A/C Recharge and Refrigerant Leak Repair
Your air conditioning is a sealed loop. The refrigerant inside it does not get used up the way gas does, so if the system is low, it is leaking. Finding that leak is the actual job. The recharge is the last five minutes of it.
How we find the leak
Big leaks show themselves: an oily stain at a fitting, a stone hole in the radiator-looking part up front, a hose weeping where it is crimped. Small ones take work. We use an electronic sniffer around the fittings, a dye that glows under a UV light when the leak is slow enough to need a second visit, and on an empty system we fill it with harmless nitrogen gas and listen for where it goes. The usual leak spots are the condenser behind the grille, the seal on the pump, rubber O-rings that have gone hard in the heat, the cooling coil inside your dash, and the service ports themselves.
Vacuum first, then a weighed refill
After the repair we pull the system into a deep vacuum, and that is not a formality. Vacuum boils out any moisture, and moisture mixes with refrigerant and oil to form acid that eats the A/C pump from the inside. Then we put in a weighed amount of refrigerant, exactly what the sticker under your hood calls for. Filling by gauge feel alone overshoots as often as it undershoots, and an overfilled system actually blows warmer than a correct one.
Why we will not just top it off
Federal law says a shop cannot knowingly let refrigerant escape into the air, and topping off a leaking system is exactly that on a delay. It also costs you twice, once now and again when the air goes warm. If you still want the cheap version on an older car, we will do it and tell you honestly how long it is likely to last first.
What's included
- Leak found with electronic sniffer, UV dye, or nitrogen pressure test
- O-rings, hoses, condenser, and service ports repaired
- Drier replaced any time the system is opened up
- Deep vacuum, then a weighed refill to factory spec
- Vent temperature checked before you leave
A/C Leak Repair & Recharge: questions we get asked
Can you just recharge my A/C?
We can, and on an older car that is sometimes the sensible call. Just know what it buys you: a system that is low is leaking, so the new refrigerant leaves the same way the old refrigerant did. We would rather find the leak, fix it, and fill it once.
Are the recharge cans from the auto parts store bad for my car?
They are a common way to turn a small job into a big one. They are hard to fill accurately, many of them contain a sealer that can plug up the small passages inside your A/C, and none of them fix the leak. If you have already used one, tell us, because sealer changes how we have to service the system.
How long does it take to find an A/C leak?
A leak we can see gets found the same visit. A slow one may need dye and a return trip after you have driven the car a while, because it has to lose enough refrigerant to be traceable. We tell you which situation you are in after the first look.
What kind of refrigerant does my car take?
Most vehicles from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s use R-134a, and newer ones use R-1234yf. They are not interchangeable and they use different fittings. There is a sticker under your hood that says which, and we check it before we hook anything up.
Should I get the A/C checked before summer?
Spring is the right time. A system that is a little low in April is the one that quits in July, and every shop in the valley is booked solid the week the first heat wave lands. Getting it looked at early catches a small leak while it is still small.
Family-owned since 1981
Three ASE Master Technicians
12-month / 12,000-mile warranty on qualifying work
32125 Arbol Real, Thousand Palms, CA 92276
Monday – Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
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Where we serve
We serve drivers across the Coachella Valley: