A/C Expansion Valve and Cut Off Valve

[Gio129]

Hi everyone,
I registered a few years ago, when I leased my first e-Golf (2015) but forgot logon and password, so, I re-registered and apologies.
I'm on my second e-Golf, SEL Premium, 17,780miles, bought this time in 2018.

My issue: A/C was working intermittently so, on Friday, I took it to Cherry Hill VW (NJ) and Bob Redles, very nice service guy, left a message saying that the A/C was working but the car needed a part, possibly under warranty, pertaining to the high voltage.
I called on Monday to get a status on the part and he tells me that the A/C is not working and the expansion and cut off valves need replacing. The grand total is a whopping $2010.81, $320.17 in parts and $1547.88 in labor.

Needless to say the blood drained from my face when I heard that and I'm engaging VW America to see what gives.

Can anyone with knowledge, please confirm this is an honest pricing?
How many hours does it take to replace these valves? I think a heart surgeon will take less time to replace 2 coronary valves, though the price tag would certainly be much higer.

...asking for a friend!
Giorgio

 

[f1geek]

I looked up the parts. I think you mean "shut off valve". The parts do cost about $240 if you buy them yourself. I'm guessing installing them isn't that hard, either, but the refrigerant will need to be captured prior to breaking any seals, and then once everything is reassembled, refrigerant will have to be replaced. Maybe get a quote from an independent mechanic?


If you bought the car in 2018, did the bumper to bumper warranty just expire?

 

[Gio129]

"If you bought the car in 2018, did the bumper to bumper warranty just expire?"

Hey f1geek,
It did, about 2 months ago, my luck!
Not sure about shut off Vs cut off, the estimate lists cut off valve, whatever that is.
In the meantime I talked to VW America; I was told that if the AC compressor was to be replaced, that would fall under warranty and, subsequently, those valves as well.

 

[manybees]

I just had my 2018 e-Golf SEL at the dealer to fix a similar issue with the AC intermittently cutting out, and they fixed it using TSB 87-17-15. Seems that this is a very common issue with most VWs produced between 2012 and 2020.

Took them almost a week to complete the work on my car because they didn't have the valve in stock. They also found a problem with the right temperature control door not working properly and so replaced it as well. All done under warranty, luckily.

 

[stevestrange]

I have my 2018 in the shop today, and just got a call back that I have this same issue. After reading this post, now I forgot if he called it a cut-off or shut-off valve, but apparently that is the issue causing intermittent failure of the A/C (blows hot on particularly hot days, but then recovers later in the day or the next day and works perfectly fine). Cost is around $1400, which is painful. But we kinda need A/C these days. It was 106F here yesterday.

 

[Thorallophon]

Hunh... so it is a thing. I was wondering. The HVAC on my 2017 is just out of warranty and has just failed as well, and the dealership told me "we have had problems with this model and its heat pump".

The thing that gets me is that "they are out of stock and there are no valves left in North America due to shortages and shipping issues. They are back-ordered and It might take up to a year to get the part." I mean we may not be talking about the exact same valve here, but...

Is this true? IS there such a shortage?

And, if there is such a problem with the heat pumps / HVAC system, should not VW have considered this and be producing a warehouse of them? Are they not legally required to have parts available for 10yrs after the discontinuation of a model?

So, am I gullible? Are they just soaking me for as much as possible* and hoping I will trade in the vehicle and buy something new (not bloody likely)?
Thoughts?
Jon.

*approximate costs so far:
$415 CAD for an AC gas check
$350 for a board replacement that took a week to receive from BC plus another week for an available appointment
$200 for the valve. Labour (@ $120/hour) to be added on once the part is received

 

[f1geek]

Have you looked online for the part? How about you get it yourself and/or have an independent shop replace valve. Could you please let us know the part number?

 

[Thorallophon]

So my memory was obviously a little hazy; the part in question cost $117.50 plus applicable taxes, so from what I've seen online it's about right.

According to the invoice the part number is 4mo-595-603-e

So I see them online, so I'm not sure what the &%$@# is the problem. The first two google links have it in stock. I guess it has to do with who they are allowed to purchase parts from, or some other franchise nonsense.

By the look of the description the same part is used in the ID4, so this may explain the rarity at VW.

Anyway, thanks F1geek for the push to do my own due diligence. I may actually be able to get this fixed before the snow flies! I'll update with any further shenanigans.
Jon.

 

[Thorallophon]

So an update:
Still no part, either from online, other vendors or from the dealership. No ETA either.

Today I received an email from VW Canada in response to an email I sent them a number of weeks ago. They repeated what the dealership is telling me: no ETA.

