Car Air Conditioning Cost - Buyer Experiences and Price Information

Is this the right quote

Condenser turned off due to low coolant. Took it in for coolant charge(r12) and was told there was a slight leak in condenser but they put a can in anyway. By next day the compressor stopped again assuming the can had leaked out. I don't want to put over $1000 in parts into air due to age of car. I would love to find the local Joe, around the corner auto shop that "The Auto Tech in Orlando, FL" suggested above, but there don't seem to be any local repair shops that can work on cars with the old freon. The big shops of course want to go for the big bucks and replace the work, rather than work on seals etc to get ac running . One mechanic suggested converting it to R134 then using some kit for leaks but another said absolutely not. I don't see any point in paying for an estimate to find out exactly whats wrong with it either, until I find a shop that I feel I can trust to do just what's needed and help minimize the costs.

Bought a 2000 Saturn LS1 in March, everything was fine until last month when the AC died. It started blowing hot.
We took it to Firestone in Spring, TX where they charged us $129.00 just to look at it. They gave us a call about 4-5 hours later to tell us the total cost to repair would be $1,400.00 because, In their words "You can't just replace one part in a Saturn, When one part dies, You have to replace the entire system."
I paid $2,200 for this car, Don't get me wrong, I got a great deal on the car and love it but I'll be damned if I'm paying more then half of what I paid for the car in the first place just for the AC.
I'll sell it first.

New AC compressor ($256.49), new accumulator (44.78), expansion valve (39.71), oil for unit (15.00), 2 cans 134a freon (40.00), replace 2 values (8.59). Labor was $105. Total cost $541.94.

My car was involved in an accident before I bought the vehicle.
I noticed since I bought it 2 years ago that the AC was not working right. It would be ok before Summer and sometimes when I put freon, it would work for a while. But when u drive it, u can feel the compressor was not kicking in.
I eventually took it in where Toni replaced the compressor with a brand new China-made compressor (1 yr warranty), condenser and drier (lifetime warranty). And he vacuumed the A/C system before putting in new freon. All for $850.
I initially thought the amount was high until i read how much some of you were paying.

AC wasn't working, when it got to 98 degrees outside I decided to get it fixed. Went to a local shop owned by Russians (am Russian myself), total for AC hose, pressure test, freon refill and service came out to less then what others have posted. I guess I got a good deal. Still expensive though.

i was on vac in vegas my ac went out took it to pep boy they told me a bunch of crap .that i needed a new comp,orifice tube, reciever drier, and recharge system it would cost me $3700.00 i told them who did they think i was thier mother they could bend over and screw . i took it to a small shop in utah the service tech told me i could fix the problem my self and he didnt charge me a cent .do ever trust pepboys for any of your car repairs they are crooks . I AM THANKFUL TO THE SMALLER SERVICE SHOP AND WILL NEVER SHOP AT PEP BOYS AGAIN .. THEY WOULD RIP THE PANTIES OFF THIER MAMAS ASS IF SHE LET THEM ...FOR REAL .......

Hello all,
Just to bring some light to those of you that talk like you know what you are saying and those that have been pocket raped. I am an AC tech with over 15 years of experience working in all makes and models, and not all are a pleasure to work on. Some are easy to work on, some are totally cramped and almost impossible to work on. There will be big names like pepboys, western auto and other films that with pleasure tell you "oh, the repair for your vehicle's AC is a total of $650.00 plus $385.00 for parts. This is due to the fact that an AC job could take from 15 minutes to 8 hours or more, and big companies like that will not risk to tie up a tech for that period of time when they can have him doing brakes and oil changes that he can perform in few minutes while the company gets paid the full flat rate amount for that job. The poor tech still goes home with only eight hours of work paid no matter how many labor hours he produced on that day. Very good techs can easily produce as much as 20 hours of labor in a single day. My point is, take the risk if that is what you want to call it, and go to your local Joe in the corner shop, they will must likely treat you better and most of the time will re-check your car if other problems arise with the same system for free or for a fraction of the price. Basically, you can repair your car twice or three times in the same Joe tree shade shop for what you would pay at Pepboys, dealers and big names shop. By the way, ASE certified doesn't mean, they know everything, it means the spent a couple of thousand dollars on some courses to be able to work on those big shops. I have seen ASE cerified techs that would look for spark plugs in a diesel engine.

