Quick answer
Car A/C repair at Fogg’s Automotive Fleet & Service Center in Scotia, NY, minutes from Schenectady, starts with an $89–$149 performance diagnosis; refrigerant evac-and-recharge runs $150–$300, and compressor replacement typically $850–$1,600. Heat problems in a Capital Region winter often trace to the cooling system — low coolant, a stuck thermostat, or a clogged heater core.
What’s included
- Full HVAC performance diagnosis — temps, pressures, airflow
- Refrigerant leak detection (dye + electronic)
- Evacuation and recharge to factory spec (R-134a / R-1234yf)
- Compressor, condenser, and evaporator replacement
- Heater core, blower motor, and blend-door actuator repair
- Cabin air filter replacement
Signs you need this
- A/C blowing warm, or cooling weaker than last summer
- Heat blowing cold, or only warm at highway speed
- Airflow weak, or only from certain vents
- One side blows hot, the other cold
- Musty smell from the vents
- Defroster can’t keep the windshield clear
The full guide
In a climate that swings from 90°F July afternoons at the Saratoga track to below-zero January mornings on the Mohawk, climate control is not a luxury system — ask anyone whose defroster quit halfway across the Western Gateway Bridge in a February snow squall.
We service the complete HVAC system on all makes: refrigerant circuits, compressors, condensers, evaporators, heater cores, blower motors, and the blend-door actuators behind most “blows hot on one side” complaints.
Read the full guideShow less
A/C that’s merely “not as cold as it used to be” usually means refrigerant loss — and refrigerant doesn’t evaporate, it leaks.
We find the leak with dye and electronic detection, fix it, then evacuate and recharge to the gram with the correct refrigerant (R-134a or R-1234yf). Topping off a leaking system every June is paying for the same repair annually without ever getting it.
No heat is usually a cooling-system story: low coolant, a stuck-open thermostat, or a heater core clogged with sediment. It’s also a warning — the same low coolant that steals your heat can overheat your engine.
We diagnose it as one connected system, because it is one. And a defroster that can’t clear the windshield is a safety problem the New York State inspection cares about too: the inspector checks that the defroster and wipers actually work.
For fleet accounts
Fleet vans get heater output and A/C performance checked on the spring and fall PM so a driver isn’t delivering with a fogged windshield in January or a 110°F cargo area in July — and rear-A/C and refrigerated-body systems are scheduled with the body manufacturer’s specs on file.
Start a fleet accountCommon questions
Why is my A/C not blowing cold?
Nine times out of ten: low refrigerant from a leak. The right fix is finding and repairing the leak, then recharging to exact spec — not an annual top-off.
Electrical faults, a failing compressor clutch, or a blend-door problem cause the rest, which is why we diagnose before selling anything.
Why do I have no heat in my car?
Usually low coolant, a stuck thermostat, or a clogged heater core. Heat only at highway speed classically means low coolant or a weak water pump — and that same condition can overheat your engine, so don’t just live with it all winter.
What’s the musty smell from my vents?
Mold and mildew growing on the evaporator core, where condensation sits in the dark. A cabin filter change plus an evaporator treatment clears it up; a plugged evaporator drain is often the root cause and takes minutes to fix.
