Car air conditioning service

George_Bray

Quick - get your car's air conditioning checked out and topped up with refrigerant gas if necessary. Significant price increases are on the way, if they haven't arrived already. Once a bit of warm weather arrives in the UK, supplies of refrigerant gas are likely to be under pressure, if you'll forgive the pun.

Nearly all cars use a refrigerant gas known as R134a. The price of R134a used to be about $60 a bottle in the USA. Now, due to an apparent worldwide shortage of R134a, the price has sky-rocketed to about $300 a bottle, and are still increasing. The currency and volume doesn't really matter. Whichever way you look at it, that's a five-fold price increase.

I always thought air con was a blessing in disguise for most UK cars. Car companies virtually give the air con systems away with new cars because they know they will reap huge benefit from expensive service charges a few years later.

Regards
George

talkshop

I don't know which country you are in (sounds like USA with all that dollar signs) or car you have, but the only service my car air conditioning ever needs is pollen filter changes. Never needed any gas.

George_Bray

talkshop wrote:

I don't know which country you are in (sounds like USA with all that dollar signs) or car you have, but the only service my car air conditioning ever needs is pollen filter changes. Never needed any gas.

I checked for a motoring section before posting this to the grabbit while you can section. At least a few people may have seen it there. Now it has been moved, who is going to check this backwater? i.e. Travel, Trips & Holidays > Motoring & Public Transport

Talkshop - I live in the UK. My information on the five fold price increase is from the USA, so I used their prices, of course. I'd be surprised if we don;t suffer at least the same price increase over here; hence my warning.

It's ironic that the only work you've needed so far are pollen filter changes. I suspect they are only there as a nice little earner, unless you suffer from hay fever.

Long may the reliability of your air con system last. Start saving now for when it does need a repair!

Car air con systems are inherently liable to leak gas, and let in water moisture, in a way not normally seen with property based fridges and freezers. This is because the compressor (pump) can't be a totally sealed unit. Modern cars are probably more reliable than older vehicles, but many will still leak, whereby the cooling performance will start to drop off.