[rickai]

I got in an accident, damaged the front passenger wheels pretty bad, i think steering is partially gone too. It'll all be covered by insurance anyways. But um, the repairer called me today asking why my aircon has no gas in it. I have no idea what he meant and I assume that is bad. Could it be from the accident? I mean, everything works fine before the accident. Will it damage my aircon if there were no gas in it?

[Dazzler]

If the aircon was getting cold before you had the accident, then I think you can assume it was caused by the accident. Aircon without gas is useless..

May still be covered under warranty though if no obvious accident damage... although it is a limited warranty due to the risk of stone damage etc.. 

Good luck with it either way! 

[Phil №❶]

The pipes that carry the refrigerant are normally aluminium which is not known for it's ruggedness. Your accident could have created a hairline crack in the pipe or a fracture. You need to have the aircond re-gassed and checked with a UV light to find any leaks. I'm reasonably certain that oil which lubricates the  compressor, also travels with the gas, so I wouldn't run the A/C until it is fixed.

[Shambles]

The aircon clutch won't activate the compressor if there's no gas in the system, so no harm can be done (it simply won't operate without gas pressure).

[The Gonz]

That's a really smart feature, Steve. Thanks!

[rickai]

Thanks all for the replies, it had me worried for a bit. When I thought about it, heater works same as cold aircon right? So they both wouldn't work if there's no gas in it? It's just i don't think the last 2 months we had any hot days that need the air con.

Anyways, NRMA guarantees the repairs for life which sounds better than warranty? Not sure how that works out coincide with warranty from Hyundai but I should be covered.

[rickai]

Visited the repairer today, asked them about the A/C problem. Apparently they filled it with some gas to find leaks but there's none. No one could explain why there were no gas in it in the first place. It's like someone between post-accident and at the repairer stole my gas! 

[Phil №❶]