I wanted to post here to see if anyone that's been under the hood of a Prius or maybe any car for that matter could give me some perspective. From what I think I know there is black...like a burnt area in the corner of what I believe is the A/C condenser. It was like that when I bought it in Feb 2016. Last summer my A/C seemed to work ok. This year I'm not sure, the air blows cool not super cold. But the few times I used it this year the cabin temperature was way hot. I wonder if it's only a small leak and can be temporarily fixed with a recharge of Freon. The car is a 2008 with 237,000 miles so I don't want to sink a lot of $$ into but I drive a lot and don't want to go without A/C I included a picture as well
Just a guess, but it looks like there was a leak and the oil in the AC refrigerant attracted a lot of road grime. Adding AC refrigerant will probably just leak out again.
Regarding cylindrical gizmo on the right side called, the cooler/dryer: maybe at the bottom junction of that component and condenser (AC radiator) there's a leak? Attachment is from third gen, not sure how relevant. Personally, I would bring it into dealership, at least get their diagnosis and quote.
Thank you for the feedback so far. I agree there might have been a leak and hoping a slow one so more refrigerant wouldn't leak out immediately. I also like the idea that it might be the connection between the dryer and the condenser. I am probably going to have it looked at but I want to get all the information out there I can before I do
So yesterday I had it in to a repair shop and had the A/C checked. Since I have some zip ties and such holding some of my underbody bumper parts together I asked them to be careful dropping the bumper. They checked the A/C without removing the bumper so no one saw the black on the front of the condenser. They told me no leaks were found but the system was low. They filled me with one pound of freon for $15 and $43.45 for labor $8 for supplies which I'm not sure what that could be. So for $70 I'm back to cold air and everything seems to be fine. As long as it's working I'm fine. Thanks for the help. Is there any opinion about if this is a good and reasonable fix?
Holy crap dude go buy some ac coil cleaner and hose it down and clean up that condenser. It's the beginning of some rust or Rot there. Clean it up.
Someone suggested in this forum to clean and spray a specific external seal that works with aluminum.
I hope they used the correct refrigerant for the Prius. It should be R134a with ND-11 oil. Using regular freon with other oil can and usually will in time damage the compressor.
When it leaks out again, replace the condenser and recharge with the correct referigerant. Condenser not that expensive. 08 2008 Toyota Prius A/C Condenser - Climate Control - APDI, Action Crash, Denso, GPD, Metrix, Spectra Premium, TYC, UAC - PartsGeek
I think as long as the the charge had no oil you'll be ok. IIRC the Repair Manual says if the system's been run with the wrong oil, then you have to replace pretty much everything. It might be in the attachments. Think good thoughts.
