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XE Aircon Condenser broken with stone chip

17K views 34 replies 13 participants last post by  Fighterpilot 
#1 ·
Hi -

I have a Jaguar XE just 10,000 miles in the AirCon stopped working so I took it to the garage and they said there is a stone chip in the air con unit - cost to replace £700 and not covered under warranty because the damage was due to "wear and tear".

I've refused to pay and so a "customer liason" person offered me a 25% discount. I still find this unacceptable. Surely such an expensive unit should be protected with a mesh? Can it really be called wear and tear -- seems to cover any fault if it is just a result of "using the car" ? Can anyone help me or how to escalate this case?

It's winter - hoping to sort this by the summer!

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I think you have been very unlucky.
I can't recall anybody else taking a stone into it as the front grilles are normally pretty good but as it needs air there have to be holes.
You can try sending a PM to the Jaguar customer care rep on here "CRC@Jaguar" who might be able to help.
They will need the Vin of your car and details of the dealership who had a look at it.
 
#4 ·
Hold on a minute!!!
Just had a search and it seems there could be more to this than meets the eye.
It has now prompted my failing memory and this was quite an issue.
It seems another member had the "Hole in it" excuse when some had issues with condensers failing.
Have a read through this one:

https://www.xeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4708

Putting "condenser" in the search box throws up a few threads about faulty ones being replaced under warranty.
 
#5 ·
I get the argument that it is "bad luck" but where is the border between "bad luck" and a design fault? I.e., if this is a common occurence with the car.

I have read the other threads and there does seem to be a lot of broken A/C condensers around (albeit that it is difficult to quantify "a lot" without stats from the manufacturer). If I have "bad luck" again - am I going to be paying £700 every 10k miles?

If Jaguar can show me this is an unusual issue then I would agree with the bad luck hypothesis. :?
 
#6 ·
jcmorgan said:
I get the argument that it is "bad luck" but where is the border between "bad luck" and a design fault? I.e., if this is a common occurence with the car.

I have read the other threads and there does seem to be a lot of broken A/C condensers around (albeit that it is difficult to quantify "a lot" without stats from the manufacturer). If I have "bad luck" again - am I going to be paying £700 every 10k miles?

If Jaguar can show me this is an unusual issue then I would agree with the bad luck hypothesis. :?
I think things might be getting a bit confused here.
IF you actually have a hole due to stone damage then that is bad luck.
We haven't heard of anybody else genuinely damaging the condenser from a stone or road debris.
But as you now know another member had the same excuse which wasn't true.
It's obvious from the other thread that others have had condensers replaced under warranty due to defects and you can use that evidence to push for a warranty replacement on yours unless they can prove yours definitely has damage caused by external means.
 
#8 ·
In the garage yesterday ,Air con not working.

Got the call, stone hit the unit.

Part here on Friday, dreading the costs ,as French prices on premium car parts are horrendous .

As previously said ,shouldn't there be some sort of protection for this ?

Will do my best to have a go about the costs, but will no doubt get the Gallic shrug & will just have to cough up.

So I could leave the garage ,go down the road & hit happens again .

NOT HAPPY
 
#9 ·
Ask to see the condenser and get them to show you the hole in it.
There were quite a few failures due to faulty condensers and most got them replaced under warranty.
Quite a few had the "stone damage" excuse until they dug their toes in and asked to see the damage.

As we have said before, the chances for a stone to hit the condenser through the small holes in the grille is incredibly small.
 
#10 ·
Was going to do exactly that.

Got the wife brushing up on her French

Probably be like flogging a dead one of what they like to eat over here
 
#13 ·
Hi all, Mine has also developed a hole in the condenser from a stone as they have told me.......
Im in germany and my 3 year warranty ran out a few months ago....They are charging me 1500 EUROS at Dinnebier in the center of Berlin..
Excuse my language....WTF!!!!!!
Very unhappy..... This is obviously a design fault....Happends too many times....but they are having none of it!!!!
Is it worth asking to see the brockem one???
 
