I have a 1995 850 Turbo sedan that has been reasonably troublefree since I purchased it used about five years ago. Now that spring has finally reached the DC area I thought that I would check out the AC only to find that there was little cold air coming from the vents which led me to believe that an AC system check was in order. My repair shop (Auto Scandia in Reston/Herndon -- great place!) has been watching the system regularly for the most common problems and thankfully none have materialized.

Thinking that an AC check was something that I could have done by the technicians at the shop across the street from my office (they do a fine job with our other cars) I dropped the brick off this afternoon. Well, they did find a leak, actually two, and want to charge me $1100 for the following work:

* Replace highside pressure line ($160)
* Replace lowside pressure line ($195)
* Replace accumulator($160)
* 2 lbs. of R134
* 4.5-5.0 hours labor

Does this seem like a reasonable price for this amount of work? I nothing to base this on, but it seems high, especially the $500 for labor. Can anyon give me an idea whether this can be right?

If possible, please respond via e-mail direct (kozikowski@mac.com).

Thanks!

The price they have quoted is way out of line. We sent a letter of tender to 31 Volvo dealerships last year for our a/c rebuild, and the highest was $1300. We eventually paid $875 for everything after some negotiating. Here is what that replaced: 

Replace A/C Condenser
Replace O Rings
Replace Receiver dryer/purifier/accumulator
Flush Compressor/System hoses (system has been vacant for 3 years)
Replace Compressor Oil
Evacuate System
Clean evaporator drain
Recharge with R134a refrigerant
Dye Test for leaks
Filter Screen

I suspect they saw a brick and assumed you were loaded, and uninformed about your car. I would suggest paying an estimate fee from a repected Volvo dealer to get the straight goods, and perhaps another estimate elsewhere. Then, with the two estimates, go to the shop you want to do the work. Goood luck!

Our 95 AC also has a leak. We recharged it last year. That
should last another year (knock wood). I'd just have yours
charged (it takes 1.8 lbs of refrigerent) and have dye
added at the same time (only needs one pack). Then, see
how long it lasts before major repairs are done.

P.S. It is considered poor netiquette to post to a bulletin board
and ask for a personal reply to an email address.

Yes, they added tracer dye which led them to the leak on pressure lines. I have heard about the problems with evaporators and my Volvo repair shop (another shameless plug for Auto Scandia) has not found a problem in the past - last checked about a year ago.

I typically use the shop I went to yesterday for routine service like oil changes and seem to find that everytime I go in for something minor they find a 'big problem'. For example, when I had the car in to have a CV boot replaced, they told me that my turbo was leaking oil and would need to be replaced at a cost of $2500! After thanking them for the advice I had it checked at Auto Scandia who found nothing wrong. The good news/bad news is that you really need to find someone who works on bricks day in and day out for any repair. Too bad that Auto Scandia isn't more convenient to either home or work.

Thanks for confirming that this was either a) misdiagnosed or b) an overpriced estimate, or c) both. Next course of action may be to simply recharge it with R134 myself and see what happens. I may not be keeping this car for more than another 12-18 months and don't think that I will recover the repair cost when I sell it.

P.S. I understand about the netiquette of BBs, but I found that this site is so active that I was inundated with messages. I appreciate the new feature which allows you to receive e-mail automaticaly from posted replys.

Whoa! My first concern is that they may have mis-diagnosed a very common problem with the 850's A/C. In almost every case I've heard about, including my own, the A/C freon leak occurs in the evaporator core (inside the dash). I've personally never heard of pressure line or accumulator problems. The bad news is that the evaporator repair is very expensive also ($1000-1500), with lots of labor time.

Did your repair shop do a UV dye test to determine the leak location? Have they ever worked on Volvo's before?

The good news may be that you can inexpensively recharge the system ($15 DIY or $100-125 shop), and this charge may "hold" for many months or longer with a small leak.

Get a second opinion!!!

Gerald C

Yep, I too highly doubt that estimate and Evaps are the #1 850 leak source, few other things ever leak. Get another opinion, have dye added if not done previously, sticker under hood?