I know it depends on how much refrigerant they use, but does anyone know what it would cost to get an '04 A/C charged?

 

Hourly rate plus materials etc..

Call you dealer and ask...

Steve

 

its REALLY easy to do it yourself. Its easier than changing your oil. But if you have to recharge it there must be a leak somewhere.

 

if it needs to be charged...you have other problems. refrigerant doesnt just dissapear it would have to have a leak or you could have a compressor failure of some sort. can you see your a/c clutch kick in on your compressor? if the refrigerant level is low it will not kick in also which can fool you. your a/c condensor may also just be dirty or full of bugs.(its the first radiator and is very exposed)

 

About an hour and a half labor and whatever the refrigerant costs.

And yes, adding refrigerant is easy to do...it's also easy to overcharge the system yourself, and too much refrigerant will cool about as well as no refrigerant.

 

ANY real Auto AC shop should be able to Evacuate and Recharge your AC system in 30 minutes or less, assuming the system is closed and has real positive pressure.
The 32 oz or so of R134a should be about $40, the labor about $35 for a total near $75.

 

Wow. That's a deal.

Want to know what it costs in BC? Minimum for 3 local shops I got was $150 plus taxes. What a roast. I won't even tell you what Ford charges.

 

The only way to charge it properly is to recover what's in it, pull it into a vacuum, wait awhile to see it holds and then re-charge with the proper amount of freon. That takes time and time is money in a shop.

If you bring it in because it's empty and a repair hadn't been made then they must look for a leak before charging it. If no leaks are found then they have to pull it into a vacuum, wait a few minutes then re-charge. That can take more time.

With R134a gone are the days where you just put some in and watch a sight glass for bubbles to disappear. The only way to know you have a proper charge is to start with an empty system and re-charge with the exact weight the specs call for.
I know a lot of people just buy the little re-charge cans and shoot some in and if it works for you then more power to you. I'm just explaining why shops charge what they do for a proper job.