[Jarrod]

With summer just around the corner I was curious how many members have had or heard of air conditioning evaporator issues on the E9x platform. My car is only 5 years old and is on its third evaporator!

[accel]

What were the symptoms?

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by accel

What were the symptoms?

They leak refrigerant --> no more cold AC.

[jb3617]

I had it done under warranty and it's not a cheap job if done out of warranty. Something like 20 hours of labor because they have to rip apart the whole dashboard to get to the evaporator.

[6ixSpd]

It's quite a rampant issue on all BMWs post 2006, not just E90s.

My previous 328i had a leaking evap core. My M3 also had the same problem with only 14k miles on the clock. Thankfully my current 328i doesn't have such a problem.

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

It's quite a rampant issue on all BMWs post 2006, not just E90s.

My previous 328i had a leaking evap core. My M3 also had the same problem with only 14k miles on the clock. Thankfully my current 328i doesn't have such a problem.

Interesting that your M3 is a '12 and it also went out so early. A BMW SA told me that BMW had a "bad run" of these right around the time our cars were built. The factory evaporator on my car was also replaced very early by the first owner. And I just had that one replaced before I purchased the car in November (with only 33k on the clock). Hopefully the fault on those 2011-2012 vintage units has been addressed in the meantime...

[Eddien123]

Sorry to jack thread but my car blows cold, but I hear a very faint squeal when the A/C is on. It changes with RPMS. Any ideas? Is this the issue this thread is referring to? I'm afraid to use it I was dying yesterday lol

[dannyjones]

Mine has a tiny leak. Lasts over a year before it starts blowing warm. Not worth replacing given the cost. It's a pain that so many parts on these cars are so difficult to access.

[jt335i]

Not heard of this issue.
Bought my 2010 E92 335i new and the A/C has been operating normally for the past 7 years, 3 months, 17 days, and 84700+ miles since the day I first drove it home.

[kkasson]

Originally Posted by Eddien123

Sorry to jack thread but my car blows cold, but I hear a very faint squeal when the A/C is on. It changes with RPMS. Any ideas? Is this the issue this thread is referring to? I'm afraid to use it I was dying yesterday lol

What sort of a squeal?

Mine has a sort of groaning/grring noise through the vents when it gets low on refrigerant. You can't hear anything in the engine bay, but it comes through the vents inside the car. It varies with RPM, but at about 1500 the engine becomes louder than the noise and it gets hard to hear.

Originally Posted by dannyjones

Mine has a tiny leak. Lasts over a year before it starts blowing warm. Not worth replacing given the cost. It's a pain that so many parts on these cars are so difficult to access.

I'm in the same boat, except mine has never lost enough to become warm. I only lose about an ounce or two a year.

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by Eddien123

Sorry to jack thread but my car blows cold, but I hear a very faint squeal when the A/C is on. It changes with RPMS. Any ideas? Is this the issue this thread is referring to? I'm afraid to use it I was dying yesterday lol

This issue this thread is referring to has nothing to do with noise. A leaking evaporator does not produce any noise. Any sort of noise would be associated with a moving part of the A/C system such as the compressor or clutch.

The strategy of just refilling the coolant every season or two is a sound one if the leak is small enough and you aren't under warranty. This job costs around $3k, only a few hundred of which is the evaporator part. My vehicle was still under the previous owner's CPO before I bought it so we used that warranty to get BMW to replace it the second time (whew).

BMW are able to hook the whole system up to a machine that pulls out (and saves) the refrigerant, then pulls and holds a vacuum to test for any leaks. If the vacuum doesn't hold and they are not sure where the leak is, they can put the refrigerant back in, along with a dye. Then they top it off and send you on your way. When you come back next time they can then get a visual on where it's leaking (the dye will make its way out through the crack(s)).

[eljay]

Sorry for bumping this old thread, but I am shopping for an E91 and came across this issue as I saw an ad for a car with non-functioning A/C and started to research possible causes.
This is freakin' scary. Now, I'm almost turned off from E9x platform.
Any used car will have its issues, but this seems like a nightmare waiting to happen even if a car has currently functioning evaporator. I certainly wouldn't want to be stuck with a $3k bill or DIY the replacement, which would probably take me a week of work.

Did more people go through this out of warranty?

[labrador]

Yes, heard there are 2 brands of evaporators. I wonder if Denso is more reliable. The other one is Valeo or Behr?

Good amount of junk parts in BMWs!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by eljay

Sorry for bumping this old thread, but I am shopping for an E91 and came across this issue as I saw an ad for a car with non-functioning A/C and started to research possible causes.
This is freakin' scary. Now, I'm almost turned off from E9x platform.
Any used car will have its issues, but this seems like a nightmare waiting to happen even if a car has currently functioning evaporator. I certainly wouldn't want to be stuck with a $3k bill or DIY the replacement, which would probably take me a week of work.

