are stocking now have a two year warranty. (parts and labor)

[RoshDawg]

Originally Posted by nthretourNAFTW

poorly designed OEM evaporator by French company Valeo is known to fail. You can see on bmw oem parts that they are on their 3rd revision and the f$%*&g part still fails.

AC seems to be the most widespread weakness of the car.

Did these revisions get implemented during the life of the E9X? If so, which years got which revisions?

[nthretourNAFTW]

Originally Posted by RoshDawg

Did these revisions get implemented during the life of the E9X? If so, which years got which revisions?

yes,

Evaporator VALEO 1 01/2011 64116934781 ENDED
Evaporator VALEO 1 07/2012 64119256346 ENDED
Evaporator VALEO 1 64119290888

It doesn't really matter which model year you got, all three including the last one from 07/2012 to 2013 end of production year are known to fail.
It's also on all 3 series models.

In such a situation BMW should extend the warranty for that part, they obviously effing know that the part still does not meet acceptable quality standards !

[TX]

wow this is all good info. So even the current model that I hope they are installing is going to fail again on me? By then I should be out of this car so I guess it won't matter then. It's a shame they can't get a better product in there. I was going to mention that this must be a defect in this model if it's failing. I don't see other brands of cars needing entire evaporator replacements.
Sounds like poor planning on BMW's end.

[besiktas]

I had compressor replaced earlier this year after 5 years of non-stop AC use. The dealership was nice and helped me out and made me pay a fraction of the cost. Try talking to your dealer to see if they can work something out with you.

[pacent]

I just got my evaporator replaced in my '09 to the tune of roughly 2.6k, and that was after some negotiating. I understand the new one they put in has a different part number.

[TX]

Originally Posted by besiktas

I had compressor replaced earlier this year after 5 years of non-stop AC use. The dealership was nice and helped me out and made me pay a fraction of the cost. Try talking to your dealer to see if they can work something out with you.

Thanks for the info.
The dealer is changing the evaporator under my extended warranty.
I'm worried about the compressor as it is 6 years old if yours failed in 5.

[TX]

Originally Posted by pacent

I just got my evaporator replaced in my '09 to the tune of roughly 2.6k, and that was after some negotiating. I understand the new one they put in has a different part number.

Yeah I've heard it can run around 4K to do the Job. You got a relatively good deal then.