# HFO-1234yf - New Automotive Air Conditioning Refrigerant

**URL:** <https://forums.speedlife.net/t/hfo-1234yf-new-automotive-air-conditioning-refrigerant/228836>\
**Category:** NYSpeed Automotive\
**Created:** [February 20, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/hfo-1234yf-new-automotive-air-conditioning-refrigerant/228836 "2013-02-20T08:16:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Onyx\_Z32](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/onyx_z32/32/7581_2.png) [@Onyx\_Z32](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Onyx_Z32)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/hfo-1234yf-new-automotive-air-conditioning-refrigerant/228836/1 "2013-02-20T08:16:39Z")

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So to the engineers and HVAC guys here, what’s your opinion? Is it “safe?” I’ve been reading up on it and opinions are varied.

Cliffs: The EU (and maybe the US?) government is mandating car makers give up HFC-134a for this new HFO-1234yf for environmental reasons.

> [@GM](#):
>
> ‘We’re cool with it, going in 2013 models.’

> [@Ford](#):
>
> ‘Eh, we’ll stick with the old stuff in the US and use the new stuff if we have to in Europe.’

> [@VW](#):
>
> ‘Well we know the old stuff is safe so we’d like to stick with that’

> [@Mercedes](#):
>
> ‘Hell no. That shit blows up!’
> 
> ```
> “When engineers at Mercedes-Benz tasked with field-testing a revolutionary new refrigerant watched it ignite in a ball of fire before their eyes, it took a while for the significance of their discovery to sink in.
> 
> Simulating a leak in the air-conditioning line of a Mercedes B-Class tourer, they had released a fine mixture of refrigerant and A/C compressor oil, which sprayed across the car’s turbo-charged 1.6 litre engine.
> 
> The substance caught fire as soon as it hit the hot surface, releasing a toxic, corrosive gas as it burned. The car’s windshield turned milky white as lethal hydrogen fluoride began eating its way into the glass.
> 
> “We were frozen in shock, I am not going to deny it. We needed a day to comprehend what we had just seen,” said Stefan Geyer, a senior Daimler engineer who ran the tests.”
> 
> ```

There are a million articles on this stuff: [HFO-1234yf - Google Search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=HFO-1234yf&oq=HFO-1234yf&gs_l=news-cc.12..43j43i400.892.892.0.1840.1.1.0.0.0.0.58.58.1.1.0...0.0...1ac.2.zjlmigdmoEo)

---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 AM ----------

BMW looks like they’re with Mercedes:

> [@BMW](#):
>
> “We do not want to say the test results are wrong, but we are not convinced the methods applied are sufficient to achieve a definitive conclusion that guarantees our high safety standards,”

[http://www.racplus.com/news/bmw-pulls-out-of-car-research-programme-over-refrigerant-dispute-update/8642415.article](http://www.racplus.com/news/bmw-pulls-out-of-car-research-programme-over-refrigerant-dispute-update/8642415.article)