[DRJ911]

Looking at buying a 2017 premium with 55000 miles, but I saw in the carfax that it had 2 ac recharges done about 13000 miles apart. The dealership is saying everything passed inspection but this is really giving me pause. Are they any known issues with the Enclave AC system? 2 recharges at this mileage doesn’t seem right

 

[Alvenir]

Welcome to the forum.

I did a search for a/c problems on the 2017's, with no results. I would guess the dealer did not do a leak test during the inspection. The Freon must be leaking out. If they found the source of the leak and fixed it you should have no problems with it, but if not then it will continue to leak.

 

[TommyTxKHS]

I had the same trouble with mine under warranty. Then an $1800 repair on the rear unit when it went out of warranty.

 

[gmark]

Looking at buying a 2017 premium with 55000 miles, but I saw in the carfax that it had 2 ac recharges done about 13000 miles apart. The dealership is saying everything passed inspection but this is really giving me pause. Are they any known issues with the Enclave AC system? 2 recharges at this mileage doesn’t seem right

NO it's not. Nowdays if they leak there is a problem. You didn't say how long between recharges but it should be leaking!

 

[Kwenners]

A couple of years ago my wife's 2011 Enclave A/C stopped being so cold. Say what you will about GM quality - if there's one thing they know how to do well, it's air-conditioning! So we took it to a shop. They sniffed around but couldn't find the leak. It was recharged, but after a year it was getting warm again. The next recharge lasted six months. Interesting, my wife reported a slight 'funny' smell this whole time. Vaguely like from walking around a horse barn and tracking something into the car, but very faint. I did a bit more checking and found a tiny bit of green leak-check dye coming out of the front evaporator drain. I ended up replacing the front evaporator which I documented here:

Replacing the Front A/C Evaporator in a 2011 Buick Enclave

The A/C in my wife's 2011 Buick Enclave stopped working due to a leak in the front evaporator. The repair quote was over $2000. Being cheap, and having more than that invested in tools, I took on the task myself. This is not so much a "how to" thread as a "what's involved". The parts are about...

www.enclaveforum.net

By the way, when I had everything apart I showed the leaking evaporator to my wife. She took a sniff of the PAG oil inside and said, "that's it! that's the smell!"

In short, to echo what "gmark" and others have said - the system should never need a recharge. If it does, it's leaking. See if the dealer will sell an extended warranty that covers A/C repairs. The cost of replacing an evaporator can easily exceed the cost of most extended warranties. At that point, the rest of the coverage is "free".