Vehicle Air Conditioning is evolving

The air conditioning system in your vehicle is essential for driver comfort particularly in the summer months and also plays an essential part in demisting the windows when things get cold.

Legacy vehicles up to the year 1994 shipped with a refrigerant gas known as R12 (Freon 12), however R12 was a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) which when released into the atmosphere severely depleted the ozone layer prompting Land Rover, along with many other marques, to switch over to R134a in the 1990s, which was a more ozone friendly solution. There has been a complete ban on the manufacture of R12 since 2001.

Because of this most vehicles running today have air conditioning systems using R134a, however this gas has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) of 1430 which whilst better than R12, still creates high levels of greenhouse gas emissions that if released into the atmosphere would take many months to break down.

With pressure to prevent climate change, the focus on the impact of refrigerants on the environment demanded a solution for a gas that could provide effective cooling but with a considerably lower global warming impact.

As a result a new refrigerant has been developed called R1234yf which has a GWP of only 4. This new gas is completely non toxic and were it ever to escape into the atmosphere it would break down in a matter of hours. The only downside to this is that it is considerably more expensive to produce and new specialist equipment is required to dispense it.

At K Motors we have invested in the latest automotive air conditioning equipment for both the R134a and R1234yf refrigerants enabling us to service and refill the air con systems of Land Rover vehicles all the way back to 1994.

When servicing a Land Rover’s air conditioning system, we start by removing all existing refrigerant from the vehicle. We then pressure test the system to make sure that when filled with new gas it does not escape through any obvious holes (please be aware that even if the system passes the pressure test it does not guarantee 100% that the system is air tight, for example if there is a tiny pin hole in a pipe somewhere then the gas can still escape over a period of time).

Once the system has been tested a special oil is forced into the system to keep all moving parts lubricated. Then the refrigerant that was taken out is filtered and all the impurities are removed making it as good as new, it is then put back into the system and topped up with fresh gas to capacity.

With pressure to prevent climate change, the focus on the impact of refrigerants on the environment demanded a solution for a gas that could provide effective cooling but with a considerably lower global warming impact.

As a result a new refrigerant has been developed called R1234yf which has a GWP of only 4. This new gas is completely non toxic and were it ever to escape into the atmosphere it would break down in a matter of hours. The only downside to this is that it is considerably more expensive to produce and new specialist equipment is required to dispense it.

Here at K Motors we have invested in the latest automotive air conditioning equipment for both the R134a and R1234yf refrigerants enabling us to service and refill the air con systems of Land Rover vehicles all the way back to 1994.

When servicing a Land Rovers air conditioning system, we start by removing all existing refrigerant from the vehicle. We then pressure test the system to make sure that when filled with new gas it does not escape through any obvious holes (please be aware that even if the system passes the pressure test it does not guarantee 100% that the system is air tight, for example if there is a tiny pin hole in a pipe somewhere then the gas can still escape over a period of time).

Once the system has been tested a special oil is forced into the system to keep all moving parts lubricated. Then the refrigerant that was taken out is filtered and all the impurities are removed making it as good as new, it is then put back into the system and topped up with fresh gas to capacity.

Air Conditioning system regas

£60 inc VAT*

Air Conditioning System test, service and recharge R134a Refrigerant

*Topping up the R134a refrigerant costs an extra 6p per gram used.

£90 inc VAT*

Air Conditioning System test, service and recharge R1234yf Refrigerant

*Topping up the R1234yf refrigerant costs an extra 18p per gram used.

Which refrigerant does your Land Rover vehicle use?

ModelRefrigerant
Defender / Ninety & One Ten (1984-05/1994)R12 (Freon)
Defender (06/1994-2016)R134a
New Defender (L663) (2020 On)R1234yf
Discovery 1 (1989-08/1994)R12 (Freon)
Discovery 1 (09/1994-1998)R134a
Discovery 2 (1998-2004)R134a
Discovery 3 (2005-2009)R134a
Discovery 4 (2010-2016)R134a
Discovery 5 (2017 On)R1234yf
Discovery Sport (2015 On)R1234yf
Freelander 1 (1996-2006)R134a
Freelander 2 (2006-2014)R134a
Range Rover Evoque L538 (MY2011)R134a
Range Rover Evoque L538 (2012-2018)R1234yf
Range Rover Evoque L551 (2019 On)R1234yf
Range Rover Velar (2017 On)R1234yf
Range Rover Sport L320 (2005-2013)R134a
Range Rover Sport L494 (2014-2022)R1234yf
Range Rover Sport L461 (2022 On)R1234yf
Range Rover Classic (1984-08/1994)R12 (Freon)
Range Rover Classic (09/1994-1995)R134a
Range Rover P38 (1994-2001)R134a
Range Rover L322 (2002-2012)R134a
Range Rover L405 (2013-2022)R1234yf
Range Rover L460 (2022 On)R1234yf

Which refrigerant does your Jaguar vehicle use?

ModelRefrigerant
S-Type (1999-2007)R134a
XF (X250) (2008-2012)R134a
XF (X250) (2013-2015)R1234yf
XJS (09/1993-1997)R134a
XJ40 (Models up to 1993)R12 (Freon)
XJ X300 (1994-1997)R134a
XJ X308 (1997-2003)R134a
XJ X350 (2003-2007)R134a
XJ X358 (2007-2009)R134a
XJ X351 (2010-2012)R134a
XJ X351 (2013-2019)R1234yf
XK X100 (10/1996-2006)R134a
XK X150 (2006-2012)R134a
XK X150 (2013-2014)R1234yf
X-Type (2002-2009)R134a
E-Pace (2017 On)R1232yf
F-Pace (2016 On)R1234yf
F-Type (2014 On)R1234yf
I-Pace (2018 On)R1234yf
XE (2015 On)R1234yf
XF (X260) (2015 On)R1234yf

For further information or advice on your vehicle’s air conditioning system

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