A new air filter should not make the car louder. Take it to a licensed mechanic and ask them about your noise.

Yep, a leak I put a 10 oz can in last July 3, and the system worked fine all the rest of that summer. That time the A/C was just low, not "too low" and it was still cooling, just not as much as it should. The additional (without gauge) refrigerant brought the delta Temp up to specs. The trouble shooting of no clutch engagement led me to just add another 10 oz can to see what happens. The engine was running with the A/C switch "on" and it took only 10 seconds of the fill (these cans can take up to 10 minutes to empty on a nearly full system) for the clutch to engage and about 3 or 4 minutes to empty the can. I'll let it run this way for a few days and see what happens (it is cool here in NJ right now - in low 40s this morning). If it holds for a week I'll just top off using a guage and some anti leak. If I can get the car through the hot weather of 2013 for under $50 invested, I'll take it and worry abvut next summer if the car and I are both still around. Both of "us" are Senior Citizens. Up to 2009 I had always taken my purchased new cars to a shop to have the A/C serviced. I have kept all cars purchased new for at least 10 years, the 2004 is obviously coming up on 10 years - so new car is on the possible solution list. A 1999 Mazda was my first time adding refrigerant myself, it worked out fine there too - also just added a can to increase cooling, and it worked. I traded that car in before much of a test on the pump-up, but I did keep that car through that summer that I added the refrigerant.

The deed is done, almost. I committed to a different Land Rover. I left a deposit check to be replaced with a cashier's check on Monday after I check out the insurance details, etc. Probably not the wisest purchase I'll ever make but Alice is over the moon. While not a perfect human being she is highly responsible and actually I consider a better, more focused driver than I am. I need to commute and be gone at least one night a week, she needs to get to school and to the barn to ride and potentially to a part time to buy her own gas. There is no bus service to the barn and what exists here is spotty. Her father no longer has a reliable car and isn't in a position to get one right now. Her friends with cars are flaky about rides. She has driven SUVs belonging to friends. So is no stranger to the handling. The visibility is great. It has been well-maintained. And the tires are brand new. Being able to keep her dream car, as she knows it is conditional, will motivate her to keep doing the right thing. I will replace my vintage Volvo, which I love but is quite elderly, with a slightly less vintage Volvo in a few months. There seems to be a lot of them out there to choose from in my price range. I told if I have a date (not likely!) I get to borrow her car! Here is a link that might be useful: Da car.

I have a 2019 cross trek and she's just fine. This is our 3rd subaru. I don't think you can beat them for safety or reliability. I specifically was looking for AWD and for the safety features as, I figure as I'm aging, I'm not becoming a better driver. I especially like the headlights that turn as you turn a corner and the auto hi/low beam adjuster. The back up cameras, side lane warnings and front collision signals are wonderful. I did turn off the lane drift feature though as, driving winding country roads which I do all the time, I often cross the yellow line and the warning was annoying. But it's great that you can turn these things off. I'd turn it back on on the highway especially if it was late at night and I'd worry about getting drowsy. I'm looking to give this one to DH and get a new little sweet ride for myself. And one thing I really like about the subaru is how they integrated the screen into the dash so it looks intentional. So many vehicles, they pop the screen on top so it looks like an after thought. I would love to get another subaru for myself, but I'm looking for small, and the subaru sports car is RWD which I won't go back to. So my search continues.