Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on

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Sat 3 Sep 2016 14:20
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - Adam Brock

This is my first post on this forum and if anyone could help me out I would really really appreciate it!

I bought a new Sandero Stepway in June this year and have had quite a few issues with both the car and subsequently the dealership too. I have currently reported a fault with the vehicle but the dealership have returned it twice to me claiming that there is no issue and that it is normal.

Tick over on the vehicle is as expected but once you put the AC on the revs fluctuate between just under 1000 revs and just over (to the extent that you can hear the change in the engine over and over). It continues doing this until you turn the AC off, then the revs steady. The dealership are saying that this reaction is normal in cars with smaller engines. I am aware that the revs might increase when the AC is on but in my experience they shouldn't constantly fluctuate.

Are there any Stepway owners that could tell me if this is normal or if I do in fact have a fault with the car?

Many thanks in advance!

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Sat 3 Sep 2016 15:04
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - Cyd

Sounds perfectly normal to me. It's the compressor switching in and out and putting a load on the engine which requires a higher idle speed.

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Sat 3 Sep 2016 15:29
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - Adam Brock

Thank you for getting back to me Cyd.

I did expect a higher idle speed but expected the revs to increase to just over 1000 revs and stay there. I didnt expect them to drop below 1000 revs and then back again every few seconds.

But this confirmation is helpful, thank you.

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Sat 3 Sep 2016 18:53
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - elekie&a/c doctor

Not seen one of these yet,but I would assume it is based on Renault a/c components.In which case it would not have a cycling clutch system .The engine speed should increase initially when ac engaged at idle and remain at that speed until switched off.I would not expect to fluctuate.However,I could be wrong ,having not experienced one myself.

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Sun 4 Sep 2016 09:29
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - piggy

Yes,perfectly normal. My Mazda 6 does this with the air-con on. Like you,when I first got the car I asked about this at my local Mazda agent and was assured it was normal. Since it`s now on just shy of 90k trouble-free miles,I would not worry.

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Sun 4 Sep 2016 10:45
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - Cyd
Variable output compressors are more expensive than single output ones, so I would imagine that,s one of the thousands of items helping to keep the price of the car low.
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Tue 17 Jan 2017 22:39
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - HarryMay69

Hi Adam

I have a 2015 Dacia Sandero Stepway and have had the same issue since day one, the tick over was all over the place when the AC was on and in slow running traffic the car is stalling and you need to keep the revs up to keep going. I complained to the dealer a couple of times and was told the same as you, it was normal and to be expected. I raised the complaint again on the first service and was told the same and they did no mention it on the service report. Also, the AC unit sounded like a turbo dump valve, so loud you can hear it in the car when driving.

HOWEVER! I have just had the second service and complained again saying it was a warranty issue and was told to take it to the Renault dealer rather than Dacia. They found the AC system was overfilled by 100 grams, they drained the system and refilled it correctly, and then applied an update to the software of the injection ECU. It says on the service report "warranty process A10837". The salesman said its a fix due to so many having the same issue.

Now the car runs correctly, very smooth and steady and does not feel like its stalling, also the dump valve sound is much reduced.

So I would say you also have a fault with your car and it might be improved. I hope this helps.

Regards

Andy

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Wed 18 Jan 2017 19:55
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Tick over with Air Conditioning on - peter moss

OK i got a Renault same system yes it does drop but the system compensate when the load goes on the compressor and up when the clutch lets off and mines an automatic so as long as the engine does not out there is no problem !

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