[BrendanP]

I had the air-con of my 2015 i30 re-gassed in July 2021, when it was 5 1/2 years old, and I've just had it done again, now my car is 10 years old. It has the newer R1234yf refrigerant. Is this typical of how long it should last?

In contrast, my previous 2011 FD had the old refrigerant and I had it re-gassed just before the 5-year warranty ran out, but that was because the condenser had a leak. It was still working fine 9 years and 200,000 miles later. For most of that time it belonged to my partner who tended not to have the air-con switched on, whereas I usually have it on all year round. Would actually running the air-con make any difference to how quickly the refrigerant is depleted?