2018 Expedition platinum Max A/C problem

paulbram said:

Ok, here goes. I have a 2018 with all the same symptoms. Build date is early Feb 2018 so a few weeks outside what is listed in this service bulletin (https://ford.oemdtc.com/3827/custom...mation-2018-ford-expedition-lincoln-navigator). The dealer is telling me they need to replace the evaporator due to a leak. However, I visually inspected and couldn't find any sign of a leak. I get that it may be hard to see it so maybe that is right, but isn't it also possible that this contaminated refrigerant might have degraded something causing the loss in pressure? The thing has been working fine for years until just recently. Do evaporator leaks just happen on their own? Is this a normal occurrence?

They are quoting me about $2500 to replace the evaporator which I'm hesitant to do if the root cause was bad refrigerant. All he could tell me on the phone is it wasn't holding pressure and once they get the old evaporator out they could take a closer look to figure out where the leak is specifically.

I guess I'd hate to spend this kind of money outside of warranty only to have the root cause be something related to this contaminated refrigerant and really the evaporator was fine all along and they instead should have followed this procedure.

Edit: I just saw there was an update to this customer satisfaction program and now it goes through Feb 6th build date. Mine was built on Feb 12th. What are the odds they have their dates exactly right? I guess in either case I'm out of warranty, but even if I do have to pay, I'd kind of like the dealer to do the right thing...

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coyote-dogfish said:

Dealer had it for 2 days just to find it was low on refrigerant/freon/whatever gas it uses. They used a black light and didn't see any leaks anywhere. Evacuated the system, re-filled it with dye, and then re-black lighted it and found no leaks at all. Blowing ice cold gain. Service person said if it goes warm again I'll have to bring it back in again to blacklight it a 3rd time. $525 (included an oil change and tire rotation).

A dumb question. You used to be able to add refrigerant yourself (buy it at the auto store) and fill it up. Can you still do this today (it's been ages since I've done that)? I'm assuming not and that's why it's ~ $450 - some fancy process with fancy tools that only they can do?

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