Hi Ya’ll, I’m new to this forum and need to brainstorm. My Prius is a 2010 with roughly 123,000 miles on it. I live in AZ and it’s hot as hell here right now. My A/C works fine in the morning before it’s too hot out, but in the afternoon, after it’s been sitting in the sun all day, it’s mostly useless. I took it in today and was told I need a whole new unit, a 3,500 dollar job!!! I have my car paid off, planned to have no car payment for a few years. Does anyone have any insight into this repair? Do I pay it?....get a new car?.... I guess I need a reference, opinions & knowledge. Any help would be amazing! Thanks!
welcome! try to find an a/c shoppe or hybrid mechanic that has prius experience and ask if they will install a salvage compressor/ prius a/c is high voltage and unusual, so you want to be sure they know what they are doing. it doesn't hurt to call around to other toyota dealers for pricing either. all the best!
My 2 cents...for what it costs to service an A/C unit, always go with OEM parts (shop for the best deal you can get). Most all “aftermarket” compressors are junk that won’t last long after the warranty expires. An OEM component should last as long as the original. Not that it may be so in your case, but ALL A/C units need service over time. Mostly, trace amounts of refrigerant leaks out over time. Let it get too low and the compressor has to work harder. By the time the system stops cooling, there’s real risk of damage (in spite of the system supposedly being designed to shut down rather than run dry).
Your car maybe having refrigerant leaks somewhere in the system. Take it to a hybrid shop, and asked for it to be scanned for codes. I feel as long as the compressor cools in the mornings then gets hot at day, might mean, leakage problems, and not compressor replacement. If it turns out to be the compressor which I doubt, you can get a used one from a junkyard that would last you too. Make sure they use the right compressor oil, which is ND11, or it's equivalent, lest you'd destroyed the whole cooling system. PS: Any noise from the hood area when the compressor is engaged? Dxta
A normal AC will cycle off and on maybe every 30-45 seconds and make a modest humming sound that can be heard outside the car. Normally you don't hear any sound from inside.
The prius AC is not all that great in really hot weather, there may be nothing wrong with yours. Be sure to run your car on its regular setting, don't use the ECO setting because it limits the AC output.
In real hot weather, I find my A/C doesn’t do so well unless I’m going 30 mph or faster. I suspect the fan pulling air over the condenser coil isn’t that effective...the car relies more on forced air from forward motion.
... You have to get the condenser fins checked for debris or so. If you don't, that would kill the compressor.
