What does this cost in your state?
California is the costliest state and Arkansas the cheapest; each square shows that state's midpoint of the estimate.
Lower-cost states ($284)MiddleHigher-cost states ($362)
What it shows: CA is the highest at $362 and AR the lowest at $284, across 51 states.
Counts below are complaints filed with NHTSA, not failure rates: a longer bar means more owners reported it.
Is your car affected?
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is 50,000-100,000 (55%), against 29% for all complaints: the biggest difference between the two.
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is 3-5 years (54%), against 35% for all complaints: the biggest difference between the two.
Is it urgent, and what do owners notice first?
219 owner complaints name this part.
Owners say the dealer could not fix or repeat the problem. If it comes back after a repair, ask what was tested before you pay again.
Which other parts do owners name in the same complaint?
Among the 219 owner complaints naming this part, car AC condenser is named in 35% of them, more than any other part.
Other parts named in the same complaints. Car AC condenser: 35%; Car AC compressor: 25%.
Owners name the car ac condenser most often in the same complaint, which is not proof that one caused the other. Ask the shop whether it checked the car ac condenser too, so you are not quoted twice for one visit.
How fast were owners driving when it happened?
55 mph or faster leads at 51%.
Owners reported it most often at highway speed. Tell the shop what speed it happens at, because that narrows the diagnosis.
How serious did it get for owners?
Among the 219 owner complaints naming this part, injury is the outcome owners report most often.
Outcomes owners reported in complaints about this part. Injury reported: 6; Fire reported: 1.
Which model years show up most in the complaints?
Among the 219 owner complaints naming this part that state a model year, complaints cluster in a few model years instead of spreading evenly.
What it shows: 2016 is the largest at 44 (20%); the smallest shown is 2025 at 2 (1%).
When in the year do owners report it?
NHTSA owner complaints about this part run furthest above the usual seasonal share in June: about 153% more of them name an incident that month than complaints about any part would predict. A complaint is a report, not a measured failure.
What it shows: June is the largest at 23% (all: 9%), followed by January at 5% (all: 9%); the smallest shown is November at 2% (all: 7%).
Which refrigerant does my car use, and why does the recharge price differ?
EPA lists R-134a at a global warming potential of 1,430 and R-1234yf at 4, and cars switched from R-134a to R-1234yf starting in 2012, with the AIM Act capping new light-duty cars at a GWP of 150 from model year 2025 while existing cars can still be serviced with R-134a.
What it shows: CFC-12 (R-12) is the largest at 10,900, followed by HFC-134a (R-134a) at 1,430; the smallest shown is HFO-1234yf (R-1234yf) at 4.
Has the maker published a fix?
A bulletin is a repair procedure a maker sends its dealers, not a safety defect: if your maker is listed, ask the dealer whether one covers your car and quote its number.
| Maker | Vehicles | Bulletin number | Date | What it says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeep | Cherokee 2026 | 24-001-26 | Mar 6, 2026 | Refrigerant Leak At Temp And Pressure Sensor Seal Customers may experience the following: SYMPTOM: Loss of air conditioning over time. |
| Land Rover | Range Rover Sport 2024; Range Rover 2024 | MRC_OCT2024_49 | Oct 15, 2024 | Air-conditioning (A/C) system has been charged with the incorrect amount A/C refrigerant. |
| Land Rover | Range Rover 2024; Range Rover Sport 2024 | MRC_SEP2024_44 | Sep 17, 2024 | A potential concern has been identified on certain vehicles, where the Air-conditioning (A/C) system has been charged with the incorrect amount A/C refrigerant. |
| Jeep | Wrangler 2019–2021; Cherokee 2019–2021 and 6 more | S2124000004 | Mar 16, 2021 | A/C does not cool and vehicle is low on Freon charge but no leak is found with sniffer or black light anywhere. |
| Volkswagen | Touareg 2015–2017; Passat 2015–2021 and 17 more | V8720022061094-1 | Oct 29, 2020 | Using Nitrogen to assist in finding A/C refrigerant leaks. |
| Volvo | XC40 2021 | TJ35672.1.1-2020 | Sep 16, 2020 | This is a Technical Journal: XC40 BEV: A/C Refrigerant Charging Equipment (information. |
19 more bulletins name this part; the car finder at the top checks yours, and the NHTSA bulletin file linked below lists them all.
