A/C not blowing cold - 2017 OR

I inquired with an A/C shop to recharge my a/c. It has this hallow whistling sound when the compressor engages. The shop told me that there is 90% chance there is an leak at the evaporator. I saw a TSB on this and it state the same symptom. Shop quoted me $1800 and it will take 9 hours with two mechanics. Has anyone had this problem? Hate thinking these guys will take the entire dash out. I did quite of wiring for my aftermarket stereo and amplifier and wiring for a bunch of switches within the dash. I will think taking out the dash is a huge effort. Any thoughts?

 

If you have an extended warranty it should be covered. I’d try the Toyota dealer.

 

Unfortunately I don't have an extended warranty.

 

With sniffers and dyes, they should be able to tell you 100%. 90 is still a guess. A good one, but a guess.

Not sure there are alternatives to access it. Maybe one of the techs here has had to go in? @Bishop84 ? @Dm93 ?

It is. For a 'relatively' inexpensive part, $1800 is getting you a lot of labor.

 

Dash out 100% any cheating usually results in damage to components.

it sucks

 

Some people choose to leave it for the same reason that they don't want their dash torn apart, it also seems like it's just an annoyance and not an actual problem in most cases. Mine has done it since new, and at 32k miles my A/C still blows cold. No plans to mess with it before my 36k warranty runs out, but I guess time will tell if that's a mistake or not. If they can confirm that the evaporator is the source of the leak, then $1800 seems to be the going rate. Might be worth a conversation with your Toyota dealer, since it's a known issue, they might be willing to help you out.

 

My opinion, while not popular, is to likely spend more money and go to the dealer and have it done there. They know how to take out a Toyota dash and more importantly, put it back correctly. There is nothing worse than getting the truck back with lots of squeaks and rattles. There are very few things I would trust the dealer to do, but this is one.

 

Did you check your cabin air filter? I had the same issue, turned out to be the filter filled with debris.

Check it good luck!

 

I had the exact same issue with mine. Turned out to be an O ring that needed to be replaced.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/a-c-low-refrigerant.773876/

 

Evaporators aren't always a 100% diagnosis but majority of the time they can be, typically if there's dye in the system and it's leaking bad enough you can see dye coming out of the drain with the condensation using a UV light. Also the PAG oil has a distinct smell that you can smell when the blower is first tuned on.

No the dash and HVAC housing must be removed for evaporator access on the vast majority of vehicles, there is no shortcut.
I actually like doing them providing the vehicle isn't a toilet and the plastic isn't all brittle.

Yea but at dealer rates that sounds about right, I'd have to look it up but most evaporators pay 6-12 hrs to replace plus evac and recharge.

 

Mahalo all for your valuable input. I'll first check the air cabin filter. After that I'll take the truck to the ac guy to put in a dye in the system and check for leaks using UV on the ac components in the engine bay and refrigerant in the condensate (I did the condensate rerouting with a drain hose that extends below the frame so it's easier to sample). If it is determined to be the evaporator, I'm thinking of taking to the dealer to take apart the dash and to replace the old one with the redesigned evaporator that is cited in the TSB.

 

I think i.found at least one location of the leak at the high pressure line connection at the compressor. There is a darkened weeped, sticky martial on the top of the connection and some crud at the bottom of the connection plate.