Got a new AC Compressor today

The dealer confirmed that my AC stopped cooling because the compressor had an internal failure.

Compressor $1486.28
R13A Freon $16.04
Labor $247.80
Tax $105.00
Total $1,855.12

My cost: ZERO. Bought the car used with a Certified Platinum extended warranty 39 months ago.
Nothing but smiles all over the place. I didn't even need to produce any paperwork because all the information was attached to the car's history from the dealership where I found the car. Overall, I think their prices look fair and I would have paid, if I had to. On the other hand, a simple top-off charge, if that's what I needed, would have been $65 and not covered by any warranty. Still, not a bad price.

 

The extended warranty was $1095 and there are 55,610 miles on her, but GET THIS: After an icy-cold ride home 1.5 miles from the dealer, the exact same symptom presented within 5 minutes when I took a short trip later in the day! Right now I'm feeling a little bit bad for the shop, wasting a perfectly good compressor. I've already booked another appointment for early next week.

 

Technical Question: I thought I read in this forum that the AC compressor (at least on the Plug-in) requires an oil-free refrigerant. The dealership guy left a little oil spill on the floor pan under the brand-new compressor's connections. The car is in for service again today because the AC blows hot after 5 or 10 minutes.

 

Excellent. So a bit of spilled oil does not necessarily indicate it's the wrong refrigerant, and, if every Prius uses the same, then any dealership should be able to do the job. Still, I wonder why a new compressor would blow hot air after 5 or 10 minutes. Overheated compressor? Defective thermostat? I'll report back later.

Update: I got the answer sooner than expected. Dealer confirms that they accidentally overcharged the system trying to use some new gear in the shop. They added "about" 4 oz. of non-conductive oil, the exact quantity being determined by the amount of oil that was drained from the system. Shuttle van is enroute to pick me up. Life is good.

Specifically, I had 1.346 lbs, rather than the required 1.14 lbs., or just about 18% too much Freon.

 

@lech auto air conditionin Thank you for those videos. They are sobering enough to discourage any do-it-yourselfer. As far as I know this was the first time AC was ever serviced. While it was in its overcharged state I could hear that the compressor was abruptly switching from low speed to high speed each time I hit about 15 mph going from stop sign to stop sign. That seems to have cleared up now.

 

@lech auto air conditionin Right again! The car went back to the dealer for the 3rd time today and they are keeping it overnight to continue clearing excess oil from the lines, condenser, and evaporator. To his credit, their ace AC specialist realized there must be too much oil in the system. For those keeping score: first the compressor went bad, then the car went back for service because it would only cool for a couple of minutes, then, after removing excess Freon (but not the excess oil) AC remained very weak until I took it in again today. I told the service rep that PriusChat said there was too much oil left in the system. (Poetic license, I find I need to talk fast and be brief with the reps, they always seem like they're a bit overworked and in a bit of a hurry to serve the next customer. Or maybe I just get the vibe that they think, here's an old guy, he's gonna bore us talking round and round in circles).