ycl1688

it seems my 2006 rx330 does not blow enough of cold air, can I buy freon from autozone and fill up ? how easy is that ?

kiwi

make sure you buy R-134a, cars dont come with freon anymore.

second, dont do it, your system does not consume refrigerant. if you are low, or dont have any it means one thing. you have a leak. best thing to do would be to go to a shop that does A/C work and have them recharge the system with dye. the dye is very important, it will tell you where its leaking from.

so after a week or so, pop the hood and look around for the dye coming out, replace that part, and fill the system, then you wil lbe good to go.

those cans are only band-aid fixes.

filmteknik

Unlike a hermetically sealed refrigeration system in your home air conditioner or refrigerator, a car's A/C will leak a tiny amount because the compressor is belt-driven off the engine which means there is a shaft seal that gas can get past and will gradually wear allowing greater leakage. Having to add a little after 5 years doesn't mean something more substantial is wrong. If you keep having to add to maintain cooling then either the compressor seal is really going or there is a leak elsewhere.

The exception to the above would be a car with an electric compressor. I don't know if that's spread beyond hybrid cars. Some such compressors have dual drives where either the electric motor or a belt can drive them and in that case the seal issue applies to them, too.

ycl1688

sorry, to add R-134a. not freon. Just to top off will not hurt ?

JoeInHNL

The problem with "topping off" is how much do you put in. If you over charge the AC system it will not work properly.

Some of the DIY cans come with a pressure gauge to help estimate the state of charge. I do not know how well they work.

The pros will pump down your system completely and add the correct weight of r-134 to ensure you have the correct amount.

Newer Ac systems use about 1-2 pounds of freon so if you add a whole 12 oz can you are adding a lot.

There may be a label under the hood listing the AC system capacity. My car is 5000 miles from me at the moment so I can't go look.

Aloha,Joe

Bob99b5

Well, there's a min and max level requirement that you need to be aware of too. On my 2004, it was 1.2 lbs. min and 1.4 lbs. max. When I was having trouble last week with my ac, I thought it was the refrigerant level. I evacuated the system and removed only 0.68 lbs, then removed the oil, dried the system for 15 minutes on vac, then refilled with 1.4lbs and the oil. It worked great for a bit, then shut down again. Thinking I had a huge leak, I repeated the procedure only to find that the entire 1.4lbs. I put in came right back out. So long story short, no leaks in my system. My problem was the radiator was leaking, the coolant was low and the car was shutting down the AC when the engine got hot. In my case, the compressor wasn't running and we had absolutely no cooling.

Bottom line is you could try adding some refrigerant, but if you're getting some cold air (as I was with only 1/2 a charge - 0.68 lbs) then a full can will probably take you over the max limit of 1.4 lbs. in the system. I hate to spend money needlessly but I think in the case of the AC system, you need to find a place that'll do it right, i.e. remove everything, dry the system, and refill at the proper level with dye.

lex_rx

I'd say bring it to a shop - dealer, etc. In my 98 Sienna, Toyota dealer put the dye to find the leak. It was a C$2 o-ring that broke. Fix and fill was just under C$200.

Messing with the A/C could make a $100-200 repair into over $1,000. A couple of my friends found out the hard way.

One common issue is that people don't normally think of using the A/C especially in the winter. But those compressors have to be turned on every now and then and not just at the hottest day of the year.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

HtownBlue

I would first identify what the true symptom is. What I mean is this: Is the car's A/C cooling well at times and not well at others? Has the system gradually started to blow out slightly warmer air and has seemingly lost its ability to cool. Did the system abruptly stop blowing cool air? Has the process been a gradual failure, or did it happen within a day or two? Does the car stop cooling only at idle? Does it work fine when driving on highway or while moving? Does your Car's Engine Temp rise and cause the system to shut off?

Just because a system is blowing warmer air (not as cool as once was) doesn't mean you must have a leak. You could have a variety of issues. Though R-134 levels are often the primary issue, this is not always the case. If it has been a dramatic change I would bet on leak. If there are other symptomatic causes I would look into your cooling fans and condenser system.

Many here could likely point you in the proper direction if we knew the specifics as to how you arrived at this point.

RX330inFL

They do make DIY kits, such as A/C Pro available at places such as AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts. However, as mentioned above if you do not know what you are doing you can make the problem much worse.

Check around. Many shops offer free A/C checks.

@Bob99b5: The recommended level is 21 ounces, or about 1.31 pounds. Right between your min and max values. Would think 1.4 pounds would be a bit much going right at the max like that. No problems at 21 ounces here in FL.