How come ac lifespan is so short on cars?

[The motor guy]

It's like 8 years on the dot I get a freon leak. Usually the evaporator on the dodge. I added a can of freon last year and that got me through the season. This year I added a small can like 12oz I think and it stayed cold for a month. The truck sat for a week, then the ac wasn't cold after that. I didn't actually fill the system up all the way. Just enough to make it nice and cold out of the vents. I don't really trust those gauges on those cans and dont want to overfill.

 

[Jetronic]

never had a freon leak on mine, but freon leaks naturally over time In any case, 1 recharge per lifetime.

But condensors are weak on some cars.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Cars move. They bounce. They shake. They have rubber hoses that have to flex to accommodate that movement, and the hoses can fail. The A/C in your house doesn't move much and has metal lines throughout. Cars also have a belt driven compressor with a moving shaft seal that can leak, but home units have all the moving parts sealed inside the compressor housing.

 

[captainbeandip]

All it needs to do is make it past the 3 year warranty. That's why.

Also, compared to your home AC, it has a much harsher environment to deal with, as well as flexible hoses and shaft seals and threaded connections with O-ring sealing surfaces (which most home systems don't have).

 

[The motor guy]

never had a freon leak on mine, but freon leaks naturally over time In any case, 1 recharge per lifetime.

But condensors are weak on some cars.

It's usually the evaporator core under the dash in my truck. Major pain to get to

 

[Silverado12]

Knock on wood my '12 Chevy truck has the original freon charge and still blowing cold a/c after 13 years. My 2000 Mustang's a/c quit after 23 years. It's hit and miss but I've had the best luck with GM for a/c of anything. I honestly don't think anything is the same quality nowadays as it was pre pandemic for some reason. There are a lot of cheap foreign parts on pretty much every new car now.

 

[97prizm]

Cars move. They bounce. They shake. They have rubber hoses that have to flex to accommodate that movement, and the hoses can fail. The A/C in your house doesn't move much and has metal lines throughout. Cars also have a belt driven compressor with a moving shaft seal that can leak, but home units have all the moving parts sealed inside the compressor housing.

It's still weird how some vehicles can practically make snow like my friends 2000 Ford Ranger. My parents 2015ish Subaru Impreza has never been super cold. They've taken it in multiple times under warranty and were told "It's within spec" by the Subaru dealer.

 

[Urshurak776]

Another knock on wood, but the 2014 Kia Rio in my sig is still blowing cold air......

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Use the AC every week if you can. This might not always be possible if it gets very cold in the winter (the compressor will only work above 32F/0C), but use it at least once a week when possible.

Running the AC regularly does a lot to preserve the system

I haven't had any problems with lifespan, but many newer AC systems are weaker than the old ones due to smaller compressors, shutting off with auto stop/start, hybrids, etc.

Get a can of freon that has UV leak dye in it, run it for awhile, then get out the black light when it's dark, and you might be able to find your leak

 

[BHopkins]

@The motor guy, when you had the leak after 8 years, did you find the leak and fix it, so the system no longer leaks? If the leak was never repaired, then it is going to continue to leak. And you are going to have to continue to refill the system.

About 30 years ago, I had a very seasoned ASME certified mechanic fix the a/c on my Suburban. He had retired from the dealership, and was now a shade tree mechanic, so he was very willing to teach any customer that wanted to learn. He vented to me a major gripe of customers that don't want to spend the money to find and repair a leak, but only want freon added. Then they are back next spring, and complain that he had not fixed their car right. When he retired and was on his own, he refused to only add freon, and would only work on an a/c system if the customer was willing to have the leak fixed.

 

[Jetronic]

It's usually the evaporator core under the dash in my truck. Major pain to get to

We had 1 vehicle with this issue at the dealership I bworked at the 2013 Mitsubishi outlander- Where they put the frost sensor on the evaporator, they developped leaks.

On hyundais it was condensors all day, every day...

 

[The motor guy]

@The motor guy, when you had the leak after 8 years, did you find the leak and fix it, so the system no longer leaks? If the leak was never repaired, then it is going to continue to leak. And you are going to have to continue to refill the system.

About 30 years ago, I had a very seasoned ASME certified mechanic fix the a/c on my Suburban. He had retired from the dealership, and was now a shade tree mechanic, so he was very willing to teach any customer that wanted to learn. He vented to me a major gripe of customers that don't want to spend the money to find and repair a leak, but only want freon added. Then they are back next spring, and complain that he had not fixed their car right. When he retired and was on his own, he refused to only add freon, and would only work on an a/c system if the customer was willing to have the leak fixed.

Yes I replaced the evaporator core and it's been fine for 8 years, but now it's leaking again. I don't know where though until someone goes over it with a leak detector

 

[nwjones18]

My Dad just sold a 1993 Crown Vic that was still rolling with its Factory R12 charge.. Would freeze you out.

 

[BHopkins]

When you get it fixed, add some of the refrigerant oil with UV dye in it. Then if you get a leak again, you can track it down yourself, with an inexpensive black light.

 

[PandaBear]

Mine lasted till I hit something, which was 16-20 years and 160k miles. I know people with 30 year working AC as well. Mid 90s Denso FTW.

 

[The motor guy]

When you get it fixed, add some of the refrigerant oil with UV dye in it. Then if you get a leak again, you can track it down yourself, with an inexpensive black light.

When you get it fixed, add some of the refrigerant oil with UV dye in it. Then if you get a leak again, you can track it down yourself, with an inexpensive black light.

Pretty sure they did that. I'm not going to spend $2200 or whatever it was I paid to have it fixed again. The truck is like 19 years old. The main question was why the systems don't last long

 

[Lubener]

It's like 8 years on the dot I get a freon leak. Usually the evaporator on the dodge. I added a can of freon last year and that got me through the season. This year I added a small can like 12oz I think and it stayed cold for a month. The truck sat for a week, then the ac wasn't cold after that. I didn't actually fill the system up all the way. Just enough to make it nice and cold out of the vents. I don't really trust those gauges on those cans and dont want to overfill.

I would bet the condenser is what is leaking. It has the harshest environment in which to operate.

 

[JTK]

All the components associated with the vehicle's HVAC system are built lighter, flimsier and more compact is the main reason.

Refrigerants are getting ridiculous as well as they're all R1234YF now. Nothing special other than the high cost. DuPont's Freon hasn't been a thing for probably 30yrs.

 

[The motor guy]

I would bet the condenser is what is leaking. It has the harshest environment in which to operate.

Probably. It's the only thing not replaced in 19 years

 

[mr_boring]

All the components associated with the vehicle's HVAC system are built lighter, flimsier and more compact is the main reason.

Refrigerants are getting ridiculous as well as they're all R1234YF now. Nothing special other than the high cost. DuPont's Freon hasn't been a thing for probably 30yrs.

My 2018 F150 has never really blown cold. I stuck a gauge on it last year and it was a few PSI low, but I really didn't want to spend 50 bucks on a can of the Y1234 stuff, I was pricing batteries and got on of those 20% off coupons so I broke down and bought one. It struggled to keep up on the first day it hit 85 outside and was only blowing about 58f out of the vents. I added about $20 bucks worth of Y1234, she's down to 44-45f out of the vents.

The dang seal didn't seal up on the Y1234 and I lost the other ~1/2 can. Not amused. I don't think it's leaking, it was probably low from the factory (I bought it with ~20k on it)