Paid $467 to have a leak diagnosed, hose replaced and unit recharged with freon.

A rock struck the A/C condenser causing all of the R134a refrigerant to leak out to the point the safety switch won't allow the compressor to cycle on. I didn't really care about not having A/C for 08 or 09 but 2010 was really hot so I had the system leak tested at no charge (For free since I knew the guy) and damaged A/C condenser replaced as well as the receiver/drier since the system was open to oxygen and moisture. System placed on a 45 minute vacuum down to 29 inches then recharged with 1.5lbs of R134a and 4oz of oil.

Replacing compressor + compressor oil + refrigerant = $950.
When asked if the car can run without A/C compressor the mechanic told me that not for this make/model. Doesn't matter if you use it or not, without it car can't run. There is no way to bypass compressor on Honda Odyssey ;-( Thus costly repair of something that we almost never use. We live in Canada. No need for cool air :-)

someone can give a comment about the quality of compressor made in china?

HOT summer in GA, AC Compressor was shot and NOT covered by new car warranty? $2500 OTD estimate for repair. Will not do, instead selling the car.

I spent a total of 360 but not all at Nolans. He said there was a leak in the valve that you use to put in the freon. He gave us the old part and charged us 171.00. In 5 days it's blowing hot air again. I don't think that the part was bad but he has a price of $49.95 for vac and charge. I think he just made up the story about the part to justify charging me $171.00.

looked at ac and filled with freon and dye for 150. went back there's a leak where the hose connects they say it will be 500 to 1000 to fix does that sound right

Last summer 2009 we had to have the air top off and put dye to find the leak and we were told the leak was the condenser, we got that repaired 485 dollars, the following summer Aug 2010 the air begin to blow hot, we took back to the same shop, their now saying we have another leak that appears to be the compressor, they top it off and put dye in it have to take it back to find the new leak, feel like were getting played but it sucks because we live in AZ.

A/C not giving cold air. Took to Firestone, they charged $115 for Freon charge. Week later, no air. Firestone tech said there was a leak and that the charge to fix would be $2500. Spoke to Manager who confirmed. Left and took the truck to Carmax and sold it to them. Bought a new car. Its not worth the aggravation to learn the truth about what is really wrong with air conditioner. Shops see dollar signs when there is a leak.

PEP Boys did aa a/c check for $162. They told me it was the high pressure side hose and switch. They qouted $665 to replace. I asked for part# and come to find out the hose cost $72.99(99.99 at PEP Boys) and Auto Zone and Chevy Dealership had hose and the switch came with it for $113.85. So I took the part to PEP Boys to install total cost 343. If I had taken it to the Dealership at first it would have cost $300.13. Bewar PEP Boys upcharges parts and will take you if they can.

I was charged $100 just for testing at one place and they asked for $600 for repairs. Went to Alva's where they said they needed to pull my dash and replace the sensor, not sure what it's called, but it works great. Ended up paying $450.

I pulled over cause my engine bay started smelling bad, i opened the hood looked underneath it and found a hose had broken spraying green liquid all over. I look around finding it was my a/c hose. cost to buy new one was 65 plus tax. the shop wanted to do 120 just do order the part to there store. then who knows how much to install and charge it.
so i go to a friend who is a mechanic junkie, he fixes it up just fine. bought him a 6 pack + 12 bucks. total spent 82.

