Cool Air rebate pilot expands: 2,000 approved applicants, 73 shops and $700,000 paid to repairs in first six months

The Cool Air rebate pilot, a Car Care Council nonprofit program that subsidizes air-conditioning repairs for low‑income Californians, reported its initial six‑month results to the advisory group.

Nathan Perine of the Car Care Council said the program launched in July 2024 and pays 80% of approved air‑conditioning repair costs up to $1,500 per vehicle. Perine said the pilot focused outreach initially in Fresno but expanded statewide organically as community partners and participating shops promoted the program. As of the December reporting window, Perine said the program received 2,600 consumer applications, authorized about 2,000 applicants, resulted in roughly 600 repair jobs and paid approximately $700,000 directly to participating shops. He said 73 shops across 37 cities had signed up as participating repair providers.

Perine described agency and community outreach: the council worked with 53 nonprofit community partners to build consumer trust and socialized the program through TV, print and Spanish-language outlets. The council also reports 19 pounds of refrigerant recovered from repaired vehicles and 938 pounds installed, figures the group uses to estimate emissions effects. The program maintains a shop locator on its website; Perine said shoppers often find a participating shop through the locator.

Perine said the council seeks to grow the pilot in 2025 with a target of $5 million in reimbursements (roughly 5,000 repairs) and will recruit several hundred more participating shops. The bottle‑neck he described is attrition between approved applications and completed repairs — not all approved applicants ultimately bring vehicles in for repair — and costs that exceed the pilot's $1,500 cap can deter participation.

Ending: The Car Care Council urged more shop participation and community‑partner outreach to expand the program statewide in 2025.