One thing that a number of drivers often forget to do is to use their A/C compressors regularly, even in cool weather. You will also find that requirement in some (not all) Owners' Manuals (using it at least 5-10 minutes a week). This is important because the compressor has to stay lubed, and it is much easier to do so if it runs regularly. Not using it for significant periods of time can allow freon-leaks from deteriorated seals, inadquate cooling in the summer, and a shortened compressor-life.

In cars with automatic climate-control, the system will turn the compressor on and off automatically when you set the temperature and use the A/C or defog/defroster-modes (the compressor provides a source of dry air to keep the windshield clear). The auto-temperature control, in cold weather, will keep the window or interior from chilling-down too much from the cold-air blast out the vents.

Manual-climate-control vehicles, of course, require you to turn the compressor and fan-speeds on or off manually (except when using the defroster, when, in most modern cars, the compressor comes on and the intake-air switched to outside-air instead of recirculate when you hit the defrost button). If you use the A/C compressor in cold weather, you don't have to put up with an Arctic blast in your face.......modern cars allow you to mix in as much heat with it as you want with the A/C through the vents.

If you have an older car, with a less-complex climate system, where the intake-air does not automatically switch to outside-intake air or the A/C compressor come on when the defroster is in operation, then do it manually with the levers/buttons....you don't ever want to use the defrost in recirculate-air mode, because it will just recirculate the same interior moisture and re-fog the inside windows right back up again.

 

Note: Very few of the cars owned by CL members have freon in A/C systems.

Maybe some of our CL members with auto tech backgrounds can update us on modern automotive climate control systems.

 

...I never have the AC compressor on...just the fan unless there is really bad summer heat

 

Good tip mmarshall. I always remember to remind my friends and family about this.

 

Wow, really? I did not realize this... i never have the A/C on unless it's a boiling summer day.

 

I live in AZ. We have the AC on all year pretty much

 

In regards to Lexus and my experience in hundereds of thousands and miles and so many different cars the only issue I've had is a fan needed replacing in the GS 430 ($250 job) and something happened to the ES (can't remember but nothing serious). Both are high mileage so it just failed over time. I have never worried about Lexus A/C.

Its not an issue but with hybrid owners we are not to leave the car parked for extended periods of time, like weeks. It can drain the battery. So if its parked for extended periods, get someone to drive it every once in awhile. Never been an issue for us though.

 

Good post MMarshall.

 

OK.....as for the term "freon", in this case, "refrigerant", I'll admit, would probably have been a better term. On American-spec cars, A/C systems produced before 1994 use R-12 refrigerant; systems after 1994 use R-134. The two are NOT compatible, and older cars using R-134 usually need a conversion-kit.

But that does not have much, if anything, to do with the point I was making....nor is an auto-tech degree or an extensive auto-tech background needed to post what I did....if it was, I wouldn't have posted it. Compressors, regardless of the type of refrigerant, usually need to be run some each week, even in cooler weather, to keep the seals and moving-parts lubed. In the past, this was often specifically mentioned in the Owners' Manuals.....in the latest cars, it may or may not be mentioned, depending on the complexity of the system and whether the compressor operates automatically in some modes. On my own car, for instance, I'll manually run the compressor periodically in the winter, and just add some heat to it to keep the cabin nice and toasty. Yes, it uses some extra fuel to do that, but that's a lot cheaper than a new compressor.

 

Thanks. I do a heads-up on this subject every once in a while (maybe once every year or two) because a lot of car owners forget.

 

Yes, still a good reminder. And now the information on refrigerant (it's not freon) is accurate too. Certainly nothing you posted was especially technical and did not require a degree, which was not the point. CL membership does include those with extensive and current auto technology backgrounds (and they provide new levels of depth for all of us) that can give us more technical information than the common knowledge that most of us already know.

A prime area where those with automotive repair backgrounds (some actually have certification in this area of specialization {automotive A/C systems}) can add depth is the topic of compressor life (in the current decade). Are modern A/C compressors troublesome or do they require replacement in the normal lifespan of a typical modern car? Can any of our thousands of CL posters driving a variety of recent vehicles (including Lexus/Toyota) give us feedback on A/C compressor repairs/replacements that they've experienced (in or out of warranty)?

 

That can happen on most newer cars with computers in them, Mike, not just hybrids....though what you say about hybrids is also true, of course. On today's cars, because of the small "parasitic" current-drain on the battery needed to keep the clock running, radio-station-button memory, power-seat/steering-column memory, etc..... up, one to three weeks of no-use parking (depending on the amount of drain and state of battery-charge) is about it for parking if you don't want a dead or too-low battery whan you come back.

But, with extended-periods of parking without use, more may be involved than just a drained battery. Engine oil, coolant anti-freeze, transmission fluid, final-drive (differential) fluid.....all of this needs to heat up and circulate regularly to keep the engine and drivetrain parts and seals lubed and corrosion at bay. Tires that sit for long periods, from the weight of the car on them, can, in some cases, also develop annoying flat-spots that thump-thump for awhile until they heat up and the rubber gets pliable.

Modern tire-engineering and rubber-compounds, though, has reduced the tendency of tires to flat-spot. I remember my Dad's mid-60s Thunderbird (the first luxury-car I ever got to drive as a teen-ager). That, of course, was a heavy car.....4400 lbs. on the tires. Every morning, it would be thump-thump-thump for 2 or 3 minutes until the rubber warmed up. It is far-less common today, unless the tires really sit for awhile.

 

cars with climate control (and enabled) will use the AC frequently automatically whether in cooling or heating modes, so it's a moot point for them normally, but having said that, i find many drivers either don't understand their climate control or have an irresistible urge to control things (even if they don't know what they're doing and their own manual settings don't make sense). so those types will manually turn ac on/off, manually set fan speed and ALSO set the temp which makes little sense as the climate control will vary the fan speed automatically anyway (in full auto mode) to bring the temp to the set level.

and compressors have advanced by leaps and bounds in terms of reliability and efficiency, so i doubt anyone will have any problem unless they choose to leave the AC off for years.

 

Big difference Mike

You can disconnect the battery of a normal car if you are going on long trips.
You cannot disconnect the hybrid powertrain Thus why it would need driving.

 

i turn mine on only during the summer.

so far, hasn't failed for cars made after 1998.