Lexus CT200 Mechanic recommendation near Uxbridge or Reading

[SM LexusCT]

Hi 

I have been informed by Lexus that my aircon radiator has a hole in it due to being hit by a stone which miraculaously made its way past the grill of my CT and pierced the radiator! Despite having paid for an extended warranty i am told that this is an "act of god" and not covered!

I have also been quoted £830 to fix the radiator!

I live near Uxbridge and work in Reading. Does anyone have any recommendations for Lexus approved mechanics who could fix/replace my aircon radiator close by either of these locations?

Any help gratefully received!

Cheers 

[Arqum]

I would dispute this if i was you. Is there any obvious hole on the front where the stone would have gone through that you can see? They need to prove that the stone was the cause. What Lexus dealership said this to you out of interest?

[Wass]

I would doubt that a Lexus mechanic would make a good job of fixing the problem if the condenser coil really does have a hole in it. The air conditioning industry takes 3 to 4 years to train its apprentices. For jobs of the magnitude you describe, the correct procedure would be to recover any remaining refrigerant, pressurise the system with dry nitrogen in order to locate and verify the leak, depressurize the system having located the leak. Depending upon the location of the leak and the component which is leaking, replace or repair the component. Next, the system should be pressurised again with dry nitrogen and left for  at least 4 hours to deturmine whether all leaks have been cured since it is illegal to add R134a refrigerant to a system which is known to be  leaking. The next procedure is to suck out the dry nitrogen and place the system under a vacuum, leaving the vacuum pump to run continuously for at least 4 hours. ( Some refrigeration technicians will re-inject dry nitrogen in order to try to dispell all traces of moisture and will then run the vacuum pump again for another period) . This process is designed to boil off any traces of moisture left within the system. Finally, the system is recharged with the correct amount of refrigerant and checked through to ensure correct off coil temperatures and running pressures.

 For this reason, major air conditioning or refrigeration components should always be changed by time served refrigeration technicians rather than motor mechanics with a couple of hours/ days/ weeks training. Disposal of scrap gases should also be fully documented as should the use of new refrigerant.

The motor industry has skirted around the ticklish subject of air conditioning for many years, however, the likes of Ferrari do employ the service of specialists as bought in contract labour as and when the need arises. The last time I spoke with the auto systems specialist I know, he told me that the only other people who bothered to do things the right way were ( believe it or not) tractor  and combined harvester dealers.

Simple repairs to air conditioning is within the realms of motor mechanicing. Repairs involving the handling of refrigerant are not regarded as simple.