There has been such a huge proliferation of air conditioning problem related posts, that I am now wondering if there is anyone
 else out there other than me has not had a problem with their 850's AC. Can everybody give a short description to what, if any
 AC problems they have experienced. I do not consider a recharge every 2 or 3 years to be abnormal. Also indicate whether or
 not you have had the pollen filter installed.
 --
 95 855T

 Mine is 95' 855T w/ pollen filter. No problems.
 --
 95 855T

 Bob, put me down as one of the no problem, 72000 mils and retrofitted filter.
 Actually I've had only routine maintenance so far. Can tou hear me knocking on wood?

 Maybe you're new but this exact topic is ALWAYS discussed here often, mostly when weather warms up and people realize
 that their ACs don't work, then discover that its cure is expensive. It's been discussed in great detail, even some thought about
 class action lawsuits but non will ever occur. If you're to ask next if the replacement part is better, my answer is NO. I've seen
 customers on their 3rd evaps, some only lasted 2 years after being replaced.

 Bought a '94 85 wagon in March 2000. A/C fine until June 2001. Did recharge with 1 can r134 and has been fine since. Even if
 I have to recharge every year not a big deal.

 Also have '93 850 GLT that works fine and have tested pressure level - no problem.
 --
 KSB

 I put in a retrofit pollen filter in 1999 at about 125K. My AC has needed a recharge each year for 2 years, or it wil recylce, so
 there is probably a leak. Haven't used any sealant yet.

 No problems. Recharged last summer. Retrofitted pollen filter 18 mos ago. Don't use AC much anyway.
 --
 Wayne '94 854GTAS 98K

 My 96 854 has been great. No pollen filter (that I know of!). The only time I had problems was returning from the desert in 125F
 heat. The AC was working but it was cutting in and out - probably overworked. Around town, no problems ever.

 My 95 854T is a mess. Evaporator leaks according to the dealer ($1600 replacement - yikes!). Resealed with Quest Super
 Seal and recharged 2 weeks ago. The cold air is still coming out strong. But for how long I don't know. Again, I don't know
 about the pollen filter.

 Regarding the pollen filter - why does this supposedly extend the lifetime of the evaporator?
 --
 Rob 95 854T / 96 854

 ...Does Do the "Cycle Thing"...No Pollen Filter ( Does it Help? )...Live in AZ...

 I'm in So. Cal but it was on a trip to Yuma, AZ.
 --
 Rob 95 854T / 96 854

 Glen, I am fairly new to the board (approx 1 year), and I realize that it has been discussed in GREAT detail. That's part of the
 problem, the only time we hear about this subject is when something goes wrong! My only purpose was to conduct a small
 informal survey to determine if there are other people like myself who have had no problems. Think of it as a little "peace of
 mind" survey for myself and other owners. If you keep hearing only the negatives you start to believe that your car is just days
 away from catastrophic melt down. I do feel extremely bad for the owners who have had these repeated costly AC problems.
 --
 95 855T

 My 94' 855T came with a factory pollen filter installed. It seems it wasn't supposed to have, but was delivered with one.
 Another reason I feel my baby was blessed for me.

 It is still on its original evap and had ONE recharge about 3 years ago, and the AC is still COLD. Just the other day, while
 driving from Toronto to Boston with weather in the high 20's, the ac was beyond frigid. In fact, in the summer time, I like to
 drive with a long sleeve shirt on long trips. Coldness from AC seems to creep up on you.

 The most common reason evaps perforate is that moisture causes the system to corrode from the outside in. The corrosion
 occurs because as warm (ambient) air is passed over the cooled coils, the moisture in the air will condense onto the coils.
 And often, people will run their AC until their destination, thus leaving the coils wet. When dirty air is passed over wet coils,
 the dirt will adhere to the coils, making it even more difficult for the water on the coils to evaporate. Thus filtering the air of this
 dirt will help to lengthen the life of the evap. And this is why EVERYONE in the know, recommends running the HVAC fan with
 the AC off for the last mile or so of each trip in order to dry the evap off.

 Bob,
 95'( original owner) with 93K. Use the A/C alot( deep humid south ). Needed to do a 1 can recharge starting last year again
 this year. It's no big deal easy to recharge for $5 bucks a can vs $1000+ for a new evap I will hold out for another 90K miles
 before I replace the evap.

 Lee
 95 Base 5 spd

 I LOVE this board !!! I signed on just now to post a message regarding replacing the evaporator on my 850 and lo and behold,
 the first message is about just that !! Not only do I now know that the $950 my mechanic wants to charge me is fair, but that
 for under $10 I can recharge myself until I can save up the $1,000.

 Now, if someone could tell me how to recharge the A/C myself, I'm golden.

 God Bless the BrickBoard !!!!

 Sin- that seems like a plausible reason for the evaps going bad! Funny thing is, I ALWAYS turn my AC off a few blocks b/4 I
 get to my destination or sometimes I switch it off and on during my trip(the smoke effect is cool, eh?). Not sure if this makes
 much of a difference, but I don't like the AC on all the time.
 Now, I'm not sure if my 97854T5 has a filter; how can I check?? I am planning on installing if I don't.
 Also, sometimes(2-4 times in last year) my REC and AC lights blinks for a few seconds then stop. What's the reason(I know
 some kind of codes must be stored);pending damage to my system or some kind of self test???? I hate goin to dealer for a
 single/small thing like read codes...

