How do I know if my car AC needs to be recharged?

How to Tell When Your Car’s AC Needs a Recharge

If you live in Gilbert, AZ, it’s nice to have functional air conditioning in your car for all the obvious reasons. We’re not in the business of telling you things you already know, though, we’re in the business of car repairs and keeping your vehicle in the best possible condition. With that said, let’s get straight into what an AC recharge is and how you know when you need one.

What is an AC Recharge?

Simply put, an AC recharge means adding more refrigerant to your vehicle. This process is a very common maintenance requirement for older vehicles that still use Freon as a refrigerant. Most modern cars have started using a refrigerant called R134a instead, which doesn’t need to be topped off quite as often. If you have a new vehicle that commonly needs more refrigerant, there’s a good chance you have an AC leak somewhere in the system. Either way, we’ll get to the root of the problem and help you stay cool on the road. 

How Do I Know if My Air Conditioner Needs Recharging?

Unless you have at least a little bit of experience in engineering or as a mechanic, you won’t always be able to tell the difference between low AC refrigerant and other problems. Don’t worry about that for now. All you need to recognize is that if you have a malfunctioning car air conditioners in the Arizona heat. When you can’t get cool in your car, it’s time to bring it into a Gilbert repair shop that understands your pain.

When you bring your car in, we’ll investigate an AC leak in addition to other problems. An excellent first step is to examine your AC compressor. By watching how the clutch and pulleys engage, we can usually tell quickly if the problem is low refrigerant, electrical malfunction, or something mechanical.

In the case of an AC leak, bad electrical signals, or mechanical failure, the system may call for other small repairs. In many cases, though, there is a good chance that you need more of a refrigerant like R134a in your vehicle. We’ll get you back to an appropriate level of air conditioning refrigerant and send you on your way. Since we have all the required equipment on-site, it’s as easy as that!

How Often Does My Car AC Need to Be Recharged?

There’s no hard and fast rule here. Some new cars that stay cool with R134a may only need to be recharged every seven years or so. Living in a hot place like Gilbert though, there’s a good chance you’ll feel the need for a recharge even more often than that. Older cars (from before 1994) will need an AC recharge much more frequently, but you can’t even find many good shops that work with R12 Freon in the United States anymore for environmental health reasons.

In 2014, some cars started running on R1234YF. 1234YF is an effective coolant, but unfortunately, not many shops service it. It requires specialized equipment, which makes it hard for these car owners to get their AC recharged. Luckily, we at Highline Car Care are one of the few shops with the appropriate equipment to work with R1234YF.

Air Conditioning Recharge near Gilbert, Arizona

If you notice your car blowing warm air from the vents even once it’s been running, we at Highline Car Care want to help. We live in Gilbert and spend a lot of time in vehicles, so car air conditioners are near and dear to our hearts. We’ve built our name by treating every car like it’s our own, and we’re ready to do the same with yours. Contact us today, then keep your cool and let us repair your vehicle.

Image Credit: Shutterstock/daniiD

It’s no secret that summer (and spring and much of fall) is hot enough to require the air conditioner being on when you’re driving around Raleigh. If it can’t keep up, your drive is probably pretty miserable and uncomfortable. Could the problem be coolant? Here are three signs your car’s air conditioner needs Freon and what you should do about it. 

Your Car Probably Doesn’t Use Freon

First, it’s important to note that your car probably doesn’t use Freon. Freon, or the generic term, R12, is a coolant that was found to be highly detrimental to the ozone layer, so car manufacturers stopped using it in 1994. It’s just that, like Band-aids and Kleenex, the brand name became commonly used. 

If your car is older than 2018, you probably have R134A, a better refrigerant that is also efficient and effective. If it’s newer than 2018, your car most likely has R1234yf, a highly efficient coolant that breaks down rapidly in the atmosphere, ensuring minimal greenhouse gas emissions and thus, a safer option for the environment. 

4 Signs Your Car Needs Coolant

Like your home’s air conditioner, your car’s AC compressor pressurizes the coolant so it transitions from gas to liquid, absorbing heat and cooling the air circulating in your vehicle. It’s a closed system, so the only way you’d lose coolant is if there is a leak. Here are 4 signs to look for to know if your car is leaking Freon. 

Visible Leak

Okay, this is probably pretty obvious, but if you see a thin, oily liquid around the compressor or inside the cabin of your car, there’s most likely a leak somewhere. 

Air Is Tepid

When you turn on your car’s air conditioner and set it to cool, it makes sense that cool air should blow from the vents after it’s been on for a few minutes. If the air coming through is tepid or room temperature, the freon may be low or even empty and is in need of recharging. 

Clutch Doesn’t Engage

You may haven’t noticed, but when you turn on the air conditioner, the compressor clutch in the cooling system gets into gear and shifts power from the engine to the AC compressor.  When this happens, you should hear it engage as it reads Freon levels and the compressor goes into action to pressurize it and begin cooling the air. If you turn on the AC and you don’t hear the clutch click, it means you most likely need Freon. 

Ice Around the Compressor

If you look at your air conditioning system and see ice around the compressor, moisture may be in your system, a sign there’s an opening which also means coolant is leaking out. 

Schedule AC Service with Our Raleigh Import Repair Company

While there are videos and resources available walking you through how to recharge your coolant, we highly recommend leaving it to the certified technicians at our import repair company in Raleigh. A small mistake can lead to a costly repair, while we have the experience and know-how to recharge all types of imports as well as repair other air conditioning problems with your vehicle. Schedule air conditioning service for your car today at 919-324-3019 or fill out the form below to get started.  

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