As we mentioned here, under an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandate, R-134a is phased out and R-1234YF refrigerant must be in all new cars by 2021. How does this affect Mr. Freeze Car AC Revitalizer? Well, this change is pricey. R-1234YF is extremely expensive.
In many cases it may be 8-10 times more expensive than the traditional R-134a. This is due to the fact that the gas is only produced by one manufacturer, Honeywell, as they currently hold the patent for use in A/C Systems. This will be the case until at least October of 2023 when the patent is set to expire. So from an industry perspective, expect to pay high prices for R-1234yf refrigerant for the whole 2023 summer season. Once the patent expires, prices should come down as more manufacturers will commence supply thereby lowering the overall cost.
Also, these 2 refrigerants are different.
Unlike the early to mid 90’s transition from R-12 to R-134a where we could retrofit and switch gasses in the same system, R-134a and R-1234yf are not interchangeable.
The expansion valve setting for R-1234yf refrigerant is also different compared to R-134a. Using R-134a in a R-1234yf system may result in a system with incorrect refrigerant flow and heat exchanger mal-distribution which could cause a loss of cooling performance or durability concerns. In a nut shell, you cannot mix the two refrigerants in the same system.
As a matter of law, it is also illegal to retrofit or change refrigerants in your vehicle from what it was designed for prohibited by Section 203 of the Clean Air Act.
See what you need to do to accommodate this change here.