Jiffy Lube - Air Conditioner Recharging?
 

Today I took my 05 Acura RL to Jiffy Lube and they pushed this "AC Recharging Service" at $119.95.

They pulled out some device to tell me the PSI is too high or too low and that I should get it done.

I passed.

Is this a legitimate service and they tried to convince $119 is a very good price.

Don't know if this adds any value, but after they were done with the service, I went back in my car and realized they put my AC at the highest level possibly to get that "psi test" to show what they wanted?

I would avoid Jiffy Lube in the future for anything.

You can get a $22.99 can of R-134a at Autozone, which will also tell you the pressure. Most likely, you don't need it though.

:run: !!!
:omg: That's 3X more than what an auto repair place would charge you for an A/C check, and probably 2X what the dealer would charge.
I bet refrigerant is not included and would be at a higher markup than other places as well.

Don't do anything with the A/C unless you think it's not working properly. :2cents:

R134A is generally on sale for around $11-15 here in SoCal, but I wouldn't mess with it unless there is a known problem with the A/C.

Um, I wouldn't take a lawn mower to Jiffy Lube, let alone an RL. :what:

$120 :what:

Like its been said, you can find the R-134a recharge kit (can + gauge) from anywhere between $20-30. Its simple to do, just need to locate the low-side port and keep an eye on the gauge. Once trained, a monkey could do it easily.

and like its also been said, I would avoid Jiffy Lube. I wouldn't even trust them with something as simple as an oil change. I would know, since I work at an auto parts store that supplies them with parts.... there have been a few instances where they somehow botch the drain plug installation/removal and they ordered universal drain plugs so that oil wouldn't leak :shakehead:

Chances are though, on such a newer car you might not even notice the difference if you recharged it.

Coincidentally I was talking to my neighbor about this very subject today. I told him to run in the opposite direction of any Jiffy Lube.

+1 on getting a recharge kit from any parts store, it's an easy DIY.

avoid their extra services, I don't think they are qualified to do a/c service and their prices are too high.

fixed

:rofl: this is true too

screw them, go to walmart or advanced auto or pep boys and get a recharge can with a guage on it (make sure it has the guage) and do it yourself, very easy

Can will cost you like $15-18

run and don't take your car there even for oil changes!!!

They put power steering fluid in the brake resevoir on my Dad's car several years back so I'm gonna say avoid them like the plague.

Stay away from Jiffy Lube.

it hasn't explicitly been stated here, but watch the pressure reading and the temperature at which you start (the ambient temperature). If you overcharge it, you will get no cooling whatsoever, and the A/C compressor will cycle on and off every two seconds with no cooling effect.

I just have to echo everyone's sentiments on Jiffy Lube (or any other Quickie Lube place like Texaco Express). They are unprofessional, untrained, and overpriced. I happily take my car to the dealership for oil changes when my mechanic cannot get to it. I had a busted oil pan on my 96 TL which they never paid for, and my family has had a long list of things done or not done correctly on their cars: No oil after an oil change, transmission fluid in the brake fluid reservoir, no coolant on a radiator flush, and the list goes on. My favorite was them forcing the wrong bolt (too big) in to the oil drain of a turbo Volvo and it of course seized. It needed a new oil pan. Make friends with a trusted mechanic, do it yourself, or take it to the dealer if you have the funds. The funniest part is they were higher than the dealership even on an oil change. Never go to the quick lube.

-Rant over

$119.95 is a reasonable price for the A/C Recharge Service IF it was really needed. Most shops charge about $150.

However, I must say that A/C recharging is NOT a DIY job. Those DIY kits are a joke. They only show you the pressure of the low-side of the system. In order to properly charge an A/C, you need to have both the low and the high side readings. The R134A systems are incredibly sensitive to the amount of refrigerant in the system and in order to charge the system with the correct amount, you really need to use a machine.

For example, the A/C on my mom's car was not working too well. Granted, it was 14 years old and it had never been recharged. I paid my mechanic $40 and he loaned me his SPX/RobinAir machine. I evacuated the system, pulled a vacuum for 15 minutes, then recharged with the exact amount of refrigerant. After a correct recharge, the vent temperature is in the low 30s even on a hot day. I doubt that I would have attained the same results with a DIY kit.

Jiffy Lube sucks giant nuts and your RL deserves better...end of story.

A couple years ago a TV show (might have been Dateline) found them swindling customers. They took a Jeep Grand Cherokee to them and asked to have the tranny flushed. With small hidden cameras they marked the transmission drain plug in such a way that it would be blatantly obvious if it had been removed.

Long story short, they never even touched the tranny fluid exchanger machine and the cameras never caught anybody working on the transmission fluid. When confronted with the evidence, the manager and even JL Corporate denied it.

JL Sucks.

I did take my car there for an oil change one time in my life and I'll never do it again. (lesson learned) I was in a hurry.

I remember talking to the service manager (the guy who rings you up basically) and while I was talking to him he looked over into the bay where my car was and gave one of the guys in there a "don't even think about it look" so I don't know if one of the guys in there was fucking with or was going to fuck with my car. Everything turned out fine but I got a really shady feeling about the place.

It also makes you wonder how they can afford to pay their employees if they aren't ripping people off. I literally had 5 guys around my car looking all around it etc. They were doing their "inspections" but damn really?