#14 ·
Union Jag said:
Hi all, Mine has also developed a hole in the condenser from a stone as they have told me.......
Im in germany and my 3 year warranty ran out a few months ago....They are charging me 1500 EUROS at Dinnebier in the center of Berlin..
Excuse my language....WTF!!!!!!
Very unhappy..... This is obviously a design fault....Happends too many times....but they are having none of it!!!!
Is it worth asking to see the brockem one???
Definitely get them to show you the "damage" on the old one.
The trouble is you are out of warranty, but if it has failed rather than being damaged you may have a good case for Jaguar to replace it as a goodwill gesture or make a significant contribution to the cost.
 
#16 ·
Hi Mike, yeah...sounds like the least they could do...When I get mine back, I will look at making something myself....dont want to go through this again. I asked the voice on the telephone if the part on the xf is also so open as im thinking of changing...He replied "No, its just because the xe is lower and has bigger air inlets at the front"... I dont really believe that.
 
#17 ·
Mike Rometer said:
Perhaps JLR should be considering designing and providing a stone guard/deflector for these. There seem to be too many of these complaints for comfort.
The actual problem is/was a batch of faulty condensers.
The "stone damage" excuse was often put forward by some dealers to get out of a warranty claim and make the poor punter pay for it which goes into their pockets.
It's total horsesh*t.
It's about as likely as the magic bullet that killed JFK.
:D
 
#18 ·
PhilB said:
Mike Rometer said:
Perhaps JLR should be considering designing and providing a stone guard/deflector for these. There seem to be too many of these complaints for comfort.
The actual problem is/was a batch of faulty condensers.
The "stone damage" excuse was often put forward by some dealers to get out of a warranty claim and make the poor punter pay for it which goes into their pockets.
It's total horsesh*t.
It's about as likely as the magic bullet that killed JFK.
:D
If it is a batch, then they should all appear in a certain manufacturing time-frame, which is between when and when?

I'm sure we all know of air CON stories like this.
 
#19 ·
Mike Rometer said:
If it is a batch, then they should all appear in a certain manufacturing time-frame, which is between when and when?
I have no idea of any time frame and I really can't be bothered to go back through all the topics to try and work out when it affected the XE.
 
#20 ·
Appreciated PhilB, just thought someone might have an idea so I could check if I'm likely to be affected. These production problems usually occur in the early releases or at change of supplier. I fall into the former!

Late Edit : - I HAVE been back and read two full threads (from links) and it seems mostly early cars are affected. Mine was reg'ed in first week December 2015, so I will take a look and see if I can fit some sort of extra guard, so the 'excuse' is invalid. o_O.w. or not, it should give some insurance. Also I will have no qualms in using one of our local A/C specialists, should the need arise.
 
#21 ·
Mike Rometer said:
Appreciated PhilB, just thought someone might have an idea so I could check if I'm likely to be affected. These production problems usually occur in the early releases or at change of supplier. I fall into the former!

Late Edit : - I HAVE been back and read two full threads (from links) and it seems mostly early cars are affected. Mine was reg'ed in first week December 2015, so I will take a look and see if I can fit some sort of extra guard, so the 'excuse' is invalid. o_O.w. or not, it should give some insurance. Also I will have no qualms in using one of our local A/C specialists, should the need arise.
This might be of help Mike

I had my condenser replaced after having the air con regassed at 1 year old, then again at 2 years old (Dealer could not find any leaks on either occasion) and then telling them to fix it once and for all just before the warranty ran out at 3 years old. They finally agreed there was a slight leak and changed it.

I know others will disagree but I think the condenser is highly vulnerable to stone damage through the large holes in both the top and lower grilles. You only have to look at the stone chips on the lower skirt and bumper to see that.
I decided last year after having the new condenser fitted to be safe rather than sorry and I made a simple shield which can be seen in the attached pics.

I used some galvanised steel bar from Screwfix cut to size to make a frame large enough to protect the whole condenser area and then clamped wire mesh between the bars and bolted the whole thing together with m5 nuts, bolts and washers. I then cut a couple of pieces of the steel bar to make L shape brackets which I attached to the shield frame and suspended it from the bolts shown at the extreme left and right of the first pic.

Links to the bits I used.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/alfer-galvanised-steel-flat-bar-23-5-x-1-2-x-1000mm/9227p
https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-button-head-socket-screws-stainless-steel-m5-x-12mm-50-pack/8341t
https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-a2-stainless-steel-hex-nuts-m5-100-pack/2639t
wire mesh ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004RC6C8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Grille Hood Automotive tire Vehicle Trunk


The pic below is looking from above . I found the frame moved very slightly front to back as it was not secured at the bottom so I used a piece of foam which you can just see at bottom left of the pic, to prevent any movement.

