AC system maintenance
 

My 2007 CRV is the first car that I've owned that has AC. I've done all the basic work on the car myself, but I've never touched the AC system. It still blows cold and works fine. The car is approaching 100k kms and I was wondering if there's any maintenance/servicing required for the AC unit or do you only recharge it when it no longer blows cold?

Thanks

Theoretically...no maintence needed. If it stops blowing cold, it would be repairs rather than maintenance. Couple of things in regards to 07-CRV a/c "not uncommon" problems are the compressor clutch and clutch relay's. Although, fyi, the compressor clutch has had the warranty extended on that part to 7 years or 160,000 kms.

as per above .. my jeep was 10 years old before the AC system needed servicing, and that was only because I discharged the system while doing some work on the radiator.

It's a closed system -- as long as there are no leaks, it will work indefinitely. My accord is a 2003 and has not been serviced yet, AC still works great :)

is it true that it AC's require a recharge when its "chill" and not "freezing" cold?

its possible it might need a charge cause its low, not empty. But then again, that would mean it leaked out somewhere. If its one of those tiny leaks where it takes months and months to seep out to the point where the ac still turns on and is cool but not cold...then those leaks can be tough to find. Yes i know there is dye to install but its not 100%

I've seen chill, not freezing ac systems also caused by heater mix flap being stuck slightly open allowing heated air to mix into the a/c air. Nothing wrong with a/c sytem, just sticking heater flap.