What do owners say?
4 complaints quoted word for word, each with its NHTSA number.
I had it diagnosed by Hoselton Fairport NY last Tuesday, they wanted $400 just to touch my AC to start the diagnosis and to put a $40 can of Freon in it.
Over near the base an Autozone employee told me I needed AC refrigerant, so I got the $155 since the CRV is 2018.
FYI, the GM dealer quoted more than $600 for the freon.
Dealer service finally diagnosed AC refrigerant leak through evaporator on a vehicle less than 40,000 miles and just over 4 years.
Check your car
A car AC recharge costs $218–$436 at the calculator's default setting: R-134a refrigerant at a shop charging $120 an hour. Refrigerant type moves the price most, then the shop's hourly rate, then whether a leak test is added.
What does the recharge price cover?
The estimate is refrigerant, recovery of what is left in the system, and labor. It assumes the system is sealed and only low. It does not cover a repair: a leaking hose, seal or part is a separate line on the quote.
Our default midpoint sits inside that range; switch the refrigerant input to R-1234yf and the estimate moves above it.
How much does each choice change the price?
Each row changes one input from the default and leaves the rest alone.
| Calculator input | Estimate |
|---|---|
| R-1234yf refrigerant (most vehicles 2015 and newer) | $354–$709 |
| Leak test added (recommended if the charge was lost fast) | $286–$572 |
| Independent shop (about $100 an hour) | $204–$409 |
| Dealership (about $175 an hour) | $256–$511 |
The refrigerant row is the widest gap. Check the sticker under the hood or your owner's manual for the type before you call anyone.
Is the recharge really the problem?
Warm air from the vents is the usual sign, but a refill only helps if the system is low and nothing else has failed. A clogged cabin air filter can also weaken airflow, so check that first. A compressor clutch that never clicks on, or oily residue at a fitting, points to a fault a recharge will not fix.
Urgency is low in most cases. You lose comfort and defrost performance, not braking or steering. Running a system low for a long time can strain the compressor, so do not leave it all season.
How do I get a fair quote?
Ask three things. Which refrigerant does my car use? Is the quote for a full recovery and recharge to the factory weight? Does it include a leak check, and what happens if one is found?
A shop that recovers the old charge and refills by weight can tell you how much was missing. That number tells you how fast the system is losing refrigerant. A shop that quotes a flat price for topping up with a can cannot.
What does the estimate leave out?
- Parts for any leak repair
- Replacement of a failed compressor or other component
- A diagnostic fee some shops charge before they touch the system
- Your state's price level: the state card above shows how the default moves by state
If the shop finds a leak, ask for the repair priced as its own line so you can compare it before you approve it.
Sources
Data shown on this page
- NHTSA owner complaint file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA service bulletin file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- CalcScrape calculator model scaled by BEA Regional Price Parities data from 2024
- U.S. EPA: Acceptable Refrigerants and their Impacts; Technology Transitions HFC Restrictions by Sector (AIM Act) data from 2025
Terms: US government data, public domain.
Observed: records as filed; owner reports are unverified and are not failure rates. Modeled: our estimate, not a quote. Rule: a published legal rule, not a measurement; whether it covers a given repair depends on the car and the facts.
What is our own estimate
The price range comes from our calculator's formula. Its parts prices, labor hours per job and shop-rate tiers are CalcScrape estimates, not a published price dataset. Checked against RepairPal's range ($285–$369) on 2026-10-06: our default's midpoint is 0% above the middle of that range. Methodology