AC not cooling as well lately - can I refill it on my own?

If you decide to top it off yourself (which I don't recommend) get a two gauge setup and study how to use it. Overfilling an AC without one is easy to do and can be expensive when you damage it.

A 2010 sh0udn't have lost enough refrigerant to be losing cooling. You should get the problem properly diagnosed and fixed.

 

The car is too young to have lost refrigerant unless there's a leak somewhere. I would have it checked out also.

 

yes you can, but you should go to my page and see the photos explaining what not to do. What to look for if you have some one do it for you. STAY AWAY FROM THE A/C KITS WITH THE EXTRA OIL, STOP LEAK, SUPER COOLING ADDITIVE!!!!!! and remember your refrigerant charge is only 420g to 480g less then one pound or 16oz.

only use R134a with nothing else in the can. If some one is using a charging machine make sure its a newer one, some of the older ones are 2oz to 3 oz + or - can cause problems. Make sure the wet dry indicator shows DRY, most shops are to lazy or to cheap to change the filter dryers. Only a real shop and technician will have a refrigerant analyzer and use it on every car and their own refrigerant to make sure the refrigerant is pure.

Just because some one puts a tool in a monkeys hand dose not mean he knows how to use it, but he will be more then happy to take your money and call himself a professional

A 2010 pruis should not be having A/C problems yet, has its been worked on at a body shop for front end damage?.

 

Do NOT refill it yourself. My understanding is that the compressor oil required in this application can not be mixed with standard PAG oil, and any contamination can cause major issues for our $2300 a/c compressor. Most over-the-counter cans of R134a contain some amount of oil, and therefore they should not be used for top-off.

 

The Prius AC compressor is a sealed direct drive unit. It is powered by an electric motor that is inside of the compressor, exposed to the refrigerant. The wrong oil will attack the motor resulting in a complete failure. These compressors are not cheap, so don't do it.

Tom

 

yes vary true, as I explain on my page in my photo album showing a large counter display with all the garbage for A/C they sell, Grand Auto, Kragens, O'relly auto, Car Quest. I hope the dealer is not your only option. Toyota not much better, but better then doing it your self. I repair far too many Pruis A/C systems with bad compressor just because the shop before over charged, wrong oil, too much oil, air mixed with the R134a is a killer.

 

yes vary true, as I explain on my page in my photo album showing a large counter display with all the garbage for A/C they sell, Grand Auto, Kragens, O'relly auto, Car Quest. I hope the dealer is not your only option. Toyota not much better, but better then doing it your self. I repair far too many Pruis A/C systems with bad compressor just because the shop before over charged, wrong oil, too much oil, air mixed with the R134a is a killer.

 

yes vary true, as I explain on my page in my photo album showing a large counter display with all the garbage for A/C they sell, Grand Auto, Kragens, O'relly auto, Car Quest. I hope the dealer is not your only option. Toyota not much better, but better then doing it your self. I repair far too many Pruis A/C systems with bad compressor just because the shop before over charged, wrong oil, too much oil, air mixed with the R134a is a killer.

 

yes vary true, as I explain on my page in my photo album showing a large counter display with all the garbage for A/C they sell, Grand Auto, Kragens, O'relly auto, Car Quest. I hope the dealer is not your only option. Toyota not much better, but better then doing it your self. I repair far too many Pruis A/C systems with bad compressor just because the shop before over charged, wrong oil, too much oil, air mixed with the R134a is a killer.

 

I've repaired car air conditioners, since 1970. They are not as simple as the stores like Walmart and auto parts stors would like you to think. Yes, I use the two gauge set up.

Air conditioners come with a "minimum charge" from the factory to save on refrigerent. Done properly, the "receiver-dryer" or accumulator can store another 10 ounces or more of refrigerent. If you do, however, overcharge the system, "liquid" refrigerent may enter the compressor. Liquid is NOT compressible, like gas. Something's got to give. Damage to the valves and/or the compressor can occur.

If you don't know what you're doing, seek out a professional. A shop that specializes only in car air conditioning and does a large volume of work is usually best.

 

wow, I remember the 70's . 35lb A6 Frigidaire iron monster compressor, York and Tecumseh, I used to rebuild 100's of them and my dad did 1000's of them

10 oz now-a-days is just about your complete refrigerant charge of your Pruis, my Yarus is 12 oz. back in the days of big slow revving low RPM V8 engines. Your new pruis electric compressor can spin past 6000 RPM's on tiny bearings as small as your pencil lead and diameter of a dine, compared to the old bearing size of half dallor to dollar size spinning at a few hundred to 2000-3000 RPM's.

Now we are starting to need a scanner as a must have tool just to work on some of the new A/c systems. I'm looking to buy the factory Toyota scanner just because I have to work on so many pruis now and some of the problems you can no longer just use your hands, eyes, ears, DVOM or brain and experience any more. It's not grandpas CHEVY any more. and I will soon have a Pruis C

 

Maybe NOT, but the laws of Physics doen't change much.

The VOM will still work in troublshooting these systems. The only problem is that the valuses for good parts are not published and not available anywhere. That means, you'll need to check the parts against a "good" "CONTROL."

Electronics and sensors are NOT everything. The sensors and the processor units can go bad, too. That adds two or more extra levels for systems to fail.

 

Partly true, about the law of Physics ( with A/C ) they have change the game. The P/T ( pressure/Temperature) chart we grow up with in school means nothing any more with the new combination of ultra high efficiency condenser, ultra high efficiency evaporator, and moving to replace the old expansion valve and orifice tube with an( ultrasonic injector, and electric expansion valve that work on pulse with modulation ) like fuel injectors . The variable and clutch compressor and inverter technology on the electric compressor has thrown what we used to know as rock solid physics and mixed it up and added hybrid fuzzy logic. It's just not the same. This is why the guys who worked on cars A/C systen for the last 30 years are the same people causing the damage now. They just don,t understand. Unless a tech or shop owner is standing next to me and they been working on A/C for the last 15 to 30 years, I put on a demo in front of them as i'm working on one to show them what laws of heating and cooling do not apply any more. You should see their face, they never know or still cant believe they have been doing things wrong and believe what was fact , IS NOT. There is still the ones who still cant understand and don't believe and in this business and should only be filliping burgers or pushing a mop but instead they own a automotive shop .

Yes the DVOM still works but now access and time in a shop cost so much and would have to charge a customer so much a $4000-5000 non-oe scanner or a $15,000 to $40,000 scanner is worth it and pay a monthly subscription of $80 to $350. I used to do it with out a scanner for the last two decades to.

Here in San Francisco were Auto shop labor rate is $120 to $170 a hour and rent is $1 and up a square foot and a techs labor is starting $18, and up $35+ now a scanner sound cheaper and worth its weight in gold. The scanners to day are 100 times better then the ones in the 80's- 90's and even in the last 10 years the improvement is ten fold .

 

Translating the above post:

The laws of physics still apply, but are obfuscated by the incredibly complex nature of today's systems. Complexity and high labor costs now make expensive diagnostic equipment cost effective. If you are an old-time mechanic, you don't know what you don't know.

Tom

 

As one research scientist and engineer who understands complex sytems and materials, as well as how they interact, I reverse engineered many systems to understand them. Maybe some of old mechanics never progressed, but I'm always learning and developing new ideas and tools.

Yes, I do understand the sensors and the OBDII systems. And, I do know that therer are over 30 or more varieties of "O" ring materials. I know how to choose the one to be applied best to a particular situation.

Like the medical field, "At the very least, do no harm."

I have not worked on the Prius aire conditionar system, but be assured that I will exhaust ALL "proir art" and knowledge out there, if I was to begin working on it.