Do You Need an A/C tune-up or Repair for Your Car?

As long as your car’s air conditioning isn’t blowing hot air, it’s tempting to just go about your day and wait for when it truly fails to get it checked out. In fact, many drivers may not even worry about their A/C until the summer rolls around and the A/C button gets pushed for the first time in several months — cross your fingers that it still works!

But just like the other systems in your car, neglecting a component and expecting it to work when you need it doesn’t really go hand in hand. After all, your engine needs oil changes, your tires need air and, yes, your A/C might need a tune-up now and again. By staying on top of it, you’ll be able to avoid costly car A/C repairs, as well as an A/C system that’s not working or has no cold air when the temperature rises and you need it most.

Avoid Problems With Leaks and Clogs

If you want to avoid problems with your car’s A/C system, it’s important to conduct periodic maintenance so that your car’s A/C can be repaired instead of needing to be replaced. That’s because there are dozens of small passageways within your A/C system that can collect debris and other gunk over the lifetime of your car. There’s an A/C compressor, heat exchange and various tubing that carries Freon around and about, enabling your A/C system to blow cold air instead of hot air.

But whether it’s a leak or a clog, either can quickly render your A/C system inoperable, and it may even break more expensive components if left long enough. Furthermore, depending on the environment in which you drive your car, certain factors such as large temperature swings, dirt and road debris can all knock your car’s A/C system down for repairs.

Save Money Over the Long Run

Paradoxically, spending money on a car A/C repair can actually save you money over the long run. By detecting smaller problems before they become bigger ones, you’ll be swapping out cheap, inexpensive tubing and other small parts instead of replacing your A/C’s compressor or another expensive component. When it comes to cars, catching anything early is almost always cheaper than waiting and dealing with a catastrophic failure where you may need to replace the entire system.

Air conditioning refrigerant is also a rather expensive fluid, and if that small leak turns into a big one, spewing refrigerant in your engine bay instead of using it to cool the cabin, you could be on the hook for an expensive fill-up after the leak is repaired. Catching it early means minimizing the Freon you’ll need to complete the car A/C repair, and that can save you more money.

Determining If Your Car’s A/C Is Failing

If your car has ceased blowing cold air out of the vents, it’s easy to know that you need to head in for a car A/C repair — it’s not working. But what about indicators that your car’s A/C system could need repairs in the future? The good news is that if you pay a little attention, you’ll be able to know if your car’s A/C system is failing long before it actually does. Indicators include weak airflow or strange noises coming from your vents. However, strange noises can also indicate another problem with your car, so it’s important to get any odd noises checked out right away.

If you’re noticing that your A/C system isn’t working right, contact the experts at Edgestone Automotive. They’ll get you back on the road with a car A/C repair so that you can make it through the summer.