P0A08 and I have to pee! Can I drive at all?

Hope you all had a nice 4th...

Car still in the shop as they had a long weekend too.

Theory on air conditioning now:

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The AC is stopping at idle because it is too hot, which makes the pressure in the system too high. That is monitored and causes the system to just shut off. It is probably a combination of factors. Slightly unpure refrigerant, slightly overcharged [a/c], blocked radiator and condenser fins, and the foam pipe insulation protecting the lower grille that is blocking air flow.
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Great point that my pipe insulation from winter is still on!!! That is certainly on me. Duh.

They discharged a little bit of refrigerant. I can easily take off the pipe insulation. They want $225 to clean radiator/condenser fins. Worth it?

Anything not sound logical? Could the pipe insulation be the actual root cause of the overheat? I am berating myself for not even remotely thinking of it.

 

I feel like an idiot.

 

I think he is able to monitor that and it improved a bit with the refrigerant level adjusted downward a bit.

Is it logical to pay the shop to clean the exterior of the radiator and condenser?

 

Well, it's to the point where I cannot tell what season it is anymore. Even in Minnesota. So I may just leave it off totally. Same reason I will never buy snow tires again. We have warm spells every few weeks all winter long and cool spells in "summer," so it no longer gradually gets cooler and then warmer - instead it is a yo-yo pattern. I've adjusted to all season tires and time to give up the modest gas savings from the grill blocking I think. Especially if I cannot remember to remove it when temps do stay above freezing for a while.

 

Yes, I would have used A/C in November last year and again in March. That's actually cooler than I remember. I guess the heat waves in January and February were shorts weather, but maybe not a/c weather. lol.

 

For the record, the water pump installed in December 2025 (16,000 miles ago) was made by "Gates" purchased at NAPA. From what I can tell it is reputable, but not as preferred as AISIN/Toyota. It had a lifetime parts warranty, so I am probably going to have them swap it for an AISIN or I will worry on long rural road trips in summer.

Could this be a good summary?

1) Engine water pump failed, idling so no passing wind to cool anything, coolant could NOT have been circulating (as it was not a leak)
2) engine overheated at 249 degrees throwing B1503 and turned off a/c as protective measure
3) overheating gas engine + weather made inverter too hot to step down the power and it threw the P0A08
4) change in temperature created a temporary vacuum leak throwing P0171 due to part materials that reacted to temperature

Is that close?

I read that if you pull "freeze frame data" for the B1503 and show 0mph, you know temp 249+ and coolant is still full... that proves water pump failed even if temporarily??