We’ve invested in air conditioning equipment to include servicing on vehicles fitted with R-1234YF gas. Previous generations of air con systems used a gas designated R-134a. We’ve also renewed for the old systems to ensure accurate servicing and diagnosis.
All of our technicians have completed F-Gas training and HVAC courses at Volkswagen’s training centre specific to the brand. Mandatory training was introduced mid 2000’s mainly to reduce the amount of gas released through poor diagnostic techniques.
Many garages still offer a cheap re-gas as a service which is no more than connecting the vehicle to the AC machine, recovering if there’s any gas in the system or if it’s empty and refilling the required amount of gas. Some will fill a tracer dye if they suspect a leak which just allows the gas to escape and leave a fluorescent marker to diagnose later when the AC fails again. Some will normalize gas loss and put it down to natural leakage or the system ‘using’ gas which results in frequent refilling. While there is a small amount of natural leakage of the gas through the material used in flexible hoses this is approximately 10% annually which is why a 2 year service is required.
The liquid gas carries the compressor oil in the system so low gas causes lubrication issues and compressor failure.
Many bookings for A/C services are made when the system has stopped working and it’s usually assumed that the car needs gas but most causes are either sensor/wiring failure, leaks from damage or quite commonly compressor failure.
Compressors are expensive to replace and the operating lifetime can be extended by servicing every two years.
Years ago manufacturers all held back on adding A/C servicing to the mandatory service schedule, this was allegedly due to the cost of ownership competition between brands. If this is true, it’s strange it hasn’t been enforced across all brands considering FGAS training was made mandatory for techs to limit the release of greenhouse gasses.
A manufacturer AC service consists of:
Initial temp and pressure check.
Fault code check for electrical/sensor faults.
Visual inspection of condenser, pipework, compressor, clutch, drive belt and fans.
Gas/oil recovery and weight of recovered gas and oil.
Vacuum system, check vacuum hold.
Recharge gas to required weight and replace reclaimed oil with new.
Check cabin filter. Clean or replace.
Anti bacterial treatment of evaporator.
Recheck temperature and operating pressures.
In the event of no gas in system at start of service, we pressurize the system with oxygen free nitrogen this either gives an audible indication or leak detection spray is used to detect leaks.
All AC services carried out by us follow this method.
Servicing prices:
R134A Cars £78+VAT
R1234yf Cars £105+VAT
*Luxury, 4×4’s and commercial vehicles priced individually due to high gas quantities.
