What to Expect from the Mechanic During a Proper AC Inspection

While the air conditioning is not a vital function of the vehicle, it can be vital for the comfort of the driver and passengers. So of course people want their AC working at peak efficiency, especially during the hot summer weather that we experience in Mesa, Arizona where Crawford’s Auto Repair is located. There are many auto repair shops that charge for unnecessary services to increase their revenues at the expense of the customer. In order to help you be a more savvy consumer, here is what you can expect from a proper AC inspection:

Our shop (as well as others) advertises a free AC check. This entails a visual inspection of the AC system and a temperature measurement at the vents. If the AC is not performing properly then gauges should be used to evaluate the AC system. Some may consider this to be a light inspection, but in many cases this is the best practice for the AC system. The AC system should not be opened unless there is a problem. Every time the system is opened there is a small amount of refrigerant loss which will eventually lead to poor AC performance. Often when a schrader valve or service port is opened it can create a leak.

After the inspection, if the refrigerant level is low then AC dye can be installed with the refrigerant to help identify a leak. If the leak is small and does not show up right away, the customer can take the vehicle and return when the system is not cooling well. By this time the dye should show where the leak is. After identification of the leak, the refrigerant is recovered (i.e. removed with a recovery device) and the leak is repaired. Then the mechanic will charge the AC with a specified amount of refrigerant. This means the refrigerant that was previously recovered will be put back in after it has been “recycled” (or filtered and cleaned by the recovery device).

A common problem that we find with the AC system is sometimes people have tried to stop an AC leak with a can of “AC Stop Leak”. This can destroy the entire air conditioning system. Often there is a large amount of oil and seal conditioner in the fix-it-yourself cans. The amount of oil in an AC system is critical to the cooling performance and with extra oil the compressor will fail. What is ironic about this situation is that the can of “stop leak” costs about the same as brining the car into a shop to have the AC charged by a professional. Yet the damage that the “stop leak” causes can lead to very expensive repairs. The AC system is complicated and best left to professionals.

Some shops lure customers with a “free AC check” to get them into the shop and charge them for air conditioning services that they don’t need. At Crawford’s Auto Repair we never charge for unnecessary repairs and services. We offer the free AC check for the customer’s peace of mind and to allow our marketing to compete. If you are out of range for our shop, then try to find a mechanic that does business the way we do it– one that won’t open your AC system unless there is a problem. If you are within a reasonable range of our shop, then try us out. We’ll help you stay cool.

 

What to Expect from the Mechanic During a Proper AC Inspection is an original article from Crawford’s Auto Repair. Copyright © 2014, Jeff Crawford. Permission is granted to republish this article (text only) for personal or commercial use as long as the content, citation, and copyright notice all remain intact and unchanged. There must be an active “follow” link to CrawfordsAutoService.com. Any image seen with this article is the property of it’s respective author and requires it’s own permission.

What to Expect from the Mechanic During a Proper AC Inspection is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.