Average life expectancy of A/C components?

[islandboy57]

My mom's gen 3.5 has all its original A/C components and I noticed it was taking a little longer to get cold and it wasn't as cold as it used to be. Still enough to cool the car off on a hot day but it used to be ice cold. I took it to a local tire/brakes/AC shop and had the system pressured checked and leak checked. No leaks but the system was just slightly low on R134a so they added some refrigerant and also conditioner to the system. They added dye too but didn't see any leaks with a visual inspection.

Now the A/C is back to being freezing cold and it gets colder quicker. Just in time for summer! It's been pushing 90 degrees for the past few weeks and very, very humid. Then again that's typical weather year round

I'm just curious what the average life of A/C components is? I am impressed that after 14 years, everything is still good. Also - do you guys add refrigerant from time to time? I understand it is a sealed system but I also understand that the A/C system uses a bit of refrigerant over the years.

[felpz123]

i have a 94 that i recently bought and it probably needs to be recharged.. its cool but not cold

[skuttduck]

Mine was 8 years before I needed to recharge it. The cold winters here have a tendency to do that. After a while the seals will leak slightly.

[toysarefun]

My 95 5sfe is ice cold, when it wants to work. I've never really cared much about AC, funny problem with mine, it will nearly always come on when you turn it on but the compressor kicks off and won't come back at all until you shut the car completely off and try again, once in a while it will stay working, I'm just not going to stop shut the car off, restart, and keep trying just to get some cold air and I surely am not going to pay anyone to try and figure out a problem like that. Certain cars have bad ratings for AC components, for instance early 90's GM AC were just junk, wore out in a matter of years. Check consumer reports and you'll know what I mean. AC is what it is, I've even been at a Toyota dealership and seen a customer flipping out over the cost of getting AC fixed on a van, it happens.

[dz63]

I got about 10 years out of my OEM AC system on the '96 Camry (5SFE) before it developed a slow leak. For the last three summers, I have to top up the refrigerant in the spring, in order to blow cold air for the rest of the summer. I just topped it up yesterday and it needed 1.3 pounds of R134a. I seem to lose most of the refrigerant over the winter months.

[Jimnist]

Originally Posted by dz63

I seem to lose most of the refrigerant over the winter months.

Did you turn it on during winter? If not, try turning it on for 5 mins once a week(or fortnight) this coming winter. It keeps all the seals and o-rings moist, instead of them drying out a bit and springing a small leak.

[dz63]

Originally Posted by Jimnist

Did you turn it on during winter? If not, try turning it on for 5 mins once a week(or fortnight) this coming winter. It keeps all the seals and o-rings moist, instead of them drying out a bit and springing a small leak.

I did run it whenever I thought about it, but it was hit and miss - definitely not consistently and unlikely once per week. I will try it out this winter. Is it possible to damage my AC components if the temperature drops too low. If yes, how low is too low?

[tran.man48]

I've had to replace my 92's A/C compressor and clutch twice so far... about 7 years apart. The second time, on the drive home from the shop I got rear-ended, but there wasn't that much visible damage. I got a check from the other guy's insurance company, which I used to cover the cost of the A/C replacement

[freeyellow2000]

I was under the impression that AC is a closed system. Why do you need to add refrigerant, unless there is a leak in the AC system. (ie refrigerator never needs a to add refrigerant)

[JohnGD]

Looks like the experience of at least these owners vary quite a bit.

But the average leak rate of AC systems is about 10.7% per year. No wonder after a few years the AC becomes slow to cool.

So a quick answer is: there is no such thing as a completely sealed auto AC system.

EPA average leak rates:
http://www.epa.gov/cppd/Presentation...20Bus%20AC.pdf

Originally Posted by freeyellow2000

I was under the impression that AC is a closed system. Why do you need to add refrigerant, unless there is a leak in the AC system. (ie refrigerator never needs a to add refrigerant)

[djb2]

There is an expected leakage rate for the A/C components. The components are rated in g/cm^2/year, but for hoses that is often simplified to grams per meter of hose. Some barrier hoses leak as much as 400 grams per meter per year while at 90C -- a typical temperature/pressure for hoses near an operating engine. Of course you don't run your car 24 hours a day, but it still points out that some minor permeation of refrigerant through the hoses is normal.

There is somewhat higher rate of leakage when the A/C is operating due to the higher refrigerant temperature and an increased lossage rate past the carbon face seal of the compressor drive shaft.

Occasional use of the A/C system is beneficial because the circulating oil mist redeposits an oil film on the system, helping reduce permeation. It's especially important for the compressor shaft seal.

You can expect to lose 2-6 ounces of refrigerant per year. As long as there is some liquid refrigerant remaining, the non-operating pressure is dependent on temperature not the fill percentage. A rate such as "10% a year" is definitely wrong, and a precision such as "10.7% per year" is absurdly wrong.

You can expect to need a can of refrigerant every few years in a hot climate with lots of A/C use, to once a decade in a cold climate with little use. If you are using more, there is a leak somewhere. A shop might use a "sniffer" to track down a moderate rate leak. You can add a UV dye to the system with the next top-off, and use a $5 UV LED flashlight to track down leaks, even ones too slow for a sniffer to detect.

[dz63]

I only use the AC during the summer and fall months of the year. It has been recommended to run the AC periodically during the "colder" months of the year to keep the seals lubricated in order to avoid refigerant loss.

My question is this...will running the AC system during the cold winter months damage any components in the AC system? It occasionally drops below 0 degrees F in the winter here. Can anyone comment intelligently on this point?

[skuttduck]

Originally Posted by dz63

I only use the AC during the summer and fall months of the year. It has been recommended to run the AC periodically during the "colder" months of the year to keep the seals lubricated in order to avoid refigerant loss.

My question is this...will running the AC system during the cold winter months damage any components in the AC system? It occasionally drops below 0 degrees F in the winter here. Can anyone comment intelligently on this point?

Typically the AC compressor is run when you turn on the defroster. I am not 100% sure about this in the camry's, but all the GM cars I've had driven were this way.

[Strum]

Originally Posted by skuttduck

Typically the AC compressor is run when you turn on the defroster. I am not 100% sure about this in the camry's, but all the GM cars I've had driven were this way.

My 93 does not run unless the A/C button is pushed, but my 98 has that feature where the compressor runs when the defroster is on. Don't know why, but I never liked the feature - I guess it's a control thing.

[dz63]

AC does not automaticallly run when the defroster is on with the 1996 Camry (GEN3). I think they must have started this on the GEN 4.