A/C repair- replacing evaporator

I brought my Tacoma in for a repair at the dealership because my a/c was blowing warm air not matter how cold I set the dials. The dealership said I had a leak in the evaporator and that I need a refrigerant recharge and that it would cost about $1300 for parts and labor. Is this a reasonable quote or is the dealership trying to screw me?

 

That’s pretty expensive, but dealerships usually are.

Any idea how big a chunk the evaporator is of that total or didn’t they itemize your estimate?

 

Not sure exactly how much they in particular are charging for the part but I found a on the Toyota website that it costs under $100 for the evaporator. They said they had to remove the dashboard and it’s a big pain to get to the right spot.

 

I would shop around

 

Your warranty is over?

 

I haven’t a clue what’s involved to do the work, but if dash removal is the case I’d recommend you let a dealer tackle it, and would explain the high labor amount. Never hurts to get a 2nd estimate at a different dealer if possible.

 

call an independent A/C shop, with the info you have they may give you an estimate on the phone.

 

If you are out of warranty, there is really no reason to have the dealership do the work. Any good A/C shop does this work all day long. The refrigerant is expensive, however I would expect that job to be $800-$1000.

 

I had the same issue not that long ago and was told a similar price if they deemed that it wasn't covered under warranty. I was told the majority was labor because they do have to rip out the entire dash and I think the front seats if they want more working space (pretty dumb setup if you ask me). Luckily, mine was still covered at the time so I don't know if that's what they would have ended up charging for sure or not.

I would think an independent ac shop could do a better, faster and cheaper job if you aren't covered under warranty.