Grille Automotive lighting Automotive tire Bumper Automotive exterior


In the pic below you can just see the L shape bracket used to hang the shield.

Automotive tire Automotive exterior Bumper Motor vehicle Fender


The pic below shows the view of the shield through the main grille. It does go right to the bottom so that it protects against any stones coming through the lower grille.

Font Automotive design Line Material property Mesh


From memory I think the whole thing cost me about £20 and an afternoon to put it together and knowing the price of a new condenser, as far as I'm concerned it's money and a bit of time well spent :) :)
 

Attachments

#23 ·
BOBCDP said:
Mike Rometer said:
Appreciated PhilB, just thought someone might have an idea so I could check if I'm likely to be affected. These production problems usually occur in the early releases or at change of supplier. I fall into the former!

Late Edit : - I HAVE been back and read two full threads (from links) and it seems mostly early cars are affected. Mine was reg'ed in first week December 2015, so I will take a look and see if I can fit some sort of extra guard, so the 'excuse' is invalid. o_O.w. or not, it should give some insurance. Also I will have no qualms in using one of our local A/C specialists, should the need arise.
This might be of help Mike

I had my condenser replaced after having the air con regassed at 1 year old, then again at 2 years old (Dealer could not find any leaks on either occasion) and then telling them to fix it once and for all just before the warranty ran out at 3 years old. They finally agreed there was a slight leak and changed it.

I know others will disagree but I think the condenser is highly vulnerable to stone damage through the large holes in both the top and lower grilles. You only have to look at the stone chips on the lower skirt and bumper to see that.
I decided last year after having the new condenser fitted to be safe rather than sorry and I made a simple shield which can be seen in the attached pics.

I used some galvanised steel bar from Screwfix cut to size to make a frame large enough to protect the whole condenser area and then clamped wire mesh between the bars and bolted the whole thing together with m5 nuts, bolts and washers. I then cut a couple of pieces of the steel bar to make L shape brackets which I attached to the shield frame and suspended it from the bolts shown at the extreme left and right of the first pic.

Links to the bits I used.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/alfer-galvanised-steel-flat-bar-23-5-x-1-2-x-1000mm/9227p
https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-button-head-socket-screws-stainless-steel-m5-x-12mm-50-pack/8341t
https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-a2-stainless-steel-hex-nuts-m5-100-pack/2639t
wire mesh ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004RC6C8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Shield 01.jpg

The pic below is looking from above . I found the frame moved very slightly front to back as it was not secured at the bottom so I used a piece of foam which you can just see at bottom left of the pic, to prevent any movement.

Shield 02.jpg

In the pic below you can just see the L shape bracket used to hang the shield.

Shield 03.jpg

The pic below shows the view of the shield through the main grille. It does go right to the bottom so that it protects against any stones coming through the lower grille.

Shield 04.jpg

From memory I think the whole thing cost me about £20 and an afternoon to put it together and knowing the price of a new condenser, as far as I'm concerned it's money and a bit of time well spent :) :)
Yes that's similar to what I had in mind. It's just getting a round-tuit that's the problem, I've got plenty of square ones. :twisted:
 
#24 ·
Thanks Mike (SORRY I MEANT BOB!!!), I wil do something similar to mine...Getting it back on Thursday....and then I will try and find a screwfix in Berlin :lol:
 
#25 ·
My car has just been in to the dealers again.
Similar story. Had it recharged at its first service and now 10 months later I've just had it done again. (free of charge)
The dealer couldn't find a leak but agrees that it's not normal, also said I should use it all year round. I pointed out to them that we have 4 cars in the family, we all use the air con year round and this car is the only one needing recharged yearly. I had a chat with the technician who worked on it and I pointed out that I was not happy as the car would be going out of warranty this time next year. The dealer said that the work was all on record and it was noted, so that If it needed doing next year I wouldn't face a large bill as it was an on going issue that I had highlighted. Good will apparently?
Not sure whether I should trust them to keep their word or keep pushing for it to be sorted.
 
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