Work order line A/C
Air conditioning and heater service for Iowa summers and winters
Leak checks, compressors, condensers, evaporators and recharges, including 1234YF, plus heater cores, thermostats and blend doors for Iowa winters.
Chapter 01
When the air stops being the right temperature
An Iowa summer does not give you a gentle warning. One hot, humid afternoon the vents blow warm air, and the drive that was fine yesterday is suddenly something to get through. The usual causes are not mysterious: a refrigerant leak, a compressor that is not turning, a worn fan belt, a condenser or expansion valve that has given out, an evaporator that is no longer doing its job, or a broken wire or switch somewhere in the circuit.
The heater side fails in its own ways, and you tend to learn about it in January. A heater core that has clogged or leaked, a thermostat stuck open, blend doors that no longer swing where the dash tells them to, a hose that has gone soft. Automatic climate control adds sensors and motors that can quit while the fan keeps running, which makes the car feel confused rather than broken.
Both systems share a lot of the same plumbing and wiring, and a symptom in one place often starts somewhere else. That is why we look at the whole system before we say what is wrong.
A car with the hood open and A/C manifold gauge hoses connected to its service ports
How we work through a climate system
On the cooling side the walk-around goes in order: check for coolant leaks, make sure the compressor is turning, check for broken wires or switches, inspect the fan belt, the condenser, and the expansion valve and evaporator. Only after that do we refill the refrigerant, because adding refrigerant to a system that leaks is just paying to watch it escape.
Newer cars use 1234YF refrigerant, and we offer a 1234YF recharge, so a recent model does not have to go elsewhere for the one step that needs the right gas. The same goes for sophisticated systems in general. If it is wired into the climate computer, we can work on it.
Heater work follows the same discipline: heater core, thermostat, blend doors, heater hoses and the automatic climate control all get their own look. Every job finishes with a road test, so you hear from the car, not just from a gauge, that the air is where it should be.
Chapter 03
Before the weather turns, and after work
The cheapest time to find a weak A/C is a mild day in spring, and the cheapest time to find a weak heater is an early fall afternoon. We would rather see the car then than on the hottest or coldest day of the year, when everyone else is calling too.
The shop is on Oakwood Drive in Urbandale, and it is built for people with day jobs. We open at 7 AM, and until 9 PM on weekdays, with Saturday hours until 6 PM. Drop the car off early, or bring it in after work. A courtesy shuttle is available, along with vehicle pickup and delivery.
A free vacation car check comes with any service, so an A/C visit before a summer trip also gets the rest of the car looked over. Call (515) 270-2096 and describe what the vents are doing. Nick Kindred at the service desk will help you find a time, and financing is available through Synchrony and Snap Finance if the repair is a big one.
Rated 4.8 from 962 Google reviews. 1234YF refrigerant recharge is available at the Oakwood Drive shop.
A morning drop-off, a 1234YF recharge
The ticket on this page is the shop’s own checklist for climate work, from the first leak check to the road test. It is the same list whether the complaint is warm air in July or a cold cabin in January.
- Where
- 5900 Oakwood Dr, Urbandale. NAPA AutoCare Center.
- When
- 7 AM to 9 PM Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 6 PM Saturday. Closed Sunday.
- Ask first
- Call (515) 270-2096. The free vacation car check comes with any service.
Other work from the same bays
- Computer diagnosticsThat check engine light, read properly: ignition timing, sensors, crank and cam position, transmission and ABS faults. Vehicle programming available.
- Maintenance and tune-upsOil changes, tune-ups, factory-recommended maintenance, timing belts, alignment and rotation, wipers, and a free vacation car check with any service.
- BrakesPads, shoes, rotors and fluid, plus ABS, traction control and electronic parking brake service, road tested before you leave.