What We Do

Let the service professionals at Bowie Auto Clinic handle your automobile heating and air conditioning problems and routine maintenance

Your car’s engine is the power source for both heating and air conditioning systems. They also share other components.

Heat is a byproduct of the engine’s combustion process. The coolant in the radiator absorbs the heat. It is then circulated through the heater core before returning to the radiator. The heating system also includes, air ducts, temperature and duct controls, and a blower motor and fan.

The air conditioning system shares air ducts, controls, and blower with the heater, but has its own refrigerant system. The system is composed of: a compressor, condenser, receiver/dryer, orifice tube or expansion valve, and evaporator core.

Automobile AC systems have components that require regular checks to avoid drying out and cracking. The heater also needs regular check-ups to make sure there are no leaky valves or blockages.

The Coolant System Maintenance

The radiator is the core of your vehicle’s cooling system. The radiator must be clean, leak free, filled with coolant, and clear of blockages.

• The system does not operate to the temperature set

Coolant that is not maintained becomes acidic over time and degrades the internals of your cooling system. This deterioration results in the structural break-down of hoses, gaskets, and belts. Degraded coolant can also lead to premature water pump failure brought on by deteriorated seals. This means the leaky gasket or hose that you fix today might be the weakest of many weak points in your cooling system. Fixing these one-off leaks could just be a short term solution for a much larger problem. The good news is these issues can be avoided by performing coolant flushes at the intervals recommended by your vehicle’s manufacturer.

Air Conditioning Service and Repair

There are two types of services we provide:

A/C Diagnostics & Repair

If you are having of the problems listed above, come and let a Bowie Auto Clinic service professional check it out for you. To evaluate the problem, we:

• Perform a visual inspection of A/C components
• Do performance tests, including:
  • System “state of charge” test and
  • System control test
• Perform a leak test using approved electronic leak detector
  • If a slow leak cannot be detected, a dye detection service may need to be performed for confirmation

A/C Retrofit

Our A/C Retrofit service may be needed for vehicles made before 1993, which require costly refrigerant for air conditioning. This service includes:

• Visual inspection of A/C components
• System conversion to modern refrigerant
• If conversion cannot be performed, installation of new compressor may be necessary

If you are having a problem, let the service professionals at Bowie Auto Clinic diagnose it and fix it. Let us perform regular maintenance on your heating and air conditioning system to make sure it is working at peak condition, to keep you comfortable during any weather.