Prius Air Conditioning problems?

You have a point on the solar cell issue. I had wondered what that had to do with the air conditioner. None of the warnings showed up that you mentioned. They checked the readings on their computer and said everything looked fine while the gas engine was running but when it turned off and only electric the readings went "kaflooey" I believe was their words. They said pressure readings were normal but they evacuated and checked for leaks and found none and recharged but it still didn't work any better. Then they said this needed to be looked at by dealer. This shop has done well by me in the past and usually lets us know if the issue is over their heads. We took it to the dealer and they said the air conditioner would only get cold for about 5 seconds and then would go to 70 degrees. They said the compressor was fried and they would need to order the part. Interestingly we had to take a 4 hour trip before the part came in and the air kept the compartment comfortable in 95 degree weather although didn't get really cold. The dealer did a dye test and said there was a leak in the compressor and we had lost our coolant. They replaced the compressor assembly and the air is now working. The charge was less than they had quoted but was still about $1300.

 

Okay, $1300 isn't too bad. Glad you got it fixed.

 

I have they exact sam problem on a 98 chevy lumina. I found on the magnetic clutch a rivit worn off one of the three arms of the clutch and when you turn on the AC the clutch engages and spins but it spins off center due to one of the arms not holding it perfectly in place, thus the vibrations. To fix mine I need to remove the magnectic clutch and replace the rivit. So far I have not found the correct tool to release the recessed spring clip holding it in. The alternative is to replace the compressor.

 

My AC in my 2008 Prius just busted recently. Kind of odd how it started, after driving about an hour the air flow coming out would drop off to almost nothing despite the sound of the fan making the usual sound.

Then just recently the air flow has kept going but the air is no longer cool.

No accidents or other obvious causes like some of you have mentioned.

Taking to mechanic now but realizing maybe I should go straight to dealer. Any thoughts? I’m not handy.

 

welcome! does the air flow change with fan speed? do the vents work properly when you change directions? (face, feet, defrost, etc.)

be careful who does the diagnosis and work, prius has a high voltage electric compressor, and requires special oil. not everyone is familiar. all the best!

 

Thanks! Once the airflow goes down, which happens suddenly after about an hour of driving, it does not change with fan speed at all. Honestly, I need to check more of the vents but I think they are ok.

Just had it looked at today. He said I was 1/2 pound empty on refrigerant, not coolant. Added it for $115. Said he couldn’t otherwise diagnose it because the airflow didn’t go down when he tested it... referred me to a dealer... seemed like an honest guy. I’ll go there if this doesn’t work, driving it 14 hours tomorrow, then will be back to my usual 20-60 min drives.

John

 

the fan is part of a circuit board which can go bad.

 

hi John
I have the same problem.
The air conditioner stops cooling after about half an hour's drive, and the air comes out normally.
Mechanic unable to resolve it.
Did you finally solve the problem?

 

that's

that's what mine does, gives about 15-30 min of cold adn then peters out 6to ambient? air temp ...
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