[five46]

Got the third free service done for my Baleno Sigma yesterday.

I was also billed a cool 600 bucks for an AC disinfectant. This was a Suzuki Ecstar one though.




I told them that this was without my consent and shared this link with the SA.

They promptly apologised and are in the process of refunding this amount to me.

[fazayal]

So these workshops bill everyone Rs. 600 for A/C disinfectant. It must be costing maximum Rs. 100 to the dealership to do it. One in 20 customers must be taking an objection. Refund it to them while business goes in as usual with others.

[raman.aries]

I recently experienced this scam while I gave my Polo GT Tsi for its 3rd service at EVM Volkswagen Trivandrum. The car was delivered at their workshop and I was informed that the approximate service charges would be Rs 13,000 for the routine 3rd service.
Since I previously had a not-so-pleasant experience at the dealership, I decided to review the bill before taking delivery of the car. Since I was busy the day the car was ready, I asked my driver to go and pick up the car and asked him to send images of the bill to me before taking delivery.
He sent me the images of the bill and I found that the dealer had charged me Rs 990 or so for AC disinfectant service. I was not happy with what they had done and I immediately called the service advisor and enquired as to why this was done without my permission. He tried to justify their actions telling that this was necessary. I challenged this by asking him to show me where I can find this on the VW document titled ‘Volkswagen Maintenance Labour Operations’ that provides the list of work that needs to be done during every service.
Finally, after several minutes of arguments, they agreed to reverse the charges. Unfortunately, I will have to put up with their dealership since my car is still under warranty and I dont wish to compromise it (DSG gearbox) by giving it for service elsewhere.
I wonder how many customers are getting fleeced like this every day.

[jasjotbains]

My i10 is due for its 7th annual service. While the AC has not been showing any signs of leaks/odour/less cooling, I am a bit doubtful and want to check the status of my evaporator coil. My 7yo Alto had got its coil choked from all sorts of stuff and I'm hesitant for my i10 to end up that way.

Cooling is still ok even in TN heat. Is it worth going in for getting the dashboard and all removed? Or will the 3M evaporator cleaning advertised by Hyundai in its app for 2200 get the evaporator coil rid of all mud and dust and grime accumulated over 7 years? Can I do this 3M evaporator cleaning at home?

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by jasjotbains

My i10 is due for its 7th annual service. While the AC has not been showing any signs of leaks/odour/less cooling, I am a bit doubtful and want to check the status of my evaporator coil. My 7yo Alto had got its coil choked from all sorts of stuff and I'm hesitant for my i10 to end up that way.

Cooling is still ok even in TN heat. Is it worth going in for getting the dashboard and all removed? Or will the 3M evaporator cleaning advertised by Hyundai in its app for 2200 get the evaporator coil rid of all mud and dust and grime accumulated over 7 years? Can I do this 3M evaporator cleaning at home?

If it's not giving any problems then font fiddle with it by opening the dashboard.
You can easily do the 3m AC cleaning at home. Get the can off Amazon and follow the instructions. It should get the vents and evaporator nice and clean. Should cost you a few hundred bucks. For a few hundred more you can get the condenser in the engine compartment cleaned too from a car AC guy which should also improve the ACs performance further. Overall getting both done should cost you 1000 odd bucks

[jasjotbains]

Originally Posted by Mortis

You can easily do the 3m AC cleaning at home. Get the can off Amazon and follow the instructions. It should get the vents and evaporator nice and clean. Should cost you a few hundred bucks. bucks

Thanks! Will it clean the evaporator from inside or from outside? Is it the same foam type spray that you put in the vents? Is there any specific spray which I should use or any 3M vent cleaning spray would do?

[poloman]

This is the best way to remove bad odors and disinfect the ac.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzYlp9dm7AI

My Polo AC developed a bad smell. So decided to give this a try. Got this from amazon
https://www.amazon.in/Dettol-Disinfe.../dp/B07XY8WM98 and sprayed in the Polo air intake liberally. The results were surprising and refreshing.

Pic courtesy Team BHP

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by jasjotbains

Thanks! Will it clean the evaporator from inside or from outside? Is it the same foam type spray that you put in the vents? Is there any specific spray which I should use or any 3M vent cleaning spray would do?

It's the same. It will soak into the evaporator coils so should clean it all around. In fact the previous day you can run the heater for 10mins and then next day do the foam treatment then post lockdown get the condenser cleaned

[Dr.Vikas]

And the same old story continues.

Today I got the third annual servicing of my Skoda Octavia L&K 1.8 tsi done at Kolhapur.

While checking the invoice, I came across an entry of ₹. 888.48 towards A/C Disinfectant Charges under the 'Value Added Services' head which is further marked as 'Optional'.
As the work was carried out without my prior approval, I immediately objected & expressed my dissatisfaction on the entry.

Not surprisingly, the SA instantly agreed to revise the invoice and also to remove the entry from the final payment.
In fact, it seems to be a part of the routine practice with Skoda ASSC as I had a similar experience during the servicing of my Fabia, 2 yrs back also.
And of course, the invoice was revised then also.

I don't understand, when are they really going to learn some fair practice/ Pro-customer policy ?

[TheHelix0202]

Gave the Ecosport for service. Some sizeable repair work on the body to be done. FASS guy calls my dad up and asks if he wanted to clean the “AC duct” or evap or whatever. He included the wiper blades in his list (which are relatively new anyway) to replace and quoted some 7.5-10k for all of it. Idk if it’s a rip off or not.

[Sedate_Drive]

Missed this thread completely.
Gave my Grand i10 for its 9th year service and the SA told me that he will carry on A/C disinfection as its 9 year old car.
Till today, I dont have any issues with my A/C but as I did not have much idea, told him to go ahead.
After reading this, I now think I over paid.
But no regrets, something what I have learnt now.

Thanks for the post @vid6639

[Safari Persona]

Mercedes literally estimated a charge of 25K for "AC fumigation" for the first service of our C200. I Googled it, came across this thread, and told the service manager that we don't want it done.

25K for this, based on what I've read on this thread, is just absurd.