Maybe you’ve seen the signs around town at your local mechanic or quick-lube shop that say “Car Air Conditioning Recharge”.  Since it’s summer and the temperatures are still going up, that can seem like a pretty good idea!  Recharging is usually a good thing for most of the things we use every day.  We recharge the batteries in our phones, some people are even recharging their cars these days, but do you really need a car air conditioning recharge?

As for all the regular maintenance your car requires, the best place to look is in the vehicle’s owner’s manual.  Your vehicle’s owner’s manual will have a schedule of things you should regularly inspect and change on your car to make sure it continues to operate as it was intended to for years to come.  Keeping up with regular maintenance is the best way to keep your car running properly and will always save you money in the long run.

As you’re checking over the regular maintenance schedule for your vehicle, you’ll probably realize relatively quickly that “car air conditioning recharge” doesn’t show up in any regular mileage or time interval.  This is because theoretically, your air conditioning system should never require a recharge.

Some things in your car like your engine oil and transmission fluid are designed to be regularly changed due to the rigorous environment they work in along with the dirt and grime that can enter those systems.  The refrigerant in your air conditioning system leads a much easier life as your air condition system is tightly sealed due to the high operating pressures and the air conditioning compressor is a specially designed highly efficient pump that does not wear quickly.

All the factors point to the fact that you should not need a car air conditioning recharge for your vehicle.  Unfortunately, we all know the real world isn’t as kind as the world of theory and if you’re reading this article it is probably because your air conditioning isn’t working properly leaving you to wonder how to get things fixed.

If your air conditioning system is slowly losing its cooling ability, then it is possible that recharging your system will fix the problem in the short term.  However, in a few months or even in a few short days, you could be back to poor cooling and being uncomfortable on your commute.

The reason for this is that most of the time when your air conditioning is slowly losing its cooling ability it is due to a slow leak in your system.  If you simply recharge your air conditioning system it will work great with a full charge of refrigerant for a short time, but as that leak allows the new refrigerant you paid so much for to leak out, you will be back where you started.

Instead of wasting your money regularly getting a car air conditioning recharge performed by your local mechanic, you should consider stopping the leak that got you here in the first place.  If you’re set on finding the leak, try reading our article about an AC Leak Finder.  You should know, for most leaks it isn’t important to find the location of the leak in order to seal it.  Instead, you can simply add Red Angel A/C Stop Leak to your vehicle’s air conditioning system when you have it recharged and let Red Angel do the rest!  Red Angel A/C Stop Leak is a chemical sealing agent that won’t damage your air conditioning system but will seek out the leak and form a chemical bond sealing the leak and keeping your new refrigerant inside your system where it can work to keep you cool.

You can purchase Red Angel A/C Stop Leak at any of our partnering local auto parts stores like:

• AutoZone
• Advance Auto Parts
• Bennett Auto Supply
• CarQuest Auto Parts
• NAPA Auto Parts
• O’Reilly Auto Parts
• Pep Boys
• Fast Track
• Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts Specialists
• S&E Quick Lube Distributer
• DYK Automotive
• Fisher Auto Parts stores
• Auto Plus Auto Parts stores
• Hovis Auto & Truck Supply stores
• Salvo Auto Parts
• Advantage Auto Stores
• Genuine Auto Parts stores
• Bond Auto Parts stores
• Tidewater Fleet Supply
• Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts
• Any Part Auto Parts
• Consumer Auto Parts

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car_air_conditioning_recharge.jpg – By Jovanmandic Licensed by Getty Images – Original Link