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A/c Woes

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by 2007Touring160K, Sep 5, 2024.

  1. 2007Touring160K

    2007Touring160K New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    Purchased ‘07 Prius w/ 159K miles. Had cold air during test drive but then a couple weeks later no cold air. Looked through maintenance records and found that an A/C recharge was done in Nov/2022 w/ “Freon R134-a, a/c service valve, and a/c dye/oil”. A couple times I heard the strangest sound in the dash by steering wheel as if a bunch of water like a small waterfall in a pond was coming down..looked for leaks w/ UV light. Didn’t find any leaks but there seems to be one?

    Decided to take it to the same shop that did the recharge originally (in Nov/2022) before I purchased car but instead of getting to the bottom of it they just recharged it yet again and sent me on my way. I asked if the compressor is ok and he said “yeah...its blowing”. Now car has 165K miles and has been blowing cold air but I’m scared of compressor failure. Trying to figure out if the best course of action would be replacing oil, fixing leaks, and recharging or actually replacing compressor IF it’s towards the end of its life

    QUESTIONS:
    1). How many years or miles do Gen 2 Prius owners typically get out of a compressor?

    2). What happens when the compressor fails in a bad way. Does the evaporator core need replaced? If so, does the dash come out or is it under the hood or below the dash?

    3). Am I supposed to be able to hear the compressor when the a/c is on? Because I do hear SOMETHING but perhaps not all the time.
     
    #1 2007Touring160K, Sep 5, 2024
  2. MAX2

    MAX2 Member

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    Is the air conditioner working properly now?
    Is it cold enough?
    What do you see in the inspection window on the air conditioner line under the hood?
     
    #2 MAX2, Sep 6, 2024
  3. 2007Touring160K

    2007Touring160K New Member

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    Yes everything is fine now and no bubbles in the inspection window.
     
    #3 2007Touring160K, Sep 6, 2024
  4. Aegean

    Aegean Active Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
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    ----USA----
    The electric compressor is robust so I wouldn’t worry much. My AC was working fine for about 16 years but in the past 2 years has a very small leak. I noticed that the air was not ice cold like my other hybrid.

    Two years ago I added some refrigerant very slowly and carefully, checking air outlet temperature, bubbles, and measuring grams of R134a added. Air was at the lowest temp I could get it.

    Last week, the air was not coming out cold again but this time I just added R134a using those cheap inaccurate gauges on top of the can by keeping it in the middle of the green area. 3 minutes and it is ice cold again. Do I have exactly 450 grams R134a? Probably not but it is working great.
     
    #4 Aegean, Sep 7, 2024
    2007Touring160K likes this.
  5. 2007Touring160K

    2007Touring160K New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    2007 Prius
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    Four Touring
    Let me know if it stays cold next week. When I did it with the can it only lasted for a week or so. Mechanic said it’s because some air gets in when you do it yourself and when he did it stayed cold but I think eventually it will leak again :(. Good to know about the compressor being robust. How many miles on your car ?
     
    #5 2007Touring160K, Sep 9, 2024
  6. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    That dye should still be near wherever it leaked out. Get a UV flashlight and some protective glasses and look carefully at the entire path of the AC system. If you can't find it then the leak is probably in the evaporator. Pray it isn't that, because the whole dash needs to come apart to replace it. $$$ in labor charges.

    The waterfall sound might have been a large amount of condensate in the evaporator sloshing around. It is not uncommon for its drain tube to jam up. Pull up the carpet on the front passenger floor and you should see the tube. Look on YouTube for videos of how to clear it, or on how to clean out the evaporator. Fluid retained in the evaporator will tend to make it fail sooner than it would otherwise.
     
    #6 pasadena_commut, Sep 9, 2024
  7. 2007Touring160K

    2007Touring160K New Member

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    Four Touring
    Oh boy ok. Hopefully not the evaporator. Gonna calla mechanic and see what they say
     
    #7 2007Touring160K, Sep 14, 2024
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