Toyota is Quoting me $4000 to replace the AC Compressor

i only know this:

the prius a/c compressor is high voltage electric. that may make it more expensive than a belt driven.
you can get quotes from more dealers, and should be able to find an online parts price.

because it is electric, you need to learn all about it before attempting diy.
you might need toyotas tech stream diagnostic software and service manual, idk.

 

With a Prius that old, it seems silly to buy brand new... I'd roll the dice on a used one off a low mileage wrecked Prius if I were you. Then have a shop that specializes in Auto AC do the work... They'll be more likely to stand by their work and keep your AC going for the rest of the life of the car whereas the stealership will just steal.

 

Take it to an auto air conditioning specialist. At least some of them are just as qualified to work on that system, and they have the flexibility to buy the replacement parts from cheaper sources than Toyota's parts department.

Mind you I'd still expect that compressor to be upwards of $1,000CAD but that's a lot better...

 

You will call a breaker yard in British Columbia or Ontario and buy a compressor from a used Prius or Auris . And go on about your business and let life go on You don't pay 2,000 plus dollars for an air conditioning compressor for any car or if you do got money to burn. And you're a test guinea pig for a car you never should have taken a second look at I guess The Prius this is not the case. You just buy a used from a breaker yard and off you go but make sure yours is bad because more than likely it probably is not in Canada well maybe because of this year but I kind of doubt it. So make sure that you know that's the case You got voltage at the plug so on and so forth you're relying on somebody else to do this diagnosis I take it? That may be not a thing. Do not do this this way

 

Includes Gasket Set; Compressor Prefilled w/ OE-Specified Oil ... $478.79 . USD.

Includes A/C Condenser and Gasket Set; Compressor Prefilled w/ OE-Specified Oil ... $542.79 . USD.

 

I think that quote for the compressor is for everything else but the evaporator. If the ac compressor is blown sending pieces of it everywhere, the condenser (with built in accumulator/dryer) and expansion valve, ports needs replaced and lines cleaned/flushed. It's not easy parts replacement if DIY since you need to have basic knowledge of how the ac works and equipment too (a vacuum pump and ac manifold gauge) I replaced the AC compressor on my hybrid Camry by buying a used one for $70 and buying new condenser and expansion valve from rock auto (maybe around $150-$200) Most AC shops don't want to deal with electric ac compressors and quite funny (or scary) when some techs doesn't even know that it needs a different oil.

if the quote is just for ac compressor only.. then run..

 

Yes if it's exploded then you have different issues I wouldn't waste my time repairing that I have too many of these cars I just get in one of the other ones at the air works in I keep them working and all the cars but if one blows up and sends shards of aluminum through the whole system then you're stuck replacing most of the AC system including the evaporator and condenser and even with one of these cars being in exemplary condition. I would just retire that to a fallen winter car simple

 

For my 2009 I got one from ebay about $200 and $200 LABOR.
Two years later still going strong.

 

If the compressor explodes and the expansion valve needs to be replaced, would it suffice to backflush the evaporator through the expansion valve? Extensively, with some fluid which may or may not be normal refrigerant. And then flush it forward, collecting the fluid that comes out (possibly still contaminated) and disposing of it. Will the boomy bits of metal have actually damaged the expansion valve, rather than just clogging it up? Or is this a situation like the one where people who polished engines with scrub pads then found that the tiny amount of grit which was left after reassembly went round and round in the oil system and destroyed the bearings?

The flushing idea is because my house's plumbing is old galvanized and causes a somewhat similar problem: bits of rust will occasionally jam one of the sink valves, so far always the hot side. Sometimes to the point that literally no water will come out. I clear these by:

1. turning off the cold water to the heater
2. opening the hot water valve all the way in the tub
3. swap the aerator's mounting washer with a solid rubber disk in the affected sink
   
4. turning on the cold water all the way for a minute or so in the affected sink
   
5. reverse steps 4 through 1

That dislodges the rust from the hot side valve and pushes it back through the pipes and out into the tub. It has worked every time. Surprisingly they don't immediately jam back up, it can be decades before it needs to be done again on that valve. (Yes, I should repipe the house at some point.)

