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Why did my car's air con compressor fail?

The AC compressor in my Skoda Yeti has failed at 29,000 miles. My local dealer has quoted me £1300 to replace. Seems a huge amount. Why did it fail at so low mileage?

Asked on 21 April 2021 by Ivar Hellberg

Answered by Dan Powell
Most compressors fail because car owners switch their air con off over the winter. The system isn't designed to be used in this way (the AC should be switched on 100% of the time) otherwise the compressor will become starved of oil and seize up.
Tags: air con
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