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EPA Advises Car Owners to Keep Their Air Conditioners in Good Working Order this Summer

Release Date: 8/12/1998
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

        The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is urging consumers to make sure that their vehicles' air-conditioning systems are working properly.

        A marginally operating air-conditioning system is likely to fail in hot weather. Before a vacation starts, drivers should make sure the compressor belt and air-conditioning system hoses are in good shape.

        Owners of vehicles with low levels of refrigerant have two options. A motorist can ask his technician to "top-off" the system with refrigerant, or charge more refrigerant into the system without repairing any leaks. Although this will avoid paying for leak repair, the added refrigerant will likely leak out again. Some states and local governments do not allow topping-off.

        A better option is to have any leaks repaired before charging new refrigerant into the system. Repairing leaks may be cheaper in the long run than charging refrigerant into a leaking system again and again.

        Older vehicles were designed to use CFC-12, also known as R-12 or by the brand name Freon. This chemical depletes the earth's protective upper ozone layer, contributing to increased incidences of skin cancer and cataracts. To protect the stratospheric ozone layer, newer vehicles are designed to use the refrigerant R-134a.

        EPA recommends that owners of older vehicles consider converting their air-conditioning systems to use an R-12 substitute. The Agency has approved R-134a and several other refrigerants as substitutes in vehicles that were originally equipped for R-12 use. All of these refrigerants are less expensive than R-12, so converting may save money.

        Owners should be sure that only refrigerants approved by EPA are used in vehicle air-conditioning systems. Any flammable substance, such as propane or butane, is not acceptable. Additionally, two refrigerants which are being marketed for automotive use, HC-12a and Duracool 12a, are not acceptable for use as R-12 substitutes in vehicles because of unanswered questions about their flammability.

        For more information on vehicle air-conditioning conversions, CF C-12, or ways to protect the earth's ozone layer, consumers can contact EPA's Ozone Hotline at 1-800-296-1996 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST, or visit the Agency's vehicle air conditioning web site at www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/609.