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.
Renault
Groupe Renault is a French multinational automobile manufacturer, established over 120 years ago in 1899.
How popular is Renault in the United Kingdom?
This French marque has around 1.4million vehicles on the road in the UK today. Their numbers peaked between 2007 and 2008 at over 2million vehicles, yet have been on a slow decline ever since.
Renault makes a wide-ranging selection of respectable vehicles.
As you’ll find with most manufacturers in today’s market, the cream of their crop lies with their SUV models. Other stand-outs are the RS models built for a much more fun driving experience and the electric models that are also sitting impressively in a steadily growing market.
Renault: a constant contender in all manner of motorsports
In the 1970s, Renault set up a dedicated motorsport division that went on to take the winners title in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1978, with the Renault Alpine A442. They have been competing and achieving successes in both rallying and Formula One ever since.
Renault debuted their first formula one car (and team) at Silverstone in 1977; it was the first of its kind to include a turbo engine. The team continued until 1986 and shortly after, in 1989, they began to supply engines to the successful Williams-Renault car.
The Benetton team was renamed Renault F1 in 2002, and the team went on to win the constructors championship in both 2005 and 2006 with Spaniard Fernando Alonso at the wheel.
More recently, Renault powered the winning Red Bull Racing team in 2010 and returned to racing as a team in their own right, from the 2016 season onwards.
Renault’s reliability and reputation
Renault ranked 19th place out of 30 car brands in the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2018. The highest to lowest scores ranged from 97.7% (Suzuki) to 76.5% (Land Rover), suggesting Renault’s 91.7% rating is probably a little better than the ranking position suggests.
Recent Renault recalls and reliability issues
Various recalls have been made on Renault models throughout their motoring history. The following are a list of the most recent in the UK and Europe.
05/04/2019 – Renault Scenic, Renault Kadjar and Renault Megane (2018)
Capacitors may crack under mechanical stress of the electronic board and overheat
24/03/2019 – Renault Traffic (2017–2018)
The mounting position of the plastic belt guides may be incorrect
12/01/2019 – Renault Clio and Renault Captur (2018)
The catalytic converter has not been correctly welded
04/01/2019 – Renault Megane RS (2018)
Due to a defect in the engine compartment, the battery wiring could be cut
04/05/2018 – Renault Scenic (2016)
The LED module for monitoring and managing the actuation of the rear lights of the trailer could be damaged
13/04/2018 – Renault Clio and Renault Captur (2012–2017)
The dipped headlamp beams may face downwards as a result of the headlamp beam height correction system not working
13/04/2018 – Renault Clio, Renault Captur and Renault Zoe (2017)
Cracks may form in the front wheel hub
08/04/2018 – Renault Zoe (2016–2018)
A component in the parking brake mechanism may be defective
All recall information sourced from gov.co.uk data.
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