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.
.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