Why service your aircon?
Air conditioning in cars is quite a new phenomenon for many drivers. Ten years ago it was only fitted to a minority of vehicles but nowadays is virtually standard equipment. This leaves many owners of air con systems confused as to what needs servicing and the best way to get the most out of their vehicles air conditioning system.
There is a lot of conflicting information about air-con servicing and increased fuel consumption/environmental damage. Hopefully the following few paragraphs will help clear things up a little for you.
Firstly lets tackle the subject of service intervals. Normally a general rule of servicing would be "The more you use it, the more often you service it". But with air-con its not so clear cut. Items like the pollen filter will obviously clog more quickly the more you use the air-con/heater (all air entering the cabin passes through the pollen filter whether or not you have the air conditioning switched on). But when it comes to the refrigerant (the substance that actually cools the air), the less you use your air con the quicker it will leak away. This happens because the seal around the shaft of the air conditioning pump can shrink when not in use allowing the tiny refrigerant molecules to escape. Incidentally the molecules are so fine that they can actually escape through the rubber hoses that make up part of the refrigerant circuit - at a rate of about 10% per year! We suggest some form of air conditioning service every two years. The type of service will depend on previous service history.
Next the fuel consumption issue. It takes considerable engine power to drive the air conditioning pump (compressor). This means you will have to put your foot down a little more to achieve the same speed with the air con on as you would with the air con off. And that is obviously going to use more fuel. However modern air con systems self detect the amount of work the system needs to do in order to adequately cool the air entering the cabin, allowing the air con compressor to do less work. This takes load off the engine, saving fuel consumption. The point you need to consider is, is the slightly increased fuel cost going to be more expensive than the increased servicing costs if you leave it switched off for months on end? Given the environmental implications of the refrigerant leaking from your system, we believe the best thing for you air con system and the environment is to use the air con system year round.
So how about it? Give us a call or send an e-mail and put us to the test. We are sure you won’t be disappointed.