Air Con "Service".

[John]

How often do you get your air con checked / serviced on a car from new?

I've traditionally left it until 4 years to check and that interval thereafter unless there is a problem but interested to know what others do...

 

[m2287]

To be honest the only time my air con ever gets checked is if it isn’t cold!

 

[clk320x]

To be honest the only time my air con ever gets checked is if it isn’t cold!

Me too

I leave mine on all the time so don’t tend to have issues!

 

[John]

The reason I check at 4 years is if you have a slight leak (a bleedin' slight leak mind), and your refrigerant drops below 50%, it will still feel coldish but you put a greater strain on the compressor.

I know they are not hugely expensive to replace saying that but for the sake of a £40 check it seems a reasonable investment!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Having asked this very question to air con specialists over the years the general consensus tends to be three years - the system can “lose” 20% of gas per year in some cases.

 

[slade1]

Use it or loose it. The Nissan Primera I had for 11 years and my 05 CLK the aircon have never been touched.

 

[AntMB]

If you lose any gas then you've got a leak, surely?

 

[John]

I think it depends how quickly you lose the gas.

Arguably if you lose gas you have but I believe if not used enough or at all, the seals dry out and allow gas to escape.

As said... use it or lose it.

 

[alabbasi]

How often do you get your air con checked / serviced on a car from new?

I've traditionally left it until 4 years to check and that interval thereafter unless there is a problem but interested to know what others do...

You never need to unless it's not functioning correctly. England is a cold climate and people are taking advantage of the general public's lack of knowledge on how a/c systems work. It's a waste of money and you're not doing your car any favors. Best thing you can do is run your a/c all year around which will keep all the seals lubricated and prevent leaks from sitting.

 

[BTB 500]

The aircon specialist I used to replace the condenser in our Vito said they recommend leaving the system well alone if working OK - no need for any kind of service every X years.

 

[alabbasi]

Yep, and I don't know what this anti bacterial nonsense is that's supposed to happen when they evacuate and charge a system. It's a sealed system. If the air in your vents smell. You probably need to clean the leaves from your cowl and replace the cabin filter.

 

[rf065]

Yep, and I don't know what this anti bacterial nonsense is

It's for the air vents, not the sealed system. Bacteria like to grow in moist air con vents that are never cleaned, if they smell bad, that's a clue they need done.

 

[c63chris]

If it’s used all the time then fix on fail. Cabin filter all that needs regular change. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!

 

[rf065]

If it’s used all the time then fix on fail. Cabin filter all that needs regular change. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!

I would agree, my CLK from new, had an air con service when it was 12 years old, it was slightly colder, but not by much.

 

[alabbasi]

It's for the air vents, not the sealed system. Bacteria like to grow in moist air con vents that are never cleaned, if they smell bad, that's a clue they need done.

I have an R107 500SL that I dragged about of a field where it sat for 10 years and smelled moldy. I dumped two aerosol cans of lysol disinfectant spray into the suction side of the squirrel cage while running the fan at full blast. It pretty much took care of that. If your evaporator is dirty, you can can get coil cleaner from the local diy store to spray on and wash off. None are needed if you keep up with your cabin filter changes

 

[BMF]

I know it’s slightly different but I used to work in the refrigerated air conditioning industry in offices and shops on installation, service and maintenance and if the system has a leak then all the gas in the system is lost not just a little and certainly not over a period of time longer than around 20 minutes! There is no such thing as leaking a little bit.

I now leave my aircon on all year round as it helps to keep the seals moist and intact which is where most leaks occur unless you have punctured a pipe or condenser matrix.

 

[markjay]

The aircon systems that we use in datacentres only require periodic cleaning of the filters, nothing else. There is no other form of routine maintenance.

If the temperature goes above a certain threshold an automatic alarm is triggered and the system then get inspected.

For this reason I do not touch the aircon system in the car unless it is no longer blowing cold (it should blow 4 to 8 degrees at the vent).

My assumption is that - unless there's a leak - no maintenance is required.

I am aware that some say that the gas needs to be replaced every now and then because of 'debris', but my thinking is that if the aircon in the datacente does not get regassed routinely then my car does not need it either...

 

[alabbasi]

I know it’s slightly different but I used to work in the refrigerated air conditioning industry in offices and shops on installation, service and maintenance and if the system has a leak then all the gas in the system is lost not just a little and certainly not over a period of time longer than around 20 minutes! There is no such thing as leaking a little bit.

I now leave my aircon on all year round as it helps to keep the seals moist and intact which is where most leaks occur unless you have punctured a pipe or condenser matrix.

Residential and office a/c systems are a little different as they usually have no o-rings, just compression fittings. You can also nurse a home a/c system along by topping it up every year (ask me how I know). Leaks can appear when the gas can gets past the seal at certain pressures and then disappear when the volume gets low enough to where it won't make a that amount of pressure. It's a bit like a slow puncture on a tire that shows up only when the weather gets cold.

This is why pulling a vacuum should not be used as a means to check if the system is leak free (even though that's just about what every shop does).

As far as debris goes, it's a sealed system. There is no debris. If there is a leak, it could cause moisture to enter the system which could cause rust which is not good. Hence fixing it and not recharging it is the right thing to do.

 

[BMF]

Residential and office a/c systems are a little different as they usually have no o-rings, just compression fittings. You can also nurse a home a/c system along by topping it up every year (ask me how I know). Leaks can appear when the gas can gets past the seal at certain pressures and then disappear when the volume gets low enough to where it won't make a that amount of pressure. It's a bit like a slow puncture on a tire that shows up only when the weather gets cold.

This is why pulling a vacuum should not be used as a means to check if the system is leak free (even though that's just about what every shop does).

They pull a vacuum on the system to remove air from the system because the air in the system contains moisture which is detrimental to the systems performance as it can form ice particles in the system and thus block some of the small expansion sections of the system. It would be pointless to evacuate the system without first sealing the system from atmosphere.

 

[rf065]

They pull a vacuum on the system to remove air from the system because the air in the system contains moisture which is detrimental to the systems performance as it can form ice particles in the system and thus block some of the small expansion sections of the system. It would be pointless to evacuate the system without first sealing the system from atmosphere.

But they also use that vacuum to check for leaks which is not reliable. I've worked in the gas industry all my life, never ever has a vacuum been used to check if a pipe is sound. It will be pressure tested, that is the only way to determine with certainty if there is a leak or not.