How much refrigerant is in your car’s air con?

A passenger car has a few hundred grams of refrigerant in its air con. Refrigerant is the gas that carries heat out of the car in a closed circuit. The manufacturer sets the amount for each model and each version. So two cars of the same make can need different amounts.

The examples below come from Kia owner’s manuals. They show how large the differences are, even within one model.

Source: Kia owner’s manuals. The EV6 manual is the edition for India, with one version on R134a and one on R1234yf. In Europe, new cars usually have R1234yf, sometimes R744. For your own car, only the sticker under the bonnet counts.

Three things stand out. In this example a car with a heat pump needs 100 grams more refrigerant, because the heat pump uses the same circuit with extra pipes and valves. The R1234yf version needs 50 grams less than the R134a version. And the tolerance is 25 grams in every case. At 450 grams that is about 6%, at 850 grams about 3%. That shows how accurate the fill has to be.

The refrigerant capacity is on a sticker on the inside of the bonnet. Kia writes in its manual that this label also shows which refrigerant your car uses. On other makes the sticker is often in the same place, or near the bonnet catch or the radiator. This is how to read it:

1. Open the bonnet and look for a sticker with the text R-134a or R-1234yf, often with a warning symbol.
2. Read the type of refrigerant. R-134a is mainly found in older cars, R-1234yf in most cars from 2017 onwards.
3. Read the amount. It is given in grams (g) or kilograms (kg), often with a tolerance, for example 550 ± 25 g or 0.55 ± 0.025 kg.
4. Look at the oil. The sticker often also shows the type of compressor oil, for example PAG or POE, sometimes with the amount.
5. No sticker, or you cannot read it? Call us with your registration number. We will look up the details for you.

The Dutch registration certificate (kentekenbewijs) does not show the refrigerant. Not sure which refrigerant your car has? Read R134a or R1234yf: which refrigerant does your car use.

A technician fills the air con by weight, because the pressure in the system tells you little about the amount. When the air con is switched off, the refrigerant is partly liquid and partly gas. The pressure then depends mainly on the temperature and hardly on the amount. On a warm day the pressure in a half-empty system is higher than in a full system on a cold day.

A DIY recharge kit with a small gauge on the can only measures that pressure. So it cannot tell you how much refrigerant is already in the system. An air con service machine in the workshop recovers the old refrigerant and weighs it. It then puts the specified amount back in, measured on a set of scales.

A little compressor oil comes out with the old refrigerant. The technician replaces that amount with the oil the manufacturer specifies. An electric compressor needs oil that insulates against electricity, usually POE oil. The manufacturer decides which oil is used.

Too little and too much refrigerant are both bad for the air con. Kia writes in its manual that too little refrigerant reduces the cooling capacity, and that too much also has a negative effect on how the system works.

Sources: Kia owner’s manual (cooling capacity and negative effects) and the ANWB (lubrication through the refrigerant). The other points are workshop knowledge.

The ANWB (the Dutch motoring organisation) writes that the circulation of the refrigerant also lubricates the compressor, and that an air con that runs dry will break down. Is your air con cooling less well? Read car air con not cold or blowing warm air. Has it stopped working altogether? Read car air con not working.

According to MAHLE, an air con system can lose up to 10% of its refrigerant a year. A small loss through hoses and seals is normal, even when there is no real leak.

An example: with 500 grams, 10% is 50 grams in the first year. If it carries on like that every year, about a third can be gone after four years. That is an upper limit. In many cars the loss is slower.

According to the ANWB, the refrigerant needs topping up on average once every 4 to 6 years. So have the air con checked every year. If it cools less well, an air con service is needed. Which maintenance is due when is set out in our car air con maintenance schedule (in Dutch).

The price of an air con service depends on the amount, because the refrigerant itself is a large part of the cost, especially with R1234yf. A car that needs 850 grams gets more refrigerant than a car that needs 450 grams. That is why garages often quote a starting price.

If you compare prices, ask whether the price covers the full refrigerant capacity of your car. Also ask whether recovering, vacuuming and checking that the system is sealed are included. With us we tell you in advance what the air con service costs for your car, based on its registration number. What happens during the service is explained on our page about an air con regas in Rotterdam.

In our workshop in Rotterdam-IJsselmonde, an air con service goes like this:

1. We use your registration number to look up the refrigerant, the capacity and the oil, and we check these details against the sticker.
2. The air con service machine recovers the refrigerant and weighs it. The difference from the specified amount shows how much has been lost.
3. We put the system under vacuum. That removes air and moisture. At the same time we see whether the system holds the vacuum.
4. If the system holds the vacuum, we add the oil and the specified amount of refrigerant by weight.
5. We check how the system works by measuring the pressures and the temperature of the air from the vents.
6. If the system does not hold the vacuum, we do not top it up blindly. We first look for the leak with a nitrogen test and UV dye where needed. We tell you in advance what the repair costs, and we only carry out repairs once you have agreed.

Our technicians hold an F-gas certificate for R134a and R1234yf. Does your car use R744 (CO2)? Then call us first with your registration number. Everything about our air con service and repairs is on our page about car air conditioning in Rotterdam.

No. You cannot see it from the outside, and a pressure gauge tells you little about the amount. Only when an air con service machine recovers and weighs the refrigerant do you know how much was left. Also read can you top up your car air con yourself with a DIY kit.

That differs from model to model, and a heat pump usually needs more. The Kia EV6 manual lists 750 grams of R1234yf without a heat pump and 850 grams with a heat pump. Read more about the air con in a hybrid or electric car (in Dutch).

Much less than refrigerant. In the examples from the Kia manuals it is 120 grams of PAG oil in one model and 180 grams of POE oil in the EV6. The type of oil matters as much as the amount.

Then we look up the refrigerant capacity using the registration number or the chassis number (VIN). This can happen after the bonnet has been replaced, for example. We do not fill by feel.

No, not straight away. You often only notice a small shortage on a hot day or in traffic. That is why the ANWB advises having the air con checked every year.

No. Within the manufacturer’s tolerance, 25 grams in the Kia examples, the air con works as intended. If the amount is outside that range, the cooling drops or the pressure rises.

Yes. The refrigerant is a large part of the price, especially with R1234yf. With us we tell you in advance what the air con service costs for your car, based on its registration number. What repairs cost is explained in how much does a car air con repair cost.

• Kia: EV6 Manual: Air conditioning system (refrigerant and compressor lubricant)
• Kia: Owner’s manual 2026: Air conditioning system (specifications)
• Kia: Owner’s manual: Checking the amount of refrigerant and compressor lubricant
• MAHLE Aftermarket: AC-check flyer: refrigerant loss of up to 10% a year (in Dutch)
• ANWB: Airco en onderhoud (in Dutch, consulted November 2026)