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AC Compressor gone bad...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by funeshah, Aug 1, 2019.

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Which route makes most sense?

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  1. funeshah

    funeshah New Member

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    Hi all,

    I have a '13 Toyota Prius. I purchased this in May of 2017 as a Toyota Certified vehicle. In the 2 years I owned the car, it's been fairly good to us - with just the usual maintenance items.

    Since July of 2019 (earlier this month), we've had AC issues (intermittent). Turns out that the AC Compressor is failing and the Toyota dealership estimates this to be a $2400 repair, using Toyota OEM parts. I was a little shocked at that price, and explained my concern to the service manager.

    A few items I'm considering:
    1. already asked Toyota dealership to explore repairing with non-OEM parts - see what that does to the cost to hopefully lower it. *Update* They apparently don't sell/make this part aftermarket.
    2. take the car back from the dealership, and bring to a local repair shop (I didn't initially do this, because I thought this may be covered under the Toyota Certified Warranty, but looks like it is not).
    3. purchase a "comprehensive" vehicle warranty that includes AC, from somewhere such as Car Shield or etc. and then consider the AC repair again in a few weeks.
    4. sell the car and get something else

    obviously option#4 is not preferred, however, we do need the car to have a functioning AC when it is being used for various medical reasons.

    Does anyone have experience with aftermarket vehicle warranties and any recommendations as to what steps to take next?

    Thanks,
     
    #1 funeshah, Aug 1, 2019
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!

    sorry to hear it. shop around local mechs and a/c places to see if they will put in a salvage unit. make sure they have prius a/c experience though.

    and actually, that's a pretty low price for a dealer. I've seen quotes here almost double that.
     
    #2 bisco, Aug 1, 2019
    Montgomery likes this.
  3. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Welcome! Sorry about the dead compressor. Been there myself. When the compressor ate itself on my 2013 PiP, I got a used one for $100 from a local dealer who specializes in hybrids. The I took it to the shop he uses for AC work and they installed it for $200.
     
    #3 jerrymildred, Aug 1, 2019
  4. lech auto air conditionin

    lech auto air conditionin Senior Member

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    As mentioned by BISCO above post I too highly stress if at all possible go to a shop that specializes in hybrids and if you can find a shop that specializes in Toyota Prius as their main business model your chances of a successful outcome are greatly multiply . And you can sometimes get lucky with a salvage yard compressor and if it was an actual burned out compressor don’t forget the condenser should be brand new preferably Toyota made by DENSO there’s a reason for that. your model Prius the expansion valve is easy to access on the firewall cheap insurance replace that too .
    PS. Almost forgot to mention all the lines hoses must be flushed out if it was a burnt out compressor
     
    #4 lech auto air conditionin, Aug 1, 2019
    bisco likes this.
  5. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    3. Stick it to’em in a few weeks. Extended warranty companies are a rip off but you can swing this in your favor, I’d be thrilled for you. Make sure you read between the lines that it covers AC compressors and that the actual words are there, not verbiage. And keep all paper work, some are known to be difficult to work with when it comes time for them to pay the tab.
     
    #5 Grit, Aug 1, 2019
    Georgina Rudkus likes this.
  6. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    A common cause of a failing or intermittently functioning compressor is a corroded connector. This is real "Achille's heel" of the design. There is no way to repair the corrosion other than replacing the compressor. This may mean that there is no need to replace any of the other components except the compressor.

    Here's a link to the thread;

    Corroded AC wiring harness 2010 - anyone heard of this? | PriusChat
     
    #6 Georgina Rudkus, Aug 1, 2019
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2019
    Grit likes this.
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