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2018 Sierra 1500 AC broken, dealer can't solve mystery

22K views 28 replies 14 participants last post by  davester3500  
#1 ·
Hi so my (still under warranty) 2018 Sierra 1500's air conditioner does not work. I took it to the dealer 3 weeks ago, they replaced some seals, but said they found another leak but needed to order some parts to fix.

Fast forward this Monday, they had the parts so I brought the truck in. They ended up replacing some seals on the compressor side and refilling the refrigerant. I then picked up the truck, drove home, again found no AC.

I brought the truck back on Tuesday morning, they tried diagnosing it again, and said they found now the condenser was leaking. They ordered a new condenser and installed it today, Wednesday. So I went to pick up the truck, and tried the AC in the parking lot with the service manager there to make sure that it worked, and to his shock- it did not work still. They immediately pulled the truck back in put some more refrigerant in and sniffed around with their sniffer and could not find the source of the leak. It appears that it leaks out in the 2-4 hours between when they fill it and when I come to actually pick up the truck.

They have said that they're going to disassemble The interior tomorrow and check all the components behind the dash, but didn't have any real clues as of today. Has anyone else had any experience with hard to track down AC leaks in these later model trucks? The service manager says they changed the AC system between 2017 and 2018, so this is the style they're less used to working on. 6.2L motor if it matters. Considering that we're on our fourth try to fix the same issue under warranty, I just hope that doesn't make my vehicle a lemon.
 
#4 ·
If it has that big of a leak they should be able to find it if they are any good at all.
Sounds like a bs excuse to me too that they aren't used to working on that year ac, especially a dealer. They should have all the tools and resources necessary to solve the issue.
I don't know that I would trust that place to start tearing apart the dash when they can't even find an ac leak. Is there another dealer you can take it to for a second opinion before they start taking apart the dash?
 
#2 ·
Not sure why they can't figure it out for you. They aren't very complicated systems.

And them using the excuse that it's a new type of system that they aren't used to is utter BS. In 2017 they went to r-1234yf instead of r-134a. The systems are the same operation wise as they have basically always been, just the refrigerant changed. However, being a dealer, and having the r-1234yf out for several years now, they absolutely should know how to handle it given it's in all the vehicles.

But perhaps try a different dealer if they can't help.