The brief
Mr Chua's R8 came in with two things to sort: the aircon was blowing hot, and the side skirts needed some respray touch-ups. So the visit was an aircon diagnosis and a bit of bodywork, both done in the one go. The aircon is a sealed system, and inside it the expansion valve meters the refrigerant into the evaporator, where it expands and gets cold. When that valve sticks or fails, the refrigerant doesn't expand the way it should, so the evaporator doesn't chill the air and you get warm air at the vents even though the system has refrigerant in it. A faulty expansion valve doesn't recover, so it gets replaced and the system properly recharged. The side skirts were a separate, straightforward respray job.
The diagnosis
On the lift the undercarriage was checked, including whether the aircon pipe was leaking, it wasn't, and the diagnostic handset read various aircon fault codes. The sharp-eyed look narrowed it to a faulty air con expansion valve, which is why the air was hot. The side skirts needed a respray to bring the finish back. That's an expansion valve replacement with a recharge, plus a side skirt respray, the aircon fixed and the bodywork tidied in one visit.
The work
The refrigerant was recovered, the faulty air con expansion valve removed and a new genuine Audi-spec valve fitted, the system pulled down to a long, deep vacuum to confirm it held and to dry it out, then recharged with the correct weight of refrigerant and the right oil charge. The side skirts were prepped and resprayed to match, the finish brought back. The aircon faults were cleared. A check confirmed cold air at the vents at idle and on the move, no leak, and the side skirts finished cleanly.
The outcome
Cold air at the vents at idle and on the move, the charge holding with no leak, no aircon fault codes, and the side skirts resprayed to a tidy, matched finish. Mr Chua got the R8 back with the aircon working properly and the bodywork sorted. Tracing the aircon to the expansion valve rather than guessing meant the right part got replaced, and doing the respray in the same visit saved a separate trip.
