AIR CON SERVICE AND RECHARGE

How much is an air con recharge and why are there different prices?
The price you pay for an air conditioning recharge depends on the type of refrigerant gas your car uses. The vast majority of cars on the road in the UK use one of two types of refrigerant – R134A and R1234YF. If your air conditioning system requires R134A gas the cost to recharge is £59. For vehicles that require R1234YF gas the cost is £129 to recharge. It is not possible to switch between gases, in fact, the port to recharge R1234YF models is different to the R134A making it impossible to refill with the incorrect gas.

R134A gas is common in vehicles manufactured before 2014. All vehicles with air conditioning manufactured since 1st January 2017 include the new R1234YF air con gas which is more environmentally friendly. Since this date, manufacturers are no longer allowed to use the older R134A air con gas in a bid to reduce global warming as the old gas is believed to be more damaging to the environment. R1234YF gas was phased in by vehicle manufacturers over time so vehicles rolling off the production line between 2014 and 2016 could require either gas.
This is important as air conditioning gas escapes from the system every year making it much less efficient. Look after your air conditioning as you would the rest of your vehicle, because a fully recharged system will put less strain on the engine and as a result help to reduce your fuel consumption. This is not part of routine servicing, so if your vehicle is more than 2 years old, it is due a recharge and re-gas.