Once the weather starts to get colder and a potential for ice build-up becomes a reality, it will become increasingly dangerous to be on the road. As it is now, the fog / condensation on the side windows on the early morning commute is starting to make it difficult to see for lane changes and cross traffic at intersections.

I have purchased a small 12v heater/fan but it is almost useless, and I don't want to start spending a whole lot of money on direct battery or kerosene heaters when I will be (should be) selling this vehicle in the near future.

Not sure what else I can do other than keep pestering the poor kid at the parts desk. Anybody have any recommendations?
Jon.

 

[f1geek]

Your car has a PTC heater, too. And don’t forget about the windshield resistance heater. So you don’t get any heat through the vents, even if you set a very warm set point?

 

[f1geek]

The part is available. Why not buy it and have an independent shop install it?

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-volkswagen-audi-parts/sensor/4m0959603e/

https://www.shopdap.com/4m0959603e-vw-audi.html

probably others have it, too.

 

[Thorallophon]

Yes, I've looked online, but when you contact the seller, either by phone or email, the ones I've contacted have said they are actually out of stock.

As for the windshield, yes it has heat, but the side windows get fogged up if I sigh too hard. Running the fan sort of works, but only if I'm in the car alone. And as far as I am aware there is no PTC heater, and if there is, it's not working either.

Haven't tried the wreckers yard yet for second hand parts, but I'm getting to that point...
Jon.

 

[f1geek]

There is a PTC heater in your car - all e-Golf’s have them. Look under the hood and you will see it is a box fed with orange high voltage wires near the passenger side firewall.

If PTC is not working then that is another issue. Time for you to get OBD Eleven to see trouble codes.

 

[f1geek]

Have you tried turning off the A/C from the HVAC control panel and then increasing the temperature? I rarely have the A/C on in the winter.

 

[Thorallophon]

Update: found the part on e-bay (at a third the price!). Took it in last week and they replaced it. Still not working. They are now convinced that there is something else wrong and now want two to three days to pull the car apart and diagnose. Supposedly neither do the engineers at vw Canada. Anyway, not likely. Going to get a second opinion.

However, something the tech said when we were talking that struck me, something about the system staying pressurised and not resetting. I had noticed earlier that there had been a software update and when I went into the e-manager I couldn't delete one of the timers. I deleted all of the others and reentered the critical ones with new names; still wouldn't / couldn't delete that one entry.

I am now wondering if there is some command that is stuck and overriding the system, or some corrupted code in the database. Going now to see if there is a soft reset for the infotainment system -sort of like a reboot for windows. Will let you guys know if it makes any difference.

Jon.

 

[f1geek]

Press and hold infotainment power button for at least 10 seconds (or maybe 15?) to reboot infotainment. Maybe also disconnect 12 V battery for a few minutes for good measure.

Is heat working now in winter time (with A/C) button turned off?

 

[Thorallophon]

Thanks F1geek, that worked. I did it in stages, restart/soft reset of the infotainment system, then went through the menus to do the factory resets. Neither worked, at least as far as I could tell. In the time it took to go through all the menus and return all the settings to the way I like them (5-10mins), no heat was coming from the vents (fan on auto, temp set to 22*C, outside temp 0*C).

Ah well, it was a nice idea. I guess the next "reset" step would be to do a hard reset and disconnect the 12v battery, but I don't have on hand the radio security code(s). Will probably wait until the new year cuz a cold car is better than no car!

 

[f1geek]

I am still surprised that PTC heater does not come on. Have you checked all the fuses to see if one is blown? I know PTC heater is not a 12 V device so probably does not have a fuse in the 12 V fuse box,but you might as well check.

 

[cattlerepairman]

FWIW, my 2017 eGolf was just in the shop for the dreaded refrigerant shut-off valve issue.

VCDS found 59079 and 59103, valves 1 and 4.

In February, still under warranty, they replaced 2 of the 4. I asked them whether we should do all 4 or will I be back in a few months when they have failed?

"No, No, we just replace the ones that failed, the others are good". ARRGH. Here I am, doing the same spiel again, but this time it comes out of my pocket.

With the extortionist shop labour rate applied for "electric vehicles", parts and labour approach CDN$ 2k for this repair. I did a quick scan for the parts from the usual online sources and they are either "on back order", "currently not available" or the ones that do have them seem to be far away from me.

 

[f1geek]

I only see one shut off valve on this schematic - #6

https://www.volkswagenpartsplus.com/oem-parts/volkswagen-shut-off-valve-4m0816703c

Where are the additional three valves you mentioned?

Thanks!