 TIA,BD

 --
 97854T5 w/mods
       

 2 Questions:

 1. Sorry for my ignorance, but what is the HVAC? Is that turning on the recycled air?

 2. How do I know if there is a pollen filter there and when it needs to be replaced? If volvo is aware that this dirt in the air
 leading to corrosion of the evap happens - and can be avoided with regular replacement of the pollen filter - why isn't this done
 with regular servicing? Or why isn't there a BETTER pollen filter out there to preserve the evap? Maybe these are questions for
 volvo or they're just overlooked for more important things like safety.

 TIA
 --
 Rob 95 854T / 96 854

 To check whether you have a filter and whether it needs to be replaced;

 ->open the hood of the car
 ->go to the driver's side near the fire wall
 ->look for TWO torx screws on the plastic panel near the air intake for the HVAC
 ->remove said screws
 ->pull up panel as best as you can

 If you have a filter, you should see it now. If you don't, you'll see an opening about the size of a LARGE postcard.

 As for the blinking AC and REC lights, I wouldn't worry about it. Judging by this occurence, I assume you have the auto, dual
 climate control system. If you look at the hand holds for the front passengers, you will see two small circular bisected
 openings. These openings draw air from the cabin to take temperature readings in order to control the auto climate system.
 This system has it's own computer. And when a fault occurs, sort of like when your computer at home crashes, it reboots
 itself, and that appears as blinking AC and REC lights to us. It's not big deal at all, and I wouldn't worry about it.

 HVAC - Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning.

 Volvo is aware of this dirt problem, thus adding the filter from factory after a certain year which I do not know, and
 recommends replaceing ever 50000km or about 35000miles, depending on how dusty it is in your area.

 I have been using the oe filter since it came from factory, with no problems whatsoever, so I don't really know if it needs to be
 better.

 Quote:
 "And this is why EVERYONE in the know,
 recommends running the HVAC fan with the AC off for the last mile or
 so of each trip in order to dry the evap off"

 ........News to me! Not only that but then IF that were a known fact, why did the older R12 cars rarely (and I mean VERY
 RARELY) EVER need their Evaps replaced? I now own 3 older R12 cars, all with their original Evaps.

 Volvo's 850 Evap problem (note: not so much a problem with other 134a Volvos either btw) is NOT just due to your moisture
 theory. I've also never read your idea about running the blower w/o the compressor running anywhere in print and yes, I have
 ALOT of AC experience.

 I haven't seen any statistics on evap life between those that run with R12 and those on R134a. So I think you have just been
 lucky with those R12 ac systems, and not so with the R134a systems. Like I said, the only ac work my 94' 855T has ever had
 is one top up of R134a a couple years ago.

 I don't have a lot of AC experience, but almost EVERY car guy I know, knows that it's a good idea to run the fan on the HVAC
 with the AC off/compressor not running, to dry the evap off. If you do have "ALOT of AC experience" and have never heard this,
 maybe that's because you are more familiar with non-automotive AC systems. Non-automotive AC systems often develop
 nothing more than musty odours if one does not run the fan a bit after shutting off the compressor. Maybe it's something about
 automotive ac systems such as being faced with significantly hotter operating conditions, or the extra dirt and dust, or
 something else that causes automotive systems to have shorter lifespans.

 Nope, most of my AC experience is with cars. You're right about using the fan only to help rid the car of that mold smell as
 that's the ONLY purpose of the newer Volvos "afterblow" feature. That feature causes the blower to run, sometimes after the
 car's shut off BUT its ONLY purpose is to help get rid of the mold smell problem. Doing that does not completely dry off the
 Evap, not for the brief duration of time where the air's moving through the evap but it helps get rid of the mold. Driving with the
 AC in fresh air vs recirc also helps BUT neither is or ever was designed to be a plan to extend evaporator life.
 Again, to date I've not once read in any auto AC literature by any manufacturer that using the fan only for a few minutes will
 extend evap life. I know that Volvo has never said that.
 The fact that Volvos evaps are almost inclusive to the 850s (and yes, I've now seen S/V 70s too, same part btw) makes me
 think that if Volvo used a better quality part to begin with, the problem wouldn't occur.
 Most that I see leak look like they're leaking from the inside out and on the very bottom of the evap tank (not "core" area), a
 place where there's no air movement but where it's sitting in water much of the time.
 134a holds little H2O moisture and that moisture becomes an acid when it reacts with the 134a oil. I believe that it's due to
 that plus the use of an inferior part (the evap) that's the root cause. Volvo has other theories too, like copper dust from the
 blower brushes reacting electromagnetically to the evaps but I find that somewhat hard to believe.
 If you have a new Evap kit or blower motor installed, they now come with a small piece of plastic that's suppose to help keep
 that blower brush dust from entering the evap area. Before that, they thought a cabin filter was the answer.