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2007 Prius AC does not blow cold air

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by darkgiant, Aug 21, 2015.

  1. darkgiant

    darkgiant Member

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    Hi All,

    My 2007 Prius does not blow cold air, I bought the car back in March, when the weather was cold, so I never used the AC. I don't use the AC at all, I always roll my windows down if it ever gets too hot, but I recently have guests over, and I turned the AC on as I thought it would be a better and comfortable drive for my guests who are in town.

    Anywho, the AC doesn't work. I obviously feel air, and I feel the apropriate levels (low, medium, high), but the temperature is just warm. It is set all the way to the lowest. I was going to fill up the refrigerant, but after doing some research, I quickly stopped and saw that the Prius has a very complex approach to its AC system. I am not sure if this is really a compressor issue, or just having low levels of refrigerant, but I'd love to get down to a basic diagnosis so I can understand what my costs are, and what potential issues it can cause.

    Thanks!
     
  2. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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  3. darkgiant

    darkgiant Member

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    So I am assuming this is most likely just in need of a refill, and no compressor, or expensive issue? The reason why I ask is when I saw that the compressor costs over $1000 to be replaced/fixed my eyes literally popped out.
     
  4. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    Wow $1,000!!! Yeah, I'd start with a refill and if that doesn't work, explore more options.
     
  5. darkgiant

    darkgiant Member

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    Sorry, I was away this weekend, I will look into refilling it. Any proper videos out there that show how to refill it by any chance?

    Also, my parents (who borrowed the car for a weekend drive a few times) said that the AC worked in the past, so I am assuming it just ran out of the refrigerant? Any idea on why it can possibly run out of that stuff?
     
  6. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    Check out this video:
     
  7. darkgiant

    darkgiant Member

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    Just wanted to share an update, so I took the car to my regular mechanic, he inspected the compressor, originally he thought the comperresor was broke, but it was holding the vacuum just fine, when he lifted the car, he saw that the hose was bent. He said it may have been caused when either the previous owner, or I somehow went over some weird bump or something like a branch got hooked onto the hose, and bent it out of shape. He put some elbow grease, refilled some Freon onto the car, and it works.

    He charged $85 for all of that though, I originally was expecting $50-60 since I thought filling the refrigerant was like $10-$30, but I guess not? Would love to hear about how fair that price seems, even though the job is already done.
     
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Seems quite fair to me, probably barely covers his labor, let alone the refrigerant cost.

    -Chap
     
  9. darkgiant

    darkgiant Member

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    Oh okay, in that case that seems fine to me. I just always am under the impression that this car doesn't require heavy bills so that's why I was asking, even though its been all paid for now.

    Anyways, glad to know I now have a working AC! The mechanic also said that he didn't spot any leaks, so I am assuming the off-positioned hose probably opened up the leak, and him fixing it solved it. Either way, the car blows cold air.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    wait until your brake actuator goes out.:eek:
     
  11. darkgiant

    darkgiant Member

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    Uh... any specific detail you can give me on that? That kind of is getting me nervous... lol..
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    other than they cost a few thousand? nope.:p
     
  13. darkgiant

    darkgiant Member

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    Ah, just looked it up, is there any specific reason why they would wear out? Or do they eventually just wear out? I am assuming since they are electric, force would have to be applied for that to happen?
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    actually, it's pretty rare. probably a manufacturing defect that might fail out of warranty.
     
  15. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

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    Look at it like this, most shops charge $100 for the diagnostic and then a minimum of 2 labor hours for work, at $90 per hour that's $180, for a total of $280 plus any taxes, fees, and other miscellaneous charges...

    I think any repair done at a garage under $120 is a great price. Glad you got it repaired!
     
    #15 Daves09prius, Aug 30, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2015
    bisco likes this.