Did more people go through this out of warranty?

I've been on E90 post for almost 12 years and read and post almost every day. There have been few threads on leaking evaporators. It's not a common issue with the E9X chassis.

[jt335i]

I have not had any issues whatsoever with the A/C on my ride. Has been running just fine since I bought it new.

[Bavarian Tech]

Originally Posted by eljay

Sorry for bumping this old thread, but I am shopping for an E91 and came across this issue as I saw an ad for a car with non-functioning A/C and started to research possible causes.
This is freakin' scary. Now, I'm almost turned off from E9x platform.
Any used car will have its issues, but this seems like a nightmare waiting to happen even if a car has currently functioning evaporator. I certainly wouldn't want to be stuck with a $3k bill or DIY the replacement, which would probably take me a week of work.

Did more people go through this out of warranty?

I've done multiple evaporators during usually under CPO...few customer pay here n there. Generally speaking they leak over the an expended period of time, not all just as once

[Zaíne92]

Changing evaporator on my 2006 325i E92 (Euro) on this Saturday for first time, indie shop charge 665$ w Valeo unit, hopefully everything will go smoothly

[Jim_B]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Tech

I've done multiple evaporators during usually under CPO...

Any idea if one brand is more reliable than another? Is there a 'permanent' fix?

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Tech

I've done multiple evaporators during usually under CPO...few customer pay here n there. Generally speaking they leak over the an expended period of time, not all just as once

Thanks.
Since I hope this to be my baby car, I wouldn't want the R134a leaking into the cabin.
The only way to test the evaporator is to run a pressure leak test on it, correct?
Up here in Canada, handling any tyoe of refrigerant is illegal without a license, so R134a is not available in stores. This means that even diagnosis of the issue is expensive as one needs to take a car to a shop for it and then again to have the system properly filled after the replacement.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by eljay

Thanks.
Since I hope this to be my baby car, I wouldn't want the R134a leaking into the cabin.
The only way to test the evaporator is to run a pressure leak test on it, correct?
Up here in Canada, handling any tyoe of refrigerant is illegal without a license, so R134a is not available in stores. This means that even diagnosis of the issue is expensive as one needs to take a car to a shop for it and then again to have the system properly filled after the replacement.

Not completely true, you can buy the cans in the store.
You just need to buy a vacuum as well, readily available on Amazon.

[Bavarian Tech]

Originally Posted by Jim_B

Any idea if one brand is more reliable than another? Is there a 'permanent' fix?

Everyone I've ever done is always a "Valeo" I don't know if the Denso would fit or fix the issue at hand of them leaking as frequent as they do. Fix is to replace it, I've never seen a more robust looking one or whatever so I believe is just the same shitty design only to leak later down the road

Originally Posted by eljay

Thanks.
Since I hope this to be my baby car, I wouldn't want the R134a leaking into the cabin.
The only way to test the evaporator is to run a pressure leak test on it, correct?
Up here in Canada, handling any tyoe of refrigerant is illegal without a license, so R134a is not available in stores. This means that even diagnosis of the issue is expensive as one needs to take a car to a shop for it and then again to have the system properly filled after the replacement.

You could do a nitrogen pressure test but I don't if that would be helpful as the evaporator leaks with multiple small leaks. To be honest I've never done one I cant say 100% confidence with regard to nitrogen test. Generally speaking u can smell it leaking when you first turned on the A/C a warm/hott day. U can use a sniffer which isn't the most reliable. Check the drain for dye if it has been re-charged with oil/dye recently.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Tech

Everyone I've ever done is always a "Valeo" I don't know if the Denso would fit or fix the issue at hand of them leaking as frequent as they do. Fix is to replace it, I've never seen a more robust looking one or whatever so I believe is just the same shitty design only to leak later down the road



You could do a nitrogen pressure test but I don't if that would be helpful as the evaporator leaks with multiple small leaks. To be honest I've never done one I cant say 100% confidence with regard to nitrogen test. Generally speaking u can smell it leaking when you first turned on the A/C a warm/hott day. U can use a sniffer which isn't the most reliable. Check the drain for dye if it has been re-charged with oil/dye recently.

Thanks. So, smell in the cabin or dye test to check the drain then. I guess the dye test makes most sense since the leak can be elsewhere in the system too.

Regarding Valeo vs Denso, I see that they are specific to the compressor used due to different fittings. So, I guess if one has a Valeo evaporator, only another Valeo (or Valeo style) would fit.