718 cayman air con not blowing cold - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I've booked my 718 Cayman S in with my local OPC as it's under extended warranty. The aircon on and off button is making no/little difference to the temperature. I've been informed that if porsche finds the problem isn't covered under warranty they'll charge me £240 for the diagnostics. What are peoples thought's on this? I was thinking of cancelling it and just get a aircon refill elsewhere?

I would cancel and pay someone else for a vacuum / pressure test and refill with dye added. If there is a leak the dye will show it up and you can proceed from there. Unlikely to be covered under warranty if damaged condenser.

I have a similar problem with my 2017 Boxster. I bought it in 2021 from Kendal OPC (now South Lakes on the M6) and I am not sure the aircon ever worked as I didn't think about it at the time, it has the "primitive" system rather than the one with a temperature reading like every other car on the road... I had it tested and re-gassed March 25 at a local garage, it worked fine last summer but come the 2026 summer, it no longer blows cold. The local garage did a pressure check last year (as I understand all garages have to do nowadays) which it passed so it presumably has a slow leak or some other problem. They have said to bring it back in and they will have a look, which I will do. Ironically, the local garage turned out more expensive that the quote I had from the OPC (£150 if I remember, I paid c£200...). Can you not book the car in for a re-gas, this should flag any problems which will either be fixed under warranty or you can just live with. Either way, it may be cheaper than the "investigation" fee, which is a con all main dealers seem to charge nowadays...

Thanks both. I think I'll just book a local aircon specialist and cancel with Porsche. Specialist is mobile and charges £150 for a regas but if they can't due to leaks etc they just charge a £30 call out fee.

Had similar issue with my 2016 GT4 2 years ago. Was blowing cold on the passenger side, not on the drivers side. Turned out to be a faulty diverter valve, and rather a big job to get at it. All covered under extended warranty at OPC, didn't charge me a penny.

Cheers Liam. I'll check mine but sure none of the vents are blowing cold.

Normal ac temp is between 6 and 10 degrees. Put a food thermometer in each vent and see what it reads. If you use max ac it will recirculate the warm air thats in the cabin and cool it so it may take a while. It's also worth noting that the ac works better when the car is moving and the engine is under load.

My 12yr old 981 has had three aircon failures. Two were condensers, replaced to fix each time. Third, this year, one of the gas pipes running up behind the engine had a hole in it. They corrode. It'll be one of the above I think, most likely a holed condenser. If you go for a re-gas only, make sure it has dye in it. This will identify this or the next leak. You'll have a few over the years I reckon. Expect £8-900 fix each time, including diagnosis and parts. My indy diagnosis was £100 and fix £700 odd, the same at OPC or indy. Edited by DJMC on Friday 26th June 17:26

£240 for diagnostics I had a similar issue last year, despite many promises from the local air on specialist, he always had an excuse. I happened to be passing by the local Kwik Fit. Quick pressure test which confirmed no leaks and it just needed the gas topped up. They will lose some gas over time especially if, like me, you weren’t using the aircon all the time. £70 and it’s been fine ever since.

Have had zunsport on my 11 plate 987 and no damage to condensers. Touching wood as I type.

Have Zunsports on my 981C. Two condenser failures since. They did stop a Dracula killing wooden stake though. Found it with its point stuck in the grille.

TrevorHill said: £240 for diagnostics I had a similar issue last year, despite many promises from the local air on specialist, he always had an excuse. I happened to be passing by the local Kwik Fit. Quick pressure test which confirmed no leaks and it just needed the gas topped up. They will lose some gas over time especially if, like me, you weren t using the aircon all the time. £70 and it s been fine ever since. The old advice used to be to run your a/c for 10 mins every fortnight because the gas contains oil and it keeps the seals lubricated and working. It obviously won’t help with damage and external corrosion as already experienced by others.

Simon_GH said: TrevorHill said: £240 for diagnostics I had a similar issue last year, despite many promises from the local air on specialist, he always had an excuse. I happened to be passing by the local Kwik Fit. Quick pressure test which confirmed no leaks and it just needed the gas topped up. They will lose some gas over time especially if, like me, you weren t using the aircon all the time. £70 and it s been fine ever since. The old advice used to be to run your a/c for 10 mins every fortnight because the gas contains oil and it keeps the seals lubricated and working. It obviously won t help with damage and external corrosion as already experienced by others. That’s exactly what I was told in quik fit. Obviously I use it almost constantly now the effect on mpg is minimal.

Just leave your ac on all the time. It uses hardly any fuel at all and keeps everything working a nd lubricated as it should.

scrounger73 said: Just leave your ac on all the time. It uses hardly any fuel at all and keeps everything working a nd lubricated as it should. This. I’ve just had the Audi regassed by a bloke in a van who came to the house. £80 and a 15min job. First regas in 21yrs.

scrounger73 said: Just leave your ac on all the time. It uses hardly any fuel at all and keeps everything working a nd lubricated as it should. This ^ The upsides of doing so, far, far outweigh the downsides.

I find these threads confusing because if no AC is blowing then surely it's just going to mean the system needs regassing. I think even Porsche recommend regassing the system every 2 years except almost no one ever does. But seems from the responses people are jumping to assume its an indication of a component failure?

I think the question is more why would you pay £240 for a diagnostic test of the system when you could get it tested and regassed for c£80? Does that ‘diagnostic’ test include a regas if there is no leak and it just needs topping up? Environmental laws stipulate that AC systems have to have the gas captured and the system vacuum tested with nitrogen to check for any leaks before the system can be regassed, letting the refrigerant escape into the atmosphere is a no-no. I’d pay £80, if there’s a leak in the system take it to Porsche and get it fixed under warranty. If there isn’t then happy days it’s a cheap regas.

LiamH66 said: Had similar issue with my 2016 GT4 2 years ago. Was blowing cold on the passenger side, not on the drivers side. Turned out to be a faulty diverter valve, and rather a big job to get at it. All covered under extended warranty at OPC, didn't charge me a penny. hi do you know what gas is used on the 981 GT4 ? mine neds re-gassing. thanks

My 718 was doing the same after it had been sat in my garage for a few weeks, in the end it started blowing cold again after using the direction buttons and changing between which way it was blowing a few times, hasn't done it since. might be worth a go if it was working fairly recently

rObArtes said: LiamH66 said: Had similar issue with my 2016 GT4 2 years ago. Was blowing cold on the passenger side, not on the drivers side. Turned out to be a faulty diverter valve, and rather a big job to get at it. All covered under extended warranty at OPC, didn't charge me a penny. hi do you know what gas is used on the 981 GT4 ? mine neds re-gassing. thanks Whoever is doing the job will know as there’s a database but there should be an info sticker somewhere showing the type and weight required. Up to 2016 R134a is the refrigerant for 981 and thereafter R1234yf

Armitage.Shanks said: Whoever is doing the job will know as there s a database but there should be an info sticker somewhere showing the type and weight required. Up to 2016 R134a is the refrigerant for 981 and thereafter R1234yf thanks for the reply, had the regassing carried out yesterday, it was R134a.