I bought this car about 6 months ago and the A/C doesn' work. It is r-134a. can I just hook up a can of 134a and see if it works or should I have the system evacuated (if so, how much does that cost). If I do add 134a, do I also need to put a can of the oil in also?

Thanks,
Erick

Whether it's safe to do depends on whather your system has any leaks. If the system has a leak and, thus, has been exposed to outside air, then, besides the obvious need to repair the leak, you really need to "boil it out" by pulling a vacuum on it and getting any moisture out of the system. If you don't, you risk your compressor siezing. Also, sticking R-134a in there without the correct amount of the proper refrigerant oil can lead to siezure.

At the very least, go through the recommended procedures for diagnosing your fault condition. Subscribing to Alldatadiy.com is one way to find the procedure; buying the Volvo manual is another.

At the worst, take it to a reputable shop and have them give you two estimates:
1. how much will it cost to make it work correctly
2. how much will it cost to get through the end of the summer

-cj

I am also having this problem. On my 1995 850 i have a sticker in the engine bay by the strut saying beware r134a. your may have something similar.If you live in the usa you can buy recharge kits from wallmart. If in the uk like me then you'll have to get a garage to do it. This will cost from about £65 and up. If you compressor does not come on the you will have to bypass a low pressure valve that stops the compressor coming on. This is necessary to get the system to suck the r134a out of the can.

for more details check past posts.