Car air conditioning not cooling on the Gold Coast

Gold Coast summers are hard on air-con. Heat, stop-start traffic and stone chips through the condenser in front of the radiator are why so many cars blow warm air in January. A regas is often the fix — but not always. If the system has a leak, more gas is a waste of money.

Symptoms worth booking

• Air that starts cold then warms up on the highway.
• A sweet or solvent smell when the AC is on.
• The compressor clutch not engaging (no click when you press A/C).
• Fogging that will not clear.

Regas versus repair

We recover what is left, weigh it, vacuum-test the system, then recharge to the manufacturer’s spec. A straightforward passenger-car regas starts from $110. If the vacuum test will not hold, we find the leak — often a condenser, O-ring or evaporator — and quote the repair before adding gas.

Cabin filters are a separate, cheaper item. A blocked filter will not stop the system getting cold, but it will make the fan noisy and the windscreen fog. We check it while the car is in.