A/C gone!

Sounds like your system teveloped a leak. Have it checked out and fixed, as it's still under warranty.

As for A/C problems, I hate to say this, but you're the first I've heard of.

 

There is a little window on the coolent pipe on the left side of the engine. You should be able to see it bubbling when the a/c is on. If there is no bubbles than there is no coolent left in the a/c system, but this is no guarentee that there is enough coolent in the system for it to work.

During the summer months after i got my prius (about a year ago) i noticed that the a/c didnt feel like it was cooling the air properly. I took it in, they look at it any said nothing was wrong with it, so i got some other people opinion on wether it felt cool or not, and took it back in a second time. This time they found out that the system didnt have enough coolent in it to build up a proper charge, so they emptied it out, fill it back up, and put in a u/v dye to detect any leaks. I took it back a week after, and there were no leaks in the system, so my best guess is that the factory didnt propery fill it up when making the car.

 

Is anyone's air conditioning compressor loud enough to hear over the engine (ICE running)? Today I turned the A/C on while stopped at a light and I thought that it was rather LOUD......while going down the road, with ICE coming in and out you could hear the A/C quite distinctly and not a nice sounding noise. When I got home I opened the hood and with ICE off the noise was quit loud......turn the Air conditioning off and noise off......ran temp selector up to max hot and turned A/C back on...no noise....left A/C on and continued to decrease the temp selector towards cooler until the compressor started and the noise started again and got louder the cooler I selected the temp. Shut everything down and standing in front of the car reached down and touched the right side of the compressor ...It was very cool...the left side was VERY HOT. The wiring appears to indicate that the left side of the compressor (facing the car) is the A/C electrical motor side of the unit. All thoughts appreciated.......

 

I haven't checked the manual, but is it possible that a fuse was blown for the AC? I think the AC usually has a separate fuse from the blower/fan.

Glenn

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(delrey\";p=\"81870)</div>

I have not seen any AC problems around here with my customers. With it not cooling, it shouldn't be to difficult for the techs to diagnose.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(twdusa\";p=\"82686)</div>

You are not alone with hearing the compressor whine. I have heard it also in a few but it is not on all (?). The whine does get louder the cooler you turn the system down as the compressor spins up faster. Have not had anybody complain about it yet and there are no TSB's that I am aware of yet.

 

A hole in what? $400 ? Is it the compressor?

 

I had to look at the service manual and at the compressor on my car. It is somewhat exposed ie there is nothing under it and it is fairly low in the engine compartment but it still is several inches above the edge of the bumper. The case on the compressor appears very robust. It would have to be a hell of a piece of road debris to break the compressor casing. I think that you would have had to see it as you drove up on it and I think that you would have heard it as well. Maybe it did split, a defective casting. The only other thing I could see is maybe it spit a hose or connector right where it went in to the compressor and that is why the whole thing needs to be replaced. Manufacturing defect or road debris. A metallurgist could figure it out. Did you see the damage. What does it look like to you?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(delrey\";p=\"85061)</div>

This makes no sense. A flying rock would have punctured the radiator or damaged the grill, but how in the world would it hit the condenser without damaging at least the radiator? I suspect that one of their technicians may have caused it while the car was being serviced.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hdrygas\";p=\"85068)</div>

It is not the compressor which was damaged. It was the condenser.

 

If that indeed is damage from road debris, it should be covered by your regular auto insurance policy, assuming that you carry comprehensive coverage.

 

I just went and looked at the wife's car and the condenser is in front of the rad (it's all one unit on the new Prius) and if some thing missed the grill and went in there and punctured the condenser it must have had divine intervention to get thru and be small enough to miss the grill and travelling really fast to make a hole in the tubing. I'd take him up on his offer and let the chips fall where they may. If it happened to you it'll happen to lots as more come on the road.

 

If Toyota cannot design the A/C equipment to be protected from road debris I would suggest that it is a defect in engineering and would tell them that you intend to take it further with the company if it is not repaired under warranty. This is not a moral issue or decision.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Frank Hudon\";p=\"85118)</div>

Frank:

I have a 2004 and mine looks like it's made out of aluminum. I wonder if it's more prone to road damage than the older style condensers?

Especially if you're following a semi - like a gravel truck - around here the tires always seem to kick back stones at you. I had to use a flashlight on mine but it does appear to have a bunch of tiny nicks on the header tubes that weren't there when the car was new.

I've known folks who have traveled the Alaska highway. To avoid damage to the rad and/or A/C condenser, they put a steel mesh in front of the grille. It had around a 1/4 to 3/8 spacing, so a rock that small shouldn't cause damage.

I've seen some aftermarket grille inserts (Custom fit and trim-to-fit) of the same material, even a gaudy Diamond Plate finish. I'm wondering if it might not be a good idea to put this on my Prius.

Jay