How Much Does an Air Con Regas Cost?

Oh, air con. If your car has it, you’ll probably never be willing to return to a car that doesn’t. And if your car doesn’t have air con at all, well, those summer drives to the beach can get pretty unbearable. Not to mention the fact that your air conditioning is a very effective demister on cold mornings.

If you can believe it, the first air conditioned cars appeared in 1939, before being popularised in the 1950s, with over half of cars produced by 1969 being equipped with air conditioning of some sort.

While this started as the height of luxury back in 1939, air con is now a normal part of most modern vehicles. In order to work, however, the refrigerant gas that’s used to cool your cabin air needs to be periodically “regassed”, in order to continue working effectively.

Not only do petrol and diesel cars require air con regassing, both electric and hybrid cars should also have their air conditioning systems maintained and gas replaced to ensure they’re working optimally. But how much does an air con regas cost?

Air con regas prices at Kwik Fit

The cost to get your air con regassed depends on the type of gas that your specific vehicle needs. 

Most cars in the UK use one of two types of refrigerant in their air con systems – R134a and R1234yf. Refrigerant gas is what keeps the system working and your air con blowing out cold air, so if you notice it isn’t doing what it should, it’s likely that your refrigerant needs refilling. 

As a rule of thumb, vehicles manufactured before 2014 will use R134a. However, due to its negative environmental effects, it has been phased out, and vehicles manufactured after January 2017 have been using the more eco-friendly R1234yf. 

The pricing depends on which of the two refrigerants your car uses. At your local Kwik Fit centre, R134a gas starts from £74.95 to recharge, and R1234yf gas starts from £139.95 to recharge. 

To find out which type of refrigerant your car uses, you can type in your registration number on our air conditioning tool. You can also use this to book an air conditioning regas and service!

How do I know if my air con needs regassing?

While manufacturers recommend you get your air conditioning refilled every 2 years, this is generally a minimum recommendation. You may need to regas your air con sooner if you use it regularly. Importantly, air conditioning levels aren’t checked or regassed as part of an MOT test or normal vehicle service, as air con is usually more of a quality-of-life feature than a safety-critical one. It’s important to make sure that you’re keeping air con checks in mind as part of your maintenance routine.

Some key indicators that your air conditioning needs regassing are:

• Air isn’t as cold as it used to be
• The system takes longer to cool the cabin
• The air con stops working consistently
• The windscreen does not demist as effectively
• You notice unusual smells from the vents

A nice note here is that if your air con system is blowing out warm air, getting it refilled can also help you save a little bit on fuel. This is because the system won’t have to work so hard to blow cold air. However, if you have consistent issues with your air con or you find it runs out soon after regassing, it might be that there’s another problem – for example, there could be an issue with a hose or a blockage in the radiator system.

If this is the case, book in for a free air conditioning check so that one of our technicians can diagnose the problem.

Can I do an air con regas myself?

While it’s possible to do an air con regas yourself, it’s not usually recommended simply because refrigerants can be dangerous when handled improperly. You can get nasty burns from spilled refrigerant, and it can also damage car components that it’s not supposed to get into contact with.

Moreover, the cost of refrigerant as well as the equipment to undertake the task is often comparable to the cost of simply taking your car to a reputable garage, so the risks aren’t usually worth the trouble or the potential savings.

Stay cool with a Kwik Fit air con recharge

As well as running out of refrigerant, there are other reasons why your air con might not be up to scratch.

It’s possible that if your vents emit a bad odour, your car could benefit from an air con cleaning service - cleaning out any bacteria, fungi, or mould that may have built up over time. Find out more about our air con debugging service.

To ensure your air con runs as efficiently as possible, book in for a recharge service today at your local Kwik Fit centre. In the meantime, don’t forget to keep up-to-date with the latest motoring news, advice, and trends by checking out our blog.

* prices correct at time of publication