The X-Trail Files # 20 'Exhaust smoke & leaking aircon fill valve'

Even though this is part 20 of 'The Xtrail Files' this short vlog update and 'heads-up' will also apply to anyone who has a car with air conditioning. There's also a short reference to sticking EGR valves which can cause drop in performance and increased exhaust smoke. Long story short - I noticed the aircon on my 2005 T30 Nissan X-Trail wasn't blowing cold air. So as it has always worked perfectly prior to this, I assumed the gas needed 'topping up'. However as you'll see from the video, I wasn't able to add more gas because the fill valve was leaking. Because of this, I will need a licenced HVAC tech to test it since it's illegal in the UK to vent refrigerants into the atmosphere - so I can't replace the fill valve insert despite having spares. So if there's a problem on your vehicle's AC, trained technician will use a special machine to extract any remaining gas/fluid, weigh it and pressure test it using inert gas with a UV trace dye so under UV lamp, any leaks can be spotted before attempting to refill the system.