My AC wasn't working so I took it into the dealer and they said there is a puncture in my AC condenser. About two months ago in some wet weather I lost control and jumped a curb, blew a tire and no damage to AC was reported. About a month ago in similar weather the car in front of me ran over a bit of scrap on the freeway and sent it flying into my lower grill. It was a 4' piece of steel but it didn't go that far in so I didn't think too much about it. Now because of the earlier accident I am told I will be footing the bill on the AC, $1500. I have no idea where the condenser is located and am wondering if the shrapnel could have caused this and if there is a way to prove this to insurance. I discarded the steel after removing it from my grill.
AC condenser coils are typically located just in front of the radiator. Yes, it is possible some shrapnel could have gone thru the lower grille and hit those coils. Sorry to hear about it.
Yes, the condenser is another radiator like device ,usually in front of or beside the engine radiator. If you still have the old condenser, it should not be too hard to determine if the hole was caused by corrosion or by being punctured by some object. If punctured, then insurance may well pay for the repair. It's possible to repair a punctured condenser if the damage is not too severe.
$1500 seems a lot to repair/replace the condensor. Try a independant AC dealer if you have too. Slow leaks will reduce the working air temp of the AC, you would notice a decline in the supply air temp. If it was great one day, then nothing the next, it may be a different story. Also the damaged coil may show how long it has been damaged, like rust but unlikely.
When in CA are you? The best hybrid A/C guy in the US is based in San Mateo, Lech Auto Air Conditioning.
IIRC you need a dedicated a/c recovery machine for hybrids because of the incompatibility of the compressor oil with most other oils on the market. Not entirely sure if this is still true, but don't just take it anywhere.
This was a common problem in Gen2 Prii. My dealer said "no warranty" due to "stone" damage. The hole was small and I got away with some "stop leak" (sorry, I failed to record the brand - be careful about compatibility) added to the refrigerant. That was 6 years ago and the AC still works. JeffD
Shrapnel front grill is the most likely culprit in this scenario. I can tell you it is an issue with Honda Fits...to the point that many owners consider the front grill design to be flawed, and many owners fabricate various grill protection in the form of sometype of netting designed to stop rocks and other objects from damaging the condensor. You never can be sure exactly how it happened or when, but my money would be on the second incident. I don't hear of this happening in Prius Chat with Prius nearly as much as it happens in Honda Fit forums...so I assume it's NOT as big a problem with Prius. It can happen with almost any vehicle...if you are unlucky.
It was so bad in Corolla, toyota issued a TSB fix with plastic mesh. I made one from $3 steel mesh based on the instructions posted in this very priuschat forum. This is how it looks in my corolla. I have one in prius too.
