The AC on my 1998 Toyota RAV 4 (all-wheel drive) has stopped working. I've never had it re-charged & I've owned the car since it was new. I've never noticed any refrigerant on the ground but I've never had to deal w/this kind of problem before. Would a nine year old automotive AC system just lose it's refrigerant over the course of a season (last time it was used was last summer) or could it be a more serious problem? Also, what would be a reasonable re-charge price if that's the problem? I work on my own car but I think this is a job for a shop that has the equipment & know-how. Thanks DAS

 

The refrigerant would leak out as a gas and you wouldn't see a puddling on the ground. There is a lubricant in the system, that you may see at a leak point.

Once the loss has reached a point the cutoff switch keeps the compressor from activating. That is more to protect the compressor from running without the lubricant which rides with the gas through the system.

A shop would typically check and find the leak, repair it, vacuum down the system to remove old refrigerant, and replace the oil and refrigerant. If you ran into that it could cost a fair amount.

In the event you didn't have damage that caused the leak (like a bullet headed June-bug going through the condenser), it would be much less. Sometimes over the course of a couple years the o rings at sealing points may shrink and allow some gas to escape.

I would look over the system for any of the telltale oil spots at connections.

If you find none, I'd get a couple cans of R134 and a small one of oil at the local Autozone, read the directions carefully and put it in to see I couldn't get a couple more years out of it. I being somewhat cheap myself.

Hope this helps,

Bob