Hey,
Hope everybody is doing well and staying safe. I was just getting the car serviced and the service center asked if I would like to get the car AC serviced as well. My car is 4 years old and has regularly been serviced at the dealership.
This got me thinking as to how often do people get their car AC sreviced, especially when it seems to be workign fine? Also how much is it to service the AC?
Only when something goes wrong which is rare. Only thing I’ve ever had done is regassing. The dealership recently tried to up sell me a filter clean or replacement($99) on my 3 year old car - I said no thanks.
Thanks for the responses. Makes sense. Everything seems to be working fine so I didnt think there was a need. And yes, I would never pay $99 for filter replacement.
you can buy a filter from supercheap and fit it your self for around $15.
Yep engine air filter and cabin air filters are a piece of cake as part of annual maintenance.
I do the cabin filter at 12 months and the AC when it stops getting cold quickly or makes unusual noises
Most car manufacturers suggest your air con system should be inspected every 1-2 years
Some manufacturers even add it to their service schedule which means for warranty purposes you have to do it.
The inspection should check for leaks, check all parts and seals etc
If you car is under warranty you would want to get it inspected anyways, Air Con parts can be killer to replace and imagine finding out the seals were worn etc while the car was under warranty as opposed to not having that warranty piece of mind.
its also extremely advantageous to have gas levels checked prior to summer (when Air Con Service costs tend to increase due to demand)
Air Cons are better being maintained rather than fixed when they break.
Thanks all. Really apprecaite your responses.
You mean regassed?
My old WRX never did anything for 15 years and AC worked perfect. Just made sure I ran it all year round, blasted bad smells if any.
Cabin filter DIY, $30-40 from Ebay depending on model, easy to do usually behind glovebox.
Change filter yourself and save. I did my.
Did they also offer to sharpen your wiper blades, calibrate headlight temperature, rotate your muffler bearings or radially balance your hub caps?
Unless there is an issue with the A/C, like, not getting cold, then what they're selling you, it's nothing more than snake oil.
Lol. Funny that you mention that. They said the wipers need replacing and I was like that is strange as I just replaced them with new ones two weeks ago.
Then the person on the phone was like, oh alright, maybe he got the sheet of a different car.
sneaky sneaky.
It’s a sneaky upsell often touted by dealers to grab more of your cash for next to no work.
If nothing is wrong just check your filter yourself and replace if it is overly dirty. Save your coins.
Serviced probably means running a disinfectant deodoriser through the vents, or possibly running an ozone machine inside. Pollen/cabin filters are usually replaced as sort of the maintenance service annually. Regassing should be done when the a/c doesn’t reach below 4* from the vents, but should include a filter/dryer and would be more than $99.
Car AC is a sealed self lubricating system, if you run it regularly it shouldnt have any problems. It is when it sits for a long time without use that gives a chance for seals to dry out. The car manual should have something in there about running it for 10 minutes every 2 weeks or something like that.
Yup that is helpful. Thanks for your input.
One more question, what about the brake fluid flush every two years. Anybody get that done?
It’s what the manufacturer recommends. Problem with dealers is they’ll happily take your money and quite often take shortcuts and not do the work properly.
I suspect most vehicles don’t get it don’t that regularly. I know I haven’t had a brake fluid flush in any car I’ve owned over the last 20+ years. None of which have been new under warranty though. (I’m not a mechanic).
No idea if the company car I had for several years ever had it done - I didn’t care as they just went to the dealer for log book servicing and I wasn’t paying for it.
Brake fluid flush is different to A/C and brake fluid should be considered a serviceable part. Brake fluid gets a lot of temperature extremes and can absorb water and generally deteriorate over time. It should be part of the scheduled servicing, so if they try and bung it on as an extra, I would query it, or if it was only done at your last service less than 12 months ago, I would also query that.
just read off your owner's manual and follow that, don't listen to sales people.
I doubt there would be an AC service item for a 4 year old car. In most cases it would be limited to cleaning and/or replacing the pollen/HEPA filter.