I bought a one-owner 2003 SG 2.0XT auto back in february 2018. Had a full service done and all was fine for 5 months, and then the aircon compressor seized when I was driving up to London on the M3. I got the compressor replaced with a service exchange item, and everything has been fine with the car until a couple of weeks ago when the blower vent started working until 20/30 minutes into an extended journey. I've ordered a replacement actuator motor and disconnected the actuator arm leaving the vent flap to the demist/floor position. Easy job! This morning I changed the front disc pads, as they'd got down to the audible wear indicator, and did a fluids check, ran the engine to get it warm, and suddenly got a shriek from the alternator or compressor belt. I turned off the engine, removed the belt cover and ran the engine again and was greeted with the sight of the compressor drive stopping momentarily causing the belt to slip. The compressor unit was amazingly hot, and I think I was lucky for this to happen when it did. I've isolated the compressor by cutting off the belt, and am now looking at sourcing a replacements and a new drier.
My question is: do the Zexel 14G compressors have a reputation for unreliability? Two years of use shouldn't be a reasonable service life, surely?
