Significant Drop in Range - Past History of A/C Gas Leak

2018 41kWh Z0E - owned since 2021, SOH 94% as of last week (Renault Dealer Data)

I am a conservative driver and was consistently achieving 200+ miles per full charge and 4.8+mpkw up until Winter 2022/2023, when range dropped to 115-140 and 2-3.8mpkw, with heat/aircon not working properly and charging speed limited to 10kW on 22kW local charger.. A perished A/C seal was identified and fixed by my local Renault dealer (I have Extended Warranty).

Everything went back to normal, until Winter 2023/2024 when same problems occured again, but this time including a vibration through steering wheel when compressor was running, very loudly.

It’s been in to same local Renault dealer last week and they found A/C gas wasn’t quite 100% full, but no leaks seen with UV lamp, so they said they might not have fully pressurised it last time. They left it for 24 hours and checked for leaks again, none seen, but although heating is working again, the car was absolutely full of condensation on the windows after doing the preheat when collecting from the garage, suggesting the A/C part isn’t functioning correctly. I have noticed this has been happening for some time now, depending on the weather, but not as bad as last week.

The garage also charged my car from 87% to 100% with their rapid AC charger, but it took an hour and 25 mins, which I estimated to be around a 5kW draw, and I know from experience my car can draw the full 22kW right up until 99%.

My range is still showing 140 miles for full charge, even after the two-pedal reset and a 16 mile journey home, mostly downhill (it’s mostly neutral/regen topography). I stopped at the local 22kW charger on the way home from the Dealer to test charging speed; battery was at 93% and got to 99% after 30 mins.

When not in use, Z0E is kept in a heated garage (never less than 10 deg C), and I always run the preheat function before use, unless temperature in garage is around 18 degrees. I also run it if the car hasn’t been used for a couple of days, to keep the A/C seals intact (my dad was a Chartered Mechanical Engineer).

Can anyone suggest what might be happening? The local Renault garage is more of a service rather than sales dealer, and the Service Manager is very nice and I trust him, but he has said it’s a bit of a learning curve with the EVs as he only had training for them 2 years ago. He has been in contact with DSG Morecambe the first time I had these issues, as I suggested they had a wealth of knowledge on Z0Es, which he was pleased to do.

All of this so far has been FOC as I am covered under the Extended Warranty, but it’s a 40 min drive each way, and I rely on my Z0E as I am disabled and cannot ise public transport or ICE vehicles due to a smorgasbord of complex illnesses (incuding multiple chemical sensitivities, allergies, immune dysfunction).