A/C Compressor locked up on a 5 year old truck?

Did I get a dud or is this becoming an issue? $3000 fix seems ridiculous. Half of the labor is removing the entire dash to change the orifice. 120K miles. Anyone running into this issue. It is completely locked up and throws sparks all over the engine bay when the clutch tries to engage.

 

5 years is not alot of time, but 120k miles is.

 

I don't see a reason the system would have to opened up if it is just the clutch.

 

Its not usually the clutch. The compressor grenades and blows chunks of metal through the whole system. You can blow out the lines, but you need to replace the evaporator and condenser.

 

Less than $200 from Rock Auto.

 

I paid almost $1,600 to have the evaporator core replaced at the dealer back in September 2018; My truck is a 2nd Gen 2010 model, manufactured in August 2009 and purchased new by my dad in September 2009. The problem first made itself known in May or June of 2017 when I happened to notice that the left side vents were blowing ice cold, but the right center vent was blowing only moderately cold and the far right vent was blowing hot outside ambient air; My mechanic recharged the system, but could not find the leak, and it functioned fine for the entire summer.

On an unseasonably warm Saturday in April 2018, I went to a car show in New Jersey and brought my girlfriend at the time along. This was my first time using the A/C in 2018, and the problem was back; Luckily, the A/C still performed well enough to keep the cab cool and my GF didn't mind that the far right vent wasn't blowing cold air.

I had it recharged by my mechanic again, and it worked fine for most of the summer; By July or August, it was blowing warm out of right vent again. I needlessly replaced the blend door actuator myself before giving in and bringing it to the dealer; They discovered it to be like a pound low on refrigerant, and recharged it. They also added UV dye so the leak would be easy to find. My mechanic said he had done this, but apparently he never did (I found a new mechanic); I brought the truck back to the dealer two weeks later, after having allowed the dye-laced refrigerant to run its course. It was the worst case scenario!

The evaporator core was leaking, and they even brought me back into the shop and provided me special glasses so I could see the leak when they shined the UV light on it. This was a two or three-day job at the dealer, and probably about the same at my new mechanic, but my mechanic was a one-man show with a smaller shop at the time and was swamped; He also didn't have the ability to give me a courtesy loaner like the dealer did. I went with the dealer, and I have to say I am satisfied with the job they did. My mechanic would have charged like $1,100 or $1,200 for the same job, but I needed this done fast, plus I'd just started a new job and needed that loaner!

The entire dashboard had to come out to gain access to the evap core, and this is why it does not surprise me that the dash in a 3rd Gen has to come out for access to the orifice tube. I honestly think that since your truck is six years old and well out of warranty, you would be much better off taking it to an independent mechanic; Having been through the replacement of a major HVAC component once and gone through the dealer, this is what I would do!

Going back to my truck, it was warrantied for two years on both parts and labor (One year from Toyota USA, and an additional year by that particular dealer); Two years came and went without issues, and it got me through the summer of 2021 trouble-free as well. In late September 2021, the same dealer discovered perforation on the right frame rail of my truck, which qualified it for a no-cost-to-me frame replacement!

When the frame was replaced, the engine had to be removed and the A/C system had to be evacuated when everything was disassembled. I had the A/C on the other day when it was in the 70s, and it was blowing cold (This is after having been evacuated, disassembled, reassembled, and recharged); However, if it stops blowing cold at any point in the next year, the dealer will pay for a recharge and diagnosis of the issue.

 

I re read the original post and yes I misread it the first time.

 

Is that a dealer quote?

Get one from an independent AC shop.

Side bar. If the orifice tube is inaccessible underhood, that's a really lousy design. That tube should serve to protect the evap from being filled with trash.

 

I'm assuming the $3,000 price is from the dealership?

First thing, get a second opinion.

Second try to locate a reputable shop that specializes in just ac work. If the orifice is hidden in the passenger compartment independent shops will know the tricks to replace it at a lower cost.

The dealership may also have tricks BUT the dealership will still charge you full book rate even though they performed the repair in less time.

 

and dryer.

How would the orifice protect the evaporator? Doesn't it just serve to create a pressure delta right before the matrix? It might catch big chunks (and be fouled in the process) but something is going to get through most of the time. It's not uncommon for the expansion valve to be part of the evaporator assy in my experience.