Aircon Regas

Tom|Nbk · 30 May 2008 at 16:05

My air con was last regassed almost 3 years ago. 2 years and 9 months to be exact. It no longer feels ice cool to the touch anymore and have noticed it taking a big hit into my MPG. It certainly never makes me TOO cold anymore.

Been thinking about going to Kwik Fit where they say that if your systems temperature doesn't improve by 10% it is free.

Has anyone been to Kwik Fit for a regas or can recommened somewhere else in the North East..

merlin · 30 May 2008 at 16:08

I just searched yell.com and talked cash.

[TW]Fox · 30 May 2008 at 16:10

Is there something wrong with your aircon then - 3 years and its all gone already?

I've never had to have a regas and none of my cars have been regassed since new. The Mondeo for example is now what, 8 years old and still blows as cold as it did the day I bought it at 4 years old.

Tom|Nbk · 30 May 2008 at 16:12

Not sure. Most places say that you should regas every 2-3 years. Even says this in my Ford service book.

When I first got the car the aircon would make me "OMFG too cold turn off" now it's fairly cold but not enough to make me want to turn it off because im shivering

kidloco · 30 May 2008 at 16:14

I think my Focus ST170 needs a regas as well, bit miffed it needs doing really, its only done 35k. My shed of a second car (s reg vectra) is cold as a cucumber yet the Focus just wont get cool.

Tom|Nbk · 30 May 2008 at 16:15

Kwik Fit do say if you don't get an improvement of 10% it's free so at least theres going to be a noticeable difference in improvement if I have to pay for it.

OllyM · 30 May 2008 at 16:18

[TW]Fox;11789106 said:
Is there something wrong with your aircon then - 3 years and its all gone already?

I've never had to have a regas and none of my cars have been regassed since new. The Mondeo for example is now what, 8 years old and still blows as cold as it did the day I bought it at 4 years old.

The refrigerant leaks out of pipes etc. over time, regardless of how often you use the system. I expect if you get the Mondeo regassed now it'll have lost loads of gas.

Even your 530 probably doesn't have all of the gas left in it now. Mine certainly didn't when I got it regassed last year.

On the flip side, people who whinge about the AC using more fuel should take note of PeterNem's... misfortune. The previous owner didn't use the aircon in his M5, and all the seals etc. dried out. Cost over a grand to fix. Much more than it would cost to run the system

[TW]Fox · 30 May 2008 at 16:19

I'm not really concerned how much gas it has in it as until it stops blowing ice cold, it is irrelevent to me.

Tom|Nbk · 30 May 2008 at 16:20

A grand to fix an aircon system. Mega ouch.

OllyM · 30 May 2008 at 16:22

It probably won't be blowing ice cold though, after a regas your vent temperature usually drops quite a bit, which I guess means the system is running more efficiently.

[TW]Fox · 30 May 2008 at 16:24

OllyM said:
It probably won't be blowing ice cold though,

But it is

It works perfectly well, therefore I've not needed to regass it. I dont understand why comprehending this is posing such an issue to you

Tom|Nbk · 30 May 2008 at 16:24

Olly in your experience how often would you regas?

OllyM · 30 May 2008 at 16:28

[TW]Fox;11789191 said:
But it is

It works perfectly well, therefore I've not needed to regass it. I dont understand why comprehending this is posing such an issue to you

Don't bother getting it regassed then

Mine had lost a fair amount of gas over the 5 years when I had it done last year, the vent temperature dropped pretty noticeably afterwards.

[TW]Fox · 30 May 2008 at 16:32

OllyM said:
Don't bother getting it regassed then

Thats ok then, I wont, until it stops being useful

Type_R · 30 May 2008 at 16:32

[TW]Fox;11789191 said:
But it is

It works perfectly well, therefore I've not needed to regass it. I dont understand why comprehending this is posing such an issue to you

Because it suggests your temperature sensing equipment (usually located in your brain) isnt functioning properly

Its highly unlikely that any car goes more than 4-5 years without there being a loss of aircon gas.

OllyM · 30 May 2008 at 16:35

[TW]Fox;11789233 said:
Thats ok then, I wont, until it stops being useful

Cool, you keep going with your inefficient aircon system then

[TW]Fox · 30 May 2008 at 16:36

OllyM said:
Cool, you keep going with your inefficient aircon system then

I get in the car, the car is hot, 30 seconds later, the car is ice cold, I love my inefficient aircon system

Conscript · 30 May 2008 at 16:38

Will an air-con system that has lost gas adversly affect the MPG of the car itself?

Lashout_UK · 30 May 2008 at 16:39

Type_R said:
Because it suggests your temperature sensing equipment (usually located in your brain) isnt functioning properly

Its highly unlikely that any car goes more than 4-5 years without there being a loss of aircon gas.

Depends on how well built it is, how cared for it is and what it's daily usage is like.

No evidence of there ever being a regas done on my C4 and that's 18 years old. Blows cold to touch but could do with a regas. Still works perfectly fine though

The '95 had never been done and that was ice cold, 13 years. However, Americans really can build air con systems.....

[TW]Fox · 30 May 2008 at 16:42

Type_R said:
Its highly unlikely that any car goes more than 4-5 years without there being a loss of aircon gas.

There is a loss of aircon gas and there is a loss of aircon gas in such a quantity that it adversely affects the operation of the system.

When the latter occurs, it is time to regas. As soon as I feel the temperature and think 'Could do with a regas, that' it'll get one. It seems frankly pointless doing it any sooner, really.