Air Conditioning service (??)

That’s a tough one. Prius a/c is a bit different, and you don’t want to make any mistakes.

I would look around for hybrid specialty shops who show an understanding of high voltage compressor systems

 

I would stick with dealership for this. They have access to the Repair Manual info, the system takes a special oil, and so on. Give them a call, get a quote. It should be around $150 USD max, for an evacuation and recharge.

 

Idk, most dealers want $150. Just to look

 

Keep us posted. I haven't had to do this yet but...Kansas is hot....so might be in my future if my AC isn't freezing me out.

 

Mine was $165 CDN, about 2 years back. That was the upfront, all-in quote. ‘Course when the service writer wrote it up it was nearly $200, due to Freon, shop supplies, payola and so forth. I got huffy and they came back down. It’s in their DNA I guess.

 

Find a private shop lot of things using vert or compressors these days they're not that difficult to deal with the oil is slightly different than regular oil none of that matters they'll handle all that the oil isn't overly expensive the gas is 134a relatively cheap on and on and on You're probably just low enough on gas where your compressor pressure switch is not activating or your line pressure switch isn't seeing any pressure so it doesn't put the compressor on You have two choices you can let the gas out get it vacuumed down recharged with whatever the call is 1.3 or so pounds in most toyz . Or you can hook up the blue and silver synthetic tall can with the gauge on the low side port and slowly gas it up It will never go over 40 lb on the low side more like around 30 actually with an inverter compressor you'll never see that solid 40 like you did with the sankyo radial compressor. And belt.

 

No not necessarily If you know the system's empty like by undoing a hose or holding down the valve where you connect the gauge and let the gas down to nothing no hissing noise coming like cooling a tire in the '70s letting the air out of people's tires. Then it's recommended that you should pull a vacuum on the system this helps pull moisture out of the receiver dryer which is a desiccant sack and a silver centrilical jugs somewhere and all of that It is a good idea most people don't have a pump capable of pulling the vacuum needed It's possible and with today's prices of these things you know $125 will get you a pump that'll suck down your basic car AC system pretty quickly of course most people will never use it but once or twice and forget where they put it so hard to justify I use a brand of gas that's not 134a and doesn't really require me to pull a vacuum unless I know things that would make it so like this moisture in the system etc etc so if your system is just come down and it's not been sitting open you can make sure it's tight new o-rings shoot some freon in the system attempt to turn the air conditioner on and finish topping off would be good to have high and low side gauges so you can see the 30 lb on the low side no problem and you can see the high side on a good hot day I think in these cars it gets around $200 $235 somewhere in that range pretty much standard 134a pressures You just have to realize you have to do this quickly because when the compressor starts running it all the variable speeds that it can the pressures will change on the gauges and it will look like things don't normally look with the radio compressor in a belt in other words all other cars But if you get it done quickly generally less than a minute your gas it up see the 30 see the 200 or so on the high cold air coming out the vents you can close your gauges down and just watch for a while if you're into that. Then disconnect and go You should be good. To me it's not worth spending $150 to $300 or beyond to play with it in a real shop with reclaiming machines and all this fancy equipment this old my old car doesn't warrant that your situation may be different.

 

Your questions reveal you're not qualified. What's wrong w the dealer? They're not the most qualified experts?

 

I think all places try to sell you stuff: jiffy lube wants to sell u a trans flush and fill, lube express sells air filters, some places even sell u nitrogen fill for ur tires. Firestone sells u a FL waste disposeal fee, Shop Fee, Shop Supplies fee, EPA Fee, waste disposal fee, It's thursday fee. Tires Plus sells u a lifetime wheel alighnment fee, Harbor freight sells u an extended warranty, and now Amazno "Enhances Your PUrchase" quick hold my hair while I puke! They all do it. Mom n pops are the least likely to know how to turn the checkout process into the cash cow. The dealer isn't the cheapest, but they are the ones guaranteed to do it correctly the first time....and still this doesn't mean they are the only option. Mom n pops are good too. Quite frankly I don't know how a mom n pop can learn all the diff models. Even w Car Line subscription it's still a bloody nightmare for them.

My 2 c: If you're not a mechanic, you're not likely to figure out how to fix this car. And if you do, add up your hours and multiply by your hourly rate for your regular job and compare it to what you'd get paid going to work instead and decide if it was worth it. Many diff philosophies here.

 

I'm retired does that make a difference?

 

Nope