Car air conditioner repair
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Car air conditioner repair
How much does a air conditioner repair cost?
The air conditioning system in your vehicle is made up of many components that work in harmony to keep you cool and comfortable inside the cabin.
If one of these components fails or isn’t working as it should, your air conditioning system will be compromised, leaving you hot under the collar!
This could be as simple as a leaking seal all the way up to a failed compressor or condenser.
Having your air-conditioning system repaired as soon as possible will keep you cool all year round.
The average price of having your air-conditioning system repaired starts around the $300 mark and depending on what needs to be repaired or replaced, can increase to $1500+
What is an air conditioning system?
The air-conditioning system works in a similar way to the cooling system for the engine.
The system is filled with a refrigerant which is compressed and turned into a gas by the air conditioning compressor.
This actually increases the temperature of the gas, which then needs to be cooled.
This is done by the condenser, which is located in front of the radiator at the front of the car.
This cools the gas and returns it to liquid form. It then flows into the cabin through an expansion valve, which reduces the pressure and drops the temperature even more – making it nice and cold for the next step.
The final step involves the gas flowing through the evaporator. This transfers the extreme cold of the gas to the air that is flowing through the evaporator (the opposite of what happens at the condenser) which then enters the cabin and provides nice cool air.
Symptoms of needing an air conditioning repair
- A/C system isn’t working
- A/C is blowing air that is not cold, or not as cold as it should be
- Squealing or grinding noise from engine bay
How is the air-conditioning repair carried out?
- The A/C system will be checked for pressure and level
- The compressor power and ground will be checked
- Once the issue has been found, the refrigerant will be removed
- The repair or component replacement will be carried out
- The system will be flushed out to remove any contamination
- The air conditioning system will be evacuated and new refrigerant will be added
- The system will be checked for leaks and correct operation
Tip to remember
- The air-conditioning system is under vacuum – so any small leak will cause the system to not work correctly. Small road debris can damage the condenser at the front of the vehicle and cause a slow leak, so this needs to be inspected whenever carrying out air conditioning repairs
How important is having your air conditioning system repaired?
Having a fully operation air conditioning system not only adds to your comfort inside the cabin, but provides additional safety as it is used for window demisting when the conditions are unsavoury outside.
Without operational air conditioning, you may struggle to see when your windscreen fogs up.
If you've read this far, you obviously care about your car. A lot. So next time you need a service, repair or inspection, visit AutoGuru. We let you search and book from over 2,000 qualified mechanics, who eat car troubles for breakfast.
