Carsy

In the past Air Conditioners required to be run regularly out of season( say weekly for 5 minutes) to lubricate seals therefore prevent cracking & premature loss of gas.
I wondered whether there is a A/C expert out there who can confirm whether this is the case with the modern vehicle air conditioner.

lx Raven xl

Keep the AUTO on and set the temprature to 21 or 22 ( all seasons , depending how cold or warm it is) . It is the recommened way to use the AIRCO in the car. The service guy told em that from MB.

Carsy

Thank you for the advice .

Leaving the A/C on all the time would not deliver the best fuel consumption.

lx Raven xl

I dont think it gonan be that much more. Maybe a fraction of more fuel will be used. The AC using more fuel is the thing of the past. I did not notice any difference in the fiel consumption leaving it on Auto all the time.

Untertürkheim

The MB automatic climate control is actually quite efficient, the auto function only turns on the compressor as needed, not like back when they were on almost always. In the cold months you can just use Auto+EC mode to save fuel, this prevents the compressor from turning on, although you may need to turn off EC if you get fogging.

Ausmbtech

Carsy,

I note that ur driving a w204 C220. All modern MB's have a variable A/C compressor to help minimise fuel consumption while using the A/C.

You'd be quite surprised how little the A/C uses during normal driving, in many cases less than with the windows open and A/C off.

I've driven in a CLK350 down the M2 (you'll know if you're in sydney) at 100kph on cruise control. 30DegC day, black car, A/C set on auto at 20C. I had a star diagnosis pluged in while driving and I checked the A/C compressor usaged while driving, it was only using 28% capacity!.

Admitedly i had been driving for about 30mins already so the temp in the cabin had stabilised, but the point is that I would have been using more fuel with the windows down and the a/c off as well as being much less comfortable!

just set the desired temp and leave the A/C on. I even leave it on in winter, stops the windows misting too!

ayilar

In the humid mid-Atlantic Summer, I am afraid the difference in town is more like 2 mpg. Same difference on both W203 C230k and W204 C350, btw.

tanktube67

Usually as a general rule on winter or cold days when the a/c system is not in use, every time the window defrosts is on use the a/c compressor turns on automatically so the system is lubricated.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes, Yes, Yes - see my W203 post in this regard