Air conditing blowing hot air?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Hello,



I got a 2001 Nissan Xterra. It’s gettin hot out there and my AC is blowing air, but it is not cold. Someone mentioned something abot Frion to me but I have no idea. Anybody got any clues on how much this is gonna run me?



Thank you!

2

The problem might be caused from low refrigerant in the system. Take it to an AC shop and they’ll connect a set of gauges to the system to check the state of charge of refrigerant.

Tester

3

Tester has it right. Remember he did say A/C shop. Don’t bother with the dealer or the local independent mechanic. You best bet is a real A/C shop. Note up north most of them do Radiators in the winter and A/C in the summer.

You may have a very slow leak, which few people would spend worry about and would just re-charge the refrigerant.  If it is a less slow leak, have it fixed so you won't be going back in the fall or next summer.
4

You likely have some lossof integrity in the sealed pressurized AC system. It may be just a slow leak, however, leaks allow detrimental gases into the environment. A real A/C shop should be used, as they have sniffers to detect where the leak is (a lot more sensitive than the dye method used by some). Repair the leak properly, replace the required components like the accumulator/dryer (really not too expensive), vacuum out the system to remove moisture and then after assuring that the system is properly evacuated, dried, etc. then charging is appropriate. I would not simply refill a slow leak with more refrigerant (there are also issues with having the proper amount of oil in the system when this is done). No shorcuts if you want top performance.