Air Conditioning Service for All Vehicles

Why you should use your air conditioning all year round?

Summer

Having your air conditioning running in the summer will help to provide comfort during the hot summer months.

Winter

Air conditioning helps to half the time it takes to demist your windscreen in the cooler months. Air conditioning creates dry air, supposed to humid air, which will clear your windscreen much more quickly.

Why does my car need an air conditioning recharged and serviced?

Your car air-conditioning system can lose up to 15% of its refrigerant every year, which can seriously impact on the performance of the system, whilst also damaging the components involved in an air conditioning unit.

Through not using your air conditioning the seals can dry up. Regular air conditioning system servicing ensures the system is full of refrigerant, that there are no leaks, the pressures are correct within the system and that the hoses, seals and pipes are all in full working order.

New Air Conditioning Gas

A new EU directive came in to operation in January this year that meant all new cars must now only use the new air conditioning gas 1234YF

The main difference between the old style gas (R134) and the new 1234TF gas is down to its environmental credentials. The old R134 gas has a significantly higher global warming potential than the new gas. If the gas leaks from a car or van’s air conditioning system then it has a higher impact on the environment.

To help mitigate this environmental risk, the new EU directive stated that all refrigerant will need to have a global warming potential of less than 150.

Unfortunately, the R134 has a potential of 1430! This high figure equates to the R134 having 1,430 times more impact on global warming than carbon dioxide.

As the technology needed to re-gas or maintain the air conditioning system is different, only trained and certified technicians should work on the car or van, and only those garages that have made the investment in the new air conditioning machines can re-gas the systems. Currently there are very few garages that have made that investment, including many main dealerships. However, here at Jet Wheel Tyre (Benfleet branch only), we have the new machine available for our customers’ cars or vans.

If you have the new 1234YF air conditioning system in your car or van and need it re-gassed, then please give us a call to book it in. If you’re uncertain what system you have and would like to check, come to our garage in Benfleet, and we’ll be more than happy to help you.