When does the car's AC need to be recharged?

Question

'02 Chevy Prizm, I can't tell if it's that cold of air coming out or not of the air conditioner.

Would I burn extra gas still, if having AC on, while it is not charged? or at all charged?

Thanks!

Answer 1

If the charge is low the compressor will not engage therefore it will not blow any cool air and will not burn any fuel.

Answer 2

it shouldn't have to be recharged, if in fact you do need more freon that indicates a leak and if you get it charged, it will eventually leak out again and you will be where you are right now, you need to get it to a shop let them diagnose what the problem is, and i doubt that you will find a shop that does free diagnosing unless however you get the repair done there where i work for diagnosing a/c problems is a half hour labor and a charge for how much freon is used

Answer 3

you would still use more fuel whether your a/c system were charged or not. Why, cuz your compressor would be cycling on and off.

Your first sentence was poorly written, not sure what you were trying to infer.

Good luck.

Answer 4

You should be able to tell if the air blowing is cold or not.  If it is not cold, then you could be low on freon, which indicates a leak somewhere.  

Anytime you have the AC on, you are running the compressor, which draws more power from the engine, using more gas.

Answer 5

every time one of my car's stopped blowing cold air it was not that it needed recharged it was usually something else.  02 seems a bit new to need a recharge.  It usually lasts a really long time from the manufacture.  Most auto mechanics will give you a free estimate and decent idea of what is wrong though.