Car Air Conditioning

You can expect to pay around £85 to have your air conditioning unit regassed, which is largely down to the price of the gas or refrigerant itself. The price is likely to go up when labour costs are put on top, increasing by about £35.

Yes, an air conditioning unit does use up fuel in a car. The air conditioning in cars gets energy from the engine, which needs petrol or diesel to run. Without it, the air conditioning cannot work. To get a car’s temperature down to a certain level may take more fuel than to maintain a higher temperature. However, keeping it at that temperature may be more efficient in terms of fuel usage than turning it on and off in the hope of saving fuel.

While air conditioning is a part of many cars, it is often not included in a car warranty. However, that will depend on what level of warranty you originally purchased. The more expensive your warranty, the more likely it is that it will cover an air conditioning service or repair to ensure that it is working efficiently.

Installing air conditioning units in a car is a complicated process and highly recommended that you use the services of a professional to do so. It has a lot of wiring involved as well as requiring many different specialised tools. If you are still keen to install your own air conditioning unit in your car, it is best to follow the unit’s instructions to the letter to ensure you do not make any costly errors. It could well end up costing you more overall than simply asking an engineer to do it from the outset.

Cleaning a car’s air conditioning unit will vary from car to car, and unit to unit. Take a look at your car’s manual to see what it recommends. Many manufacturers may advocate using one of their own specialised servicing centres to ensure that it is done properly.

Many cars or air conditioning units will need to be regassed every 2 years. However, that will depend entirely on what car you have and what air conditioning unit has been installed. If you have your car serviced regularly, your service should highlight whether the air conditioning unit needs regassing or not.

If you are specifically looking for just an air conditioning service, as opposed to a full car service, you can expect to pay £35. If no work is needed on the system, the cost amounts to the labour involved in the service only.

There is no need to run your air conditioning all the time, though it is often recommended by car manufacturers to switch it on frequently to ensure the system is still working. Letting it go too long between uses can mean the coolant starts to degrade, which can end up affecting the system as a whole.