How do I know if I need to Replace My AC Compressor?

“How do I know if I need to Replace My AC Compressor?” Welcome to Mercie J Auto Care, Where Compassion and Craftsmanship Come Together. I'm Rick Smith, ASE Certified Master Technician. The compressor is the heart of the air conditioning system, and therefore is not pleasant on the pocket book. Depending on the type of car you have you can expect to spend somewhere between $700.00 and $1500.00 on a proper quality compressor job. There are a few things that should be done with it. The drier should be replaced, which also contains a filter for the system. The system should be flushed. Some technicians would disagree with me and say you can’t flush the system and need to replace the condenser. All I can say is that I have flushed hundreds of systems with great success. We also have to make sure we put the correct amount of oil in the system and precisely the right amount of refrigerant (aka freon). This would also be a good time to replace the cabin air filter.