Ac has started blowing warm on my 130k mile 2008 Prius. Took it in for a checkup and the Toyota tech said he'd have to charge the ac for $300 to properly tell where its leaking and he's 90% sure its the evaporator core. $1,600 repair for 90% sure didn't make sense in my opinion so I took it home. I am planning (when winter passes) to get a non oil freon and a charge hose and just charge it through the low side and see how long it holds. Is a leaking evaporator core common at this mileage?
You should probably use Toyota Prius AC refrigerant. If the system is low, it will need the lubrication or you'll risk the compressor failing. The electric a/c compressor requires the use of ND-11 oil for lubricant.
OK, so the Toyota refridgerent comes with the oil already mixed? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Reason for the ND-11 oil is that it is electrically non-conductive. Using something else can cause a short and damage the hybrid electronics.
If your AC starts blowing warm, just topping it up is not going to last long, and isn't good for the environment. I would get the pros on it.
True, i just wasn't impressed at the tech jumping right to the most expensive part. Who knows, a hose or o ring could be leaking and the evaporator they put in won't last long in that situation. If I'm looking at a $1,500 bill I think its worth me investing $100 in charging it myself and getting a freon sniffer to locate leak. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Didn't someone say you needed the Techstream tool to properly recharge the A/C system? Something related to how the electric, variable speed compressor works differently from a traditional belt-driven system?
Find a good ac place that works on Prius. Anything but the dealer who's at 130 an hour. They have to charge it up to find the leak with a sniffer and not sure why there mentioning the under cash evaporate coil first Lots of leaks we have seen here are FOD damage to front condenser Because the plastic protective cover is missing and rocks get up to the condenser and damage it. Pray it's not the underdash coil as that's a lot of labor. Under coil is sometimes damaged by never being cleaned and rot out at the seam. Routine cleaning of the underdash coil is recommended car will smell a lot better.
