A car that just will not cool down makes for a frustrating ride to work
in August. When you are getting warm air
coming from the vents, the go-to
solution is often a “recharge” of the magic refrigerant. And, barring any other issues with the A/C,
that can do the trick.
Enter a new product that is appearing on shelves: A simple can with a gauge that promises to
have your air conditioning blowing cool air again in just 30 minutes. Does
it work? According to most reviews, the
answer is a resounding…
Sometimes.
If it truly is low levels of refrigerant, the tried and true “recharge”
will do the trick. But, it begs the
question: why was it low in the first
place? As a car gets older, the pressure
levels will drop, but a drop in pressure could also indicate a leak. Any recharge (DIY or otherwise), will
eventually go down again and you’re back in the same boat.
While both professional mechanics and do-it-yourselfers have given these
products favorable ratings, others do have some reasonable concerns. Your air conditioning system has many pieces,
parts, and hoses that can fail. Some
mechanics have expressed concern that if the pressure is too low or too high,
you could invite other problems. Others
have noted that the product in these cans is not professional grade and could
compromise other parts of the system.
All in all, if you have an old car and the expense of replacing a
compressor in an A/C system doesn’t make sense anymore, you could skate by with a recharge from a professional or by
using one of these off the shelf products.
But, as with anything… if something isn’t doing what you think it needs
to be doing, or the problem keeps repeating itself, it’s time to visit a pro.
Stay cool!
