Air Conditioning Diagnostics

Your vehicle’s air conditioning system not only keeps the temperature right for you and your passengers, it also filters out pollen, dust and deposits from fumes, and minimises condensation.

Continuous use of your air conditioning helps to maintain the system’s optimum performance, but to keep your system operating at peak efficiency, the pollen micro-filters should be maintained at regular intervals and the correct level of refrigerant gas should be checked and replaced.

Before we can carry out your Air Con Service (including an air con regas), as a legal requirement we'll need to check the system for any faults or leaks. The Pre Service Diagnostic Inspection includes:

• A temperature check
• A refrigerant check
• A thorough inspection of the system's key components, including the compressor, condenser, drive belts and hoses
• A leak test (using nitrogen)

Once complete, our team will give you the option of a full Air Con Service including an air con regas (also known as an air con recharge) where they will replace and recharge lubricant and refrigerant levels in line with your manufacturer's recommendation.

How much is an air con recharge?

The price you pay for an air conditioning recharge depends on the type of refrigerant gas your car uses. The vast majority of cars on the road in the UK use one of two types of refrigerant - R134A and R1234YF. If your air conditioning system requires R134A gas the cost to recharge is £49.95. For vehicles that require R1234YF gas the cost is £129.95 to recharge. It is not possible to switch between gases, in fact, the port to recharge R1234YF models is different to the R134A making it impossible to refill with the incorrect gas.

How do I know which air con gas I require?

R134A gas is common in vehicles manufactured before 2014. All vehicles with air conditioning manufactured since 1st January 2017, by law, must include the new R1234YF air con gas which is more environmentally friendly. Since this date, manufacturers are no longer allowed to use the older R134A air con gas in a bid to reduce global warming as the old gas is believed to be more damaging to the environment. R1234YF gas was phased in by vehicle manufacturers over time so vehicles rolling off the production line between 2014 and 2016 could require either gas.