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What do all OEMs (car manufacturers) currently use in all of their cars?
Last Updated: 09/28/2007
All OEMs use R134a and have done so in all cars beginning with model year 1995.  However, some cars prior to 1995 had factory R134a systems installed.  Many service technicians believe that R-134a is only a temporary replacement for R-12, to be used until a drop-in replacement that cools well and does not require a retrofit becomes available. Current research indicates that no such replacement refrigerant exists. The worldwide automotive industry conducted extensive research and testing on many potential substitutes for R-12 before selecting R-134a.

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