Air Con Re-gas in Brixham

Brixham is a working fishing port with a busy harbour, steep hills and a lot of holiday traffic in summer. That is exactly when a weak air con system gets noticed, usually while crawling up a hill behind a queue of visitors.

At Automaster, an independent garage at Longcombe Cross near Totnes, we handle air con re-gas for all makes and models of petrol and diesel vehicles. You will find a plain price list below: from £50 for R134a and from £99 for R1234yf.

Is my Brixham car's air con losing gas?

The usual signs are air that is not cold, a system that is slow to cool, a musty smell, or a noisy compressor. Gas escapes slowly over the years, so many drivers only notice when the first warm day arrives.

If any of those sound familiar, a re-gas is the sensible next step, and the leak check tells you if the system is holding.

Harbour towns are hard on cars in summer, with slow traffic, stop-start hills and plenty of heat. A system that cools properly makes those crawls far more bearable.

• Air not cold
• Slow to cool
• Musty smell
• Compressor noise

What does a re-gas involve, step by step?

Step one is removing the old gas. Step two is vacuuming the system and checking it for leaks. Step three adds oil and dye, and step four puts in new gas and checks the temperature.

Because the vacuum and leak check comes before any new gas, a badly leaking system is spotted early rather than topped up and forgotten. A re-gas on a badly leaking system will not last.

Each of those four stages matters. Taking out the old gas first means the system starts from a clean position, and the dye added later is there to help show leaks.

R134a or R1234yf: how do I find out?

R134a is the older refrigerant. R1234yf is the newer gas fitted to more recent cars, typically from around 2017 onward, but check yours. Look for the label under the bonnet or read the handbook.

The two are not interchangeable, so it is worth knowing before you ask for a price. R134a re-gas is from £50 for R134a, from £99 for R1234yf.

If you are unsure, bring the car or ask for a quote and we can help you work out which gas it takes before anything is done.

Can I wait while it is done?

For R134a cars, yes. No booking is needed, just turn up and it is a while-you-wait service. That is handy if you have just pulled out of the harbour car parks and noticed the vents blowing warm.

For R1234yf, call the quote line or fill in the quote form to get started.

Where do Brixham drivers bring their cars?

To us at Longcombe Cross near Totnes. We see drivers from Brixham, Churston, Paignton, Dartmouth and the wider Torbay area, as well as from the countryside around us.

Running the air con regularly all year, including through winter, helps keep the system healthy between services.

A short note on upkeep: running the system every week or so, even when it is cold, keeps things moving inside it.