What type of freon does a 1997 BMW 528i take?

Answer 1

Basic Answer- it should be R-134. Under the hood, usually on the support above the radiator or on the underside of the hood, should be a sticker that specifies what type of freon the car has in it. these stickers are required by manufactures.

Another way to check is to find one of the ports to the a/c system. staring off at the compressor follow the one of the lines until you find a port with a cap on it. usually these ports are up top for easier access but engineers are getting more creative on where they put them. when the cap is removed you can see what kind of connector is on the port. if it has threads like a bolt or nut, then the system has r-12 in it. if the port is smooth with a bulb on the end like a quick connect fitting, it has r-134.

The last way is to have a shop use a tester to check and verify what type of refrigerant is in the system.

R-134 officially replaced R-12 in 1994, but I'm not positive on the year when R-12 completely stopped being produced. R-12 and R-134 are not interchangeable due to different evaporation temps and the requirement of different oil. It is possible to convert an R-12 system to R-134, but the conversion requires swapping quite a few parts so be sure to have a certified shop perform a conversion.