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air conditioner recondition/recharge?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Coyotefred, Jun 8, 2021.

  1. Coyotefred

    Coyotefred Member

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    Hi everyone,

    2012 PiP owner here. Still runs like a champ, but AC seems to be weaker than in earlier years. I'm older so I still remember cars needing to have their refrigerant 'topped off' etc. to improve cooling.

    Are more modern AC systems like the PiP similar?
     
  2. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Your car is 10 years old.
    Some minor coolant loss might be expected.
    Also expected is some dirt accumulation in the condensor/evaporator fins.
    And maybe some compressor wear too.

    Just blindly throwing some coolant at it is seldom a good choice.
    A leak test and inspection by a professional would be much better.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    prius a/c is high voltage electric with specialty oil. take it to a dealer, or known quality hybrid a/c shop. don't take anything for granted, wrong choices can cost thousands.
    @lech auto air conditionin is an expert
     
  4. lech auto air conditionin

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    If you don’t have the equipment to completely drain it out put it under a vacuum and weigh it in pretty accurately then hopefully take it somewhere where it can be done correctly.

    Topping off can be a very very very expensive mistake.

    it works for some people sometimes and they are very happy but for the ones that doesn’t work for their bank account is about to take a big hit on a repair bill.

    like Clint Eastwood said in his movie(“ do you feel lucky“)