Added wrong refrigerent on a 2005 prius

You didn't tell us what you put in your ac system. If it was just a pure 'wrong' gas, there's hope of getting it fixed fairly cheaply. If it was gas and 'wrong' oil mixture, then you're in for more expensive repairs.

Getting the wrong gas out only requires pulling a good vacuum. Getting the wrong oil out requires some disassembly and flushing the entire system.

The cheapest way out now is to bring the car and the empty can to a good reputable ac shop and tell the guy what you did. If he has to figure it out himself, it will cost more.

Good luck.

 

Art's Automotive in Berkeley. They do A/C work. As koolingit says, you need to have it flushed, since it now has the wrong kind of oil in the system. A dealer may insist on going straight to a new compressor. Toyota is very clear, even to the point that HV A/C must have separate service equipment to avoid cross contamination. DO NOT RUN YOUR A/C. Even if you just decide to run it till it dies, when it does you will get a red triangle for a high voltage leak and have driveability problems.

 

I think even more important than doing AC work Art's Automotive does Prius work. To a large degree our cars are in a class of their own. Hybrid Specialists

 

Find a for real AC shop that deals with major system problems and R-12 to R-134a conversions. They are more likely to know the real story on lube and materials compatibility. A dealers AC tech is less likely to have dealt with oddball AC problems and probably charges more.

A real AC shop is more likely to know what needs to be done as far as getting any R-12 lube out of your system. It may not be as bad as it seems, many conversion instructions for converting from R-12 to R-134a don't require a complete lube flush, just drain the old stuff and install the new stuff. That doesn't necessarily mean your R-134a system will tolerate R-12 type lube, but in might in small quantities.

 

The Prius AC has an electrically driven compressor. The compressor motor is inside of the refrigerant loop, meaning the wrong oil will attack the electrical insulation and short out the motor, necessitating a compressor-motor replacement. Even without using it, your compressor may be toast. Get the bad stuff out as soon as possible.

Tom

 

From the manual:

PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED WHILE
SERVICING
NOTICE:
• For the electric inverter compressor, use the NDOIL
11.
• Electrical insulation performance may decrease
significantly if even a small amount of oil other
than ND-OIL 11 is used or enters the refrigeration
cycle, causing a DTC to be output.
• Replace the main components (evaporator,
condenser, and compressor) if a large amount of
oil other than ND-OIL 11 enters the system. Failing
to do so may cause electrical insulation
performance to remain low, causing a DTC to be​

output.

I would pump the system down ASAP and replace the oil with fresh hybrid oil. You may be lucky, or it may be too late, but changing everything is very expensive, sorry you made this mistake.

 

What did you put in there? I don't believe auto parts stores can sell R12 refrigerant to anyone who doesn't have an EPA 609 certification/license. Take a look at the can and let us know exactly what refrigerant it contained.

 

He answered that in the 3rd frame, an oil recharge. Wrong oil, not wrong refridgerant

 

You absolutely have to clean out every last bit of the oil from the system. Even the smallest amount of the incorrect oil will damage the electric part of the A/C compressor.

 

The ND-OIL 11 is about $140 a bottle also. AFAIK there is no "generic" replacement for it either.

 

There are two references worth reviewing for this thread:

Craig Van Batenburg of UpYourVoltage hybrid training with a story that contamination may not be a big issue:

AC

A story from a dealership tech, who is selling the 150 mL ND11 oil for $100, with a story about replacing a compressor after contamination:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ng/92569-nd-11-oil-where-buy.html#post1357349

 

I am using "generic" ND-11 for 2 years now:
Car Quest has it. Hybrid AC oil
CCM CQ16136 $37.99

Also see:
Certified A/C Pro Automotive A/C Compressor Oil from Interdynamics Inc.

 

I recently did the same thing and almost immediately the A/C stopped cooling. Realizing what I had done I shut the A/C off and found a shop that would evacuate the system. I had it evacuated but not recharged. I did not run the compressor for about a week and then went back, had the system evacuated again and then recharged with the correct Freon. The system now works fine with no apparent damage to the compressor. The total cost was about $200.

 

If the wrong oil has been put in the system, and is discovered quickly, there may be some recovery possible. This thread links to an article where a shop added around 150 ml of the wrong oil to a system, used the car for a couple of days, then replaced the compressor and flushed the entire rest of the system using a HECAT H-1000 flush system, and recharged it with the correct oil. The system was still ok 49,000 miles later.

Replacing the compressor may be an expense, and I do not know whether HECAT flush systems are available nearby. But it is less labor and expense than having to replace more of the A/C system, as strict Toyota guidelines would require after a mishap like that.