AC recharge issues; dealer says electrical

Common for the compressors to fail when run low on freon . Had to replace mine in my 04, its electric and pruis specific so expensive. I was lucky and found a good used one . Flushed the system and its working good so far 2yrs on.

SM-G960U ?

 

they charged you $500. for a diagnosis?

 

It's a variable pressure system that requires you to evacuate all the refrigerant into an expensive AC system machine that precisely measures the amount of refrigerant by weight and then puts it back in the vehicel. If I had to guess the people working on it don't know how to do it and they damaged your system and are making up excuses. If I were you, I'd start leaning on them in a way that makes them feel legally liable and then work out an agreement to get your money back. You'll probably need to take it to a reputable AC auto servicing place to get proof they damaged it too.

 

Your original post didn't specify, but your latest one implies - did a Toyota dealer do the recharge you mention in the original post?

Assuming(?) that a Toyota dealer would be familiar with the idiosyncrasies of a Prius A/C system, I don't think the damage PriusCamper proposes should be the issue.

I would also think that a Toyota dealer - again - assuming they know the Prius - would do a "recharge", hit you up for $250, and show empty hands when the recharge didn't take.

Not an A/C expert (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express at one time - and have added refrigerant to several A/C systems) but refrigerant is usually added to the "low side" of the system with the compressor running. There are pressure switches that will prevent the compressor from running if there's low/no refrigerant.

Again - if it was a dealership that did the recharge, they should certainly be bright enough to know if adding refrigerant will make a system work or not - without having to charge you an additional $495. Especially if they'd like you to buy a new car from them somewhere down the road. (IMHO)

 

Yea... To clarify, when I first read what you wrote I didn't realize it was a dealership saying this. They probably have the equipment to do the refrigerant properly. But when it comes to diagnostics dealerships are warranty oriented so they never look for simple inexpensive fixes for older cars, but simply start replacing all the expensive stuff rather than looking for less expensive work around. So if I were you, I'd find an auto AC specialist near you that will find the least expensive fix.

 

Why are you taking it to the dealer for ac repair? They can barely fix your engine and will drill you for every little thing. Probably $200 an hour.

Chicago must have a hundred ac shops Prius is very common car they all know about hybrids.

you have a leak. You have been driving it with low Freon. That’s very hard on the compressor.

cost me $150 to have my ac diagnosed. They charged it up injected dye found the leak in my underdash ecoil replaced that $1100 out the door
And freezing again.

as that ac guy said to me you were lucky you did not burn up the compressor as that’s very expensive……

so the moral of the story for G2s with low charge is get it fixed ASAP and don’t use it till you do as it will be very expensive to fix.