Advice

Freon: Signs Your Car Needs It

By 04/09/2024 1:00pm
Auto mechanic checking freon/refrigerant level.

An addendum to Murphy’s Law states that your car’s air conditioning will fail during the hottest month of the year. We just made that up, but the harder your car’s A/C works and the older it is, the greater the likelihood it will fail. There is no shortage of reasons that might be responsible for that failure, like a faulty compressor or a failed condenser. But it could also be an easier fix, like a low Freon level.

What Is Freon?

Freon (R12) is a brand of refrigerant gas that converts to liquid when pressurized. As with any air conditioning system, the cooling effect in your car is a byproduct of repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing the refrigerant. Freon is no longer manufactured. Today’s newer car air conditioners use other refrigerant gases (R1234yf) in its place.

Tip: If your car was produced after 1995, it’s likely that its air conditioning system does not use Freon (R12).

We won’t wade too far into the weeds of how your car’s air conditioning system manages to repeatedly transform refrigerant gas into a liquid and then back to gas again, but it’s a closed system that reuses the same refrigerant over and over.

In simple terms, your car’s air conditioning is something like your circulatory system, with the heart pushing the blood around in one big loop. No matter how hard the heart pumps away, without blood, your circulatory system will fail.

The Refrigerant Conundrum

With advancing technology and ever-changing environmental-impact mandates, Environmental Protection Agency-approved refrigerants are a moving target. This is further complicated because the governance of Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) gases is by global treaty that began with the Montreal Act signed in 1987 and updated several times since. HCFCs are known culprits in depleting the ozone layer. Nearly 200 countries around the world have signed on.

Freon was a popular brand of R12 HCFC refrigerant used in automotive air conditioning until banned in the mid-1990s through the original Montreal Act. Enter R134a, which has been the auto industry standard refrigerant ever since. If your car was produced after 1996 until recently, its air conditioner uses R134a. However, that’s not the end of the refrigerant saga.

The EPA also banned R134a beginning Jan. 1, 2025. Many carmakers are already using  R1234yf in the air conditioning systems of their new cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Older Cars: Can You Replace One Refrigerant With Another?

Although manufacturing an HCFC may be prohibited, selling those refrigerants from leftover inventories isn’t. Moreover, as the government outlawed the production of HCFCs, whatever inventory of each HCFC that remained in stock is the only source of refrigerant for the air conditioning systems engineered to use it. In other words, R12 isn’t interchangeable with R134a. Although R1234yf can be used in place of R134a, doing so will require some modifications to the car’s air conditioning unit.

Consequently, fixing an older air conditioner leaking refrigerant and then topping off the appropriate hard-to-find refrigerant is only going to become more expensive.

What Causes a Refrigerant to Fail?

The refrigerant gas in your car’s air conditioning system neither fails nor evaporates. There is only one way for the refrigerant level to drop: a leak somewhere in the system. Simply topping off the refrigerant won’t solve a leak issue; it will only temporarily interrupt the symptom. 

5 Warning Signs of a Low Refrigerant Level

Knowing some of the warning signs of a refrigerant leak might well avert that mid-August no-air-conditioning surprise.

  1. Visible leaks — It’s perfectly normal for your car’s air conditioning system to leave a puddle of water under it as it cools when parked. However, if those drippings have a greasy feel, it could be a refrigerant leak.
  2. Ice buildup — If you notice ice or frost building up on the evaporator coil or refrigerant lines, it can be a sign the fluid level is low enough to allow component freezing.
  3. Increased cooling time — If your air conditioner takes longer and longer to cool your car, it could be a sign of low refrigerant.
  4. A/C blows warm air — When first engaged on a hot day, your car’s air conditioner will blow warm air, which should turn to cold air as it cycles refrigerant. If, after a couple of minutes, the air coming from the vents is still warm, there is a problem.
  5. Reduced airflow — As an A/C system loses refrigerant, it can reduce the amount of air flowing out of the vents.

If you need a car service center or dealership to investigate the issue, use our cost estimator for A/C repairs. As always, keeping your vehicle in great working order helps your car retain its value should you ever need to sell.