It is a shame to see so many people ripped off by so called auto techs. About me I installed my first ac system at age 9 or 10 after a couple years of ac classes. My father taught collage classes and I got to go with. I can not tell you how many cars I have installed and repaired in the last 35 years. First if it is not cooling well do not use it. All cars leak freon service it every two years. Many leaks can be seen but how big they are is a bit harder. Compressor seals can be replaced 1/4 the cost of a comp. If you get the feeling your mech does not know what he is doing or ripping u off find another one. Condensers very seldom go bad most cases they leak some can be repaired. Most leaks are at hoses and comp. Seal. Pressure switches go bad but most of the time it is the conector "small wires and pins. Every model cars have the same problems in gen. Honda civic's comp's, cond's and disc hose's. Chevy trucks comp's fan clutches and a/c relays , press sw. Understand the a/c is a heat exchanger to get cold you must remove the heat this is done at the condensor bugs dirt and lack of moving air are a problem. No condensing or lack of is the bigest reason of failure. It makes the high pressure go up and now stressing hoses and comp. Wash radiator and cond. With water or air do not bend the fins. Oil is importiant it is moved threw the system by the freon if it is low on freon the oil does not come back to the comp. I can go on for hours but the most importiant thing I was taught is to be honest. Do a job your proud of charge a fair price. And no one is perfect we all make mistakes. If you have questions e mail me I will do my best to get back to you .Modestoautoair at yahoo dot com

A/C compressor not starting, told new compressor and lines needed. No way was i paying what they wanted. A little research showed if the pressure is low, the compressor will never try and start. Bought a recharge kit from Canadian Tire for 30 bucks. Bought a can of "environment friendly" refridgerant for an another 12 bucks. filled the pressure back up and works like new. Done two years ago, each summer needs a new can for 12 bucks. I suspect there is a leak around or in the compressor, not worth replacing on a 98. Anyway for 12 bucks a can a year plus 30 for the line and guage, i have A/C again. This coolant is availble over the counter here becasue it has no environment damages when leaked.

A/C wasn't discharging cool air. Bought can of refridgerant with stop-leak added in can along with hose with dial indicator. Added as per instruction on dial hose indicator. Works great!

Compressor seized, burnt belts, and contaminated system with metal. Replaced compressor w/clutch, expansion valve, receiver drier, pressure switch, refrigerant, flushed system, replaced all outer drive belts, recharged with freon and oil and dye and tested.

$517 labor/$836 parts

With a free check up by the local garagy, the techician found that A/C freon is all gone and then compressor is automatically shut off because of that. In order to do a further diganostics, techincian needs to charge freon first to start up the compressor. Then he can start his diganostics further. For this freon charge alone they asked for $120.

However I was told that I can go to Autozone and get similar freon can to charge my car myself. I went there, did it and cost me $30 with can and connector. The staff at Autozone was very helpful. They usually will help you to charge freon even. Very very nice people! BTW, pls be very very careful about this charging thing. As I heard, freon may cause cancer and you never want it to spread into your eyes. Also you don't want to over charge it; otherwise the pressure will build up and damange the A/C further. The easiest way is to gradually add freon little by little and test the A/C by just seating in the car with windows closed. Obviously put your car in park position and step on you gas petal will help.
Unfortunately my A/C was working for just one day after those hustle and then back to the same situation again. Now I suspect the cause is the famous condenser rock issue after I check my condenser. You will find more victims on the web for this. Hope these notes help...

Install and parts cost 1875.00 plus tax.. I am going to do since I plan to have this car until it dies or I die.

This woman mechanic used a can of block remover and a leak sealer to shore up the problem in the AC line. She also filled me up on Freon all for $150.

We have not had the best luck this time around. We aren't sure if it's the car or the shop but first time in we paid about $200 to have the air conditioner looked at, freon replaced and dye put in to find the leak. Then they supposedly found it and fixed the whole thing for $900. Then another part went bad a few weeks later and luckily they only charged us $15 for the part. Now the Condenser the put in was defective and they cover the part but want $350 for labor just to fix it. We live in New Orleans and it's hot here so we are now wondering if we can afford another repair for survival! Does anyone else have this experience with chain shops?

price to replace air conditioner compressor that had a bad seal and leaked out the freon.
11 months earlier had to replace the part under the dash that is the cold little radiator that the fan blows on and that cost... $584.00 the part was only $100. I now have over $1300 in 11 months in repair costs for air conditioner wow... thats $100. dollars a month I need to set aside just to pay the ac shop ????????....lol...crying !!!