What does an air conditioning condenser do?
The condenser sits at the front of the radiator and is an integral part of your air conditioning (AC) system. It converts the refrigerant gas into a cold liquid to provide chilled air throughout your vehicle, to keep you and your passengers at a comfortable temperature on a hot day.
How often should a condenser need replacing?
A well-maintained and properly serviced condenser should last as long as your car will. However, as with all vehicle components, they’re prone to wear and tear, and leakage and blockage can create irreparable damage.
The law, vehicle regulations and your MOT
A faulty air conditioner won’t affect your car’s MOT but it can affect the comfort of you and your passengers. It’s worth keeping your air conditioning running at its optimum performance as the impact it can have on your vehicle’s fuel efficiency could significantly affect the day-to-day cost of your motoring.
What causes an AC condenser to stop working correctly?
There are a variety of reasons your **AC condenser **could need replacing. It could be that the fan has stopped functioning correctly, or that the condenser has developed a leak or blockage somewhere. It may be because it has become clogged by refrigerant contaminated with unwanted elements, infiltrating it from other parts of the system.
It’s also possible that objects being thrown up from the road—including gravel, litter and other debris—could cause damage to interfere with your condenser’s correct operation.
Symptoms of a malfunctioning AC condenser
Your air con isn’t as cold as normal or not working at all
Your condenser could have stopped working correctly if you notice that the air conditioning in your car isn’t providing the usual levels of cold air as normal, or if it isn’t working at all.
You can hear a ticking sound or see liquid
A ticking sound from your engine or areas of liquid leaking around the air conditioning unit are signs that your condenser could be malfunctioning.
Your fuel consumption isn’t as high as normal
A malfunctioning condenser could also affect your fuel consumption, so if you notice that you’re not achieving your usual mpg, it could be time to have your condenser checked out.
Dacia
Dacia is a Romanian automobile manufacturer, established over 50 years ago in 1966, and has been a subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault since 1999.
Dacia is Romania’s top company by revenue and the largest exporter, constituting 7.3% of the country’s total exports in 2014.
How popular is Dacia in the United Kingdom?
Dacia offers great value budget motoring—but don’t think just because they’re cheap they’re not worth the money. The Sandero hatchback is Britain’s cheapest new car and has been receiving high praise from many of the critics and car reviewers throughout the country.
There are currently 137k Dacia vehicles on the roads in the UK, but that number is showing steady, solid growth year by year. Having only been introduced into the UK market in 2013, and with the popularity growing through their more than affordable yet reliable cars, it’s looking like they’re only heading from strength to strength.
Superb value city cars, MPVs and SUVs
With a neat but tidy range featuring the Logan estate, the Sandero hatchback, the Duster SUV and the Lodgy MPV, Dacia looks to be aiming primarily towards budget conscious family drivers.
Yet with the provision of new technologies, the model platforms and the support of Renault behind them, they’re in a great position to offer not only the low prices they’re renowned for but with real substance to back them up.
Dacia: Don’t let the UK numbers fool you
Despite being a relative newcomer to the UK market, Dacia has been manufacturing and selling cars around the world for a lot longer than they have here. The global success of this Romanian marque stands at over 4.5m units sold worldwide since the Renault supported relaunch in 2004. It became the fastest growing retail brand in Europe in 2017, with sales of the Sandero rising by 16%, and selling almost 200k units.
Dacia’s reliability and reputation
Dacia ranked 13th place out of 30 car brands in the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2018, and for a budget car marque that isn’t something to be taken lightly. When you consider they ranked higher than some of the industry giants: Fiat, BMW, VW, Audi, Volvo—even Porsche and Mercedes-Benz—this is a marque that is making waves as the new kid on the block.
Recent Dacia recalls and reliability issues
Various recalls have been made on Dacia models throughout their motoring history. The following are a list of the most recent in the UK and Europe.
26/03/2019 – Dacia Logan (2017–2018)
The lower steering column mounting bracket
04/01/2019 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2018)
Driver’s airbag may not deploy correctly
04/01/2019 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2013–2015)
Risk of fuel leak
04/04/2019 – Dacia Duster (2016–2017)
Trailer lighting may fail
20/03/2019 – Dacia Logan (2017)
Front wheel hubs may crack
19/09/2017 – Dacia Duster (2017)
Incorrect wiring in horn system can cause one or more safety faults
20/12/2016 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2012)
Driver’s airbag may not deploy
23/02/2016 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2015)
Steering may fail
All recall information sourced from gov.co.uk data.
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