 

If you don't catch it before it explodes you'll be taking the whole system apart to clean it and then try to figure out what salvageable and what's not that means the car will sit apart for a while while you try to figure this out and then try to put it semi back together so you can just basically see if it will run for so long and so forth But generally he want to try and catch the mess before your compressor explodes when it starts to run all the time the high side pressure's dropped off a little bit 10:15 lb so on so forth then you see your compressor is starting to not pump as well anymore and you start hunting another one this way here you're changing a fairly clean system adding a tad bit of oil and gas in the new compressor or new to you compressor up and go If you wait for it to explode costs start to go through the roof It's a lot of time no matter who's time it is.

 

Cars here in the southeast with no air condition I relegate them to late afternoon evening service calls and any season but summer I have one of those here still gets a lot of mileage put on it.

 

I don't understand why the Prius A/C system doesn't have a filter downstream from the compressor, to catch the metal bits if that unit blows. It could even be after the radiator part, because replacing that won't break the bank, but having to tear out the evaporator costs a fortune.

Isn't that what one of these devices does?

C-163-S-SPOD - DRIER LIQUID 3/8ODF 16CI - R&E Supply Company

Or go to Amazon and search for B0CBNR5NTT, which lists a similar product for $17.

I would certainly part with $20 if it eliminated a failure mode which would cost 200 times as much (roughly) to fix.

 

Well then you have to have those aluminized lines cracked And that device has to be soldered in I don't think you can use compression fittings on air conditioning gas You can try it it's not recommended I don't think there are some fittings now that are available but you would have to do your due diligence and shop around I think and then for the one time that this is going to happen possibly you know it's a lot of business to be installing to me it seems a lot easier to just be listening to your compressor and your air conditioning system couple times a year when you are running it maybe once the season when the car is 15 years old you check your pressures while the system's running to see that you're within spec or how low from spec you are especially on the high side as your high side starts to lower its pressure at the same given temperatures and all of that business then you're compressor is not pumping like it used to or was and is going to run longer to make the same things happen. Which means eventually it'll burn itself up and blow up then I start thinking about getting another compressor when I noticed my readings are starting to fall off not by lots 5 10 12 lb on the high side something like that You remember what it was the last time you checked it last year or what have you there are things you can do. But most people don't want any part of that they just want to drive the car air on full tilt until it isn't.

 

it already does, More Information for DENSO 4781500 and it's inside the condenser. In theory majority of the pieces will be stuck in this filter before reaching the expansion valve but there are always fine particles that could go through and might clog up the expansion valve and evaporator. In most case a DIY could skip replacing the evaporator, it's just that most shops doesn't want a customer going back complaining about poor ac performance and also it's more money for labor and parts (for the shop) to replace everything.

you can see at 11:44 on my Camry hybrid video that I removed the filter/dessicant from the condenser. It's the same setup used in Honda too.

 

And then when you don't replace that evaporator and you do experience the poor performance now those particles can be pushed back around the system and here we go again I think the filter thing is on the side of the aluminum condenser if I'm not mistaken I think I have one out I need to go over and look at it a couple other cars are done like this too but really it would seem to me you'd want it like some of the GM cars where that thing is right after I think the high side push so that's the thing explodes the stuff is pushed out the high side right into the filter then goes to the big silver accumulator so on and so forth anyway good luck with it buddy.

 

Ask if you can supply the compressor to the dealership? (Or maybe just pointing out what you can get it for, they will start "sharpening their pencils"...) For me on the west coast, part+shipping is $1668.11 CDN. I've used them for smaller items (around $100 max), and so far no extra charges incurred. It could be there's some threshold, and they may need to charge tax or duty above that.

 

Isn't the dessicant in the part of the loop where the refrigerant is a gas? The device I linked seems to go in the loop where the refrigerant is a liquid.

Edit: oops, I misread condenser as compressor. In your video it is on the right side of the condenser, and there should be liquid coming out at the bottom right.