Out of Warrant Toyota Assitance - A/C Failure 2017 Taco TRD

Good afternoon all!

My A/C failed on my 2017 Taco TRD OR and the dealer is currently quoting me $1,100 to replace both Schrader valves as a "starting point" because they honestly cannot guarantee if their recommendations are the only failure points or not. Needless to say, at 135k on the ODO, I'm a little bit disappointed to face such a catastrophic failure of what's supposed to be a lifetime system. I switched from BMW's to Toyota's specifically to avoid this kind of thing. /digress

So far, I reached out to Toyota Corporate to inquire about repair assistance with poor results. My truck was rejected because I don't have regular service history with a Toyota stealer— another disappointment after hearing all of the altruistic Toyota assistance stories related to abