Whether you call it summer-gedon or heat-apocalypse, unexpected record temperatures are sweeping through Phoenix and other Southwestern cities this weekend. The Better Business Bureau serving Greater Arizona is also warning consumers to be leery of getting taken to the financial cleaners by emergency air conditioning or auto repairs in record heat. Temperatures could hit 117 or 118 degrees this weekend in Phoenix. “I don’t think any of us were prepared for the extreme heat to arrive so quickly at this point in the summer,” said Felicia Thompson, vice president for the regional BBB. Thompson said the consumer protection group usually recommends preventative care for cars and HVAC systems. But the scorching temperatures hitting Arizona, Nevada and desert areas of Southern California aren’t leaving much room for that. The usual average high temperature in Phoenix in June is 104 degrees, according to U.S. Climate Data. Temperatures could hit 112 today and 117 or 118 over the weekend.

Thompson said the perils for consumers is if their AC or cars break down and they are stuck trying to find a repair shop fast. “During the summer, we hear from people who had an emergency situation like the A/C went out, car overheated or tires corroded. Unfortunately, they didn’t feel like they had time to check out a company’s reputation and just called the first business who answered the phone,” she said. Thompson recommends checking out service providers and repair shops and their BBB ratings before calling them. A number of businesses and city governments are also grappling with the extreme temperatures. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warnings starting Friday morning and running through Monday. Las Vegas, Kingman, Bullhead City, Palm Springs, Yuma and El Centro area also under similar heat warnings. Cox Communications is limiting work being done in customers attics or crawlspaces to early morning hours to avoid having service workers exposed to extreme conditions.

“We schedule attic work in the 8-10 a.m. timeframe only and will allow an early start for extensive jobs when needed,” said Cox spokeswoman Andrea Katsenes. Cox and other businesses with outside workers are also making sure they stay hydrated. More than 2,000 Arizonans go to hospital emergency rooms every summer due to heat-related illnesses and conditions. More than 1,500 people have died in Arizona directly due to heat-related causes between 2000 and 2012, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. There are more than 17,500 homeless people in Maricopa County, according to the Phoenix Rescue Mission. Some homeless shelters, churches and social service agencies have centers set up to offer water and refuge from the heat Officials with the Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service Co. utilities say they are ready for this weekend’s heat. “SRP plans for the summer heat throughout the year. We maintain our transmission and distribution systems to ensure reliability,” said SRP spokeswoman Patricia Likens.

“We have also replaced and added equipment when needed.”air conditioning units for bedrooms Likens said summer demand is slated to be comparable to 2015.how to fix and ac unit Both APS and SRP also have more outage information online and via smart phones.air conditioner outside unit replacement • Here’s a link APS’ outage map • Here’s SRP’s map Likens said SRP will send email and text alerts to businesses and residents impacted by any outages. “Today, more than 580,000 residential and 5,800 business customers have signed up for the outage communications,” There was transformer fire at an SRP station in Avondale yesterday. Likens said one transformer was damaged and is being replaced.

“We do not anticipate the fire to have any impact on system reliability this week,” Likens said. City of Phoenix spokesman Matthew Hamada said the city isn’t canceling or delaying any outside work or projects because of the heat. But Hamada said the city has just launched a new education campaign to make sure any city workers going outside in the extreme heat stay hydrated and cool off when necessary. Mike Sunnucks writes about residential and commercial real estate, government, law, sports business and workplace issues. 1,224 posts, read 2,333,988 times 8,653 posts, read 12,468,313 times 2,698 posts, read 7,003,403 times Originally Posted by Houston3 Yeah but Zhang Fei might not believe you--he is starting multiple threads. Put a can of R134a in your car--you paranoid one 4,219 posts, read 16,504,653 times Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz I've had that done too...on my wifes car... Come to find out it was just the front seal and could have been fixed for about $250.

I still have that compressor.... I know now that my neighbor is an old auto AC repairman.. He's the one that told me to just keep adding the freon until it wouldn't hold any longer... 7,800 posts, read 14,794,643 times 38,693 posts, read 73,401,513 times Originally Posted by Zhang Fei "Just a leak" can indeed involve a major repair; in fact "just a leak" frequently means a bad condenser. I've had two condensers go on me recently. One cost me $600 to replace, the other $700. In both cases it was done right the first time because I took them both to the same shop that specializes A/C repair. $600-$700 may seem expensive but I reckon that's about the difference in resale value between a car with functioning and non-functioning A/C, so once the repair needed to be done, it was a wash as to whether it was "worth it" to do it or not. And as long as it's a wash, I'm gonna pick the option that keeps me comfy during the summer. Originally Posted by wheelsup