How Much Does It Cost to Replace Your AC Compressor in Car?

Air conditioner compressor breaks are common vehicle faults that can cause headaches for car owners. It may take more than $1000 to solve the problem. In fact, car air conditioning system costs are the same as a home mini-split air conditioning system. One reason is that the vehicle's air conditioning system needs to be activated and adjust the temperature in the car significantly within a few minutes, so it needs to be more powerful. Here's everything you need to know about the cost of car air conditioning system compressor repairs.

Cost to Replace Car AC Compressor

The cost of vehicle repair consists of the installation time and the selling price of the replacement parts. Many people prefer to go to the second-hand market to buy old parts, but they ignore the service life of the old air conditioner compressors, most of them have been damaged, or have other minor problems, so we do not recommend this. The ac compressor replacement cost depends on the vehicle’s brand, model, and time. The new air conditioning compressor costs range from $200 to over $1,000. Labor costs to replace an AC compressor are calculated at an hourly rate. The total labor costs to repair an air conditioner compressor typically range from $200 to $500.

If the car owner wants to save money but wants to replace it with a better air-conditioning compressor, the car owner can check the model and brand of the car's air-conditioning compressor by himself, then buy it from air compressor parts online store, and then take the AC compressor to the auto repair shop. Generally, we do not recommend replacing it at home by yourself, because it requires very professional repair tools. Secondly, unprofessional behavior may cause other parts to be lost or damaged, more a loss than a gain.

How to Replace AC Compressor?

If you are experienced enough to install it yourself, please note the following suggestions:

Turn off the power: Always remove all power to the equipment before performing any work on the air conditioner system.

Removing the refrigerant - Air conditioning systems are always under high pressure so it is important to relieve the pressure by removing all the refrigerant.

Note: Recovered refrigerant must be stored in approved storage tanks and must not be vented into the atmosphere.

Cut Line - Cut the refrigerant line on the compressor and disconnect the electrical parts.

Removing the compressor – unscrew the compressor and remove it from the unit.

Install the new AC compressor - Bolt the new compressor and connect electrical connectors. The refrigerant lines must also be brazed to the compressor. When installing, it should be noted that the groove surfaces of the clutch pulley and the engine pulley are corresponding. 

Assembly – assemble the condenser unit and charge the system with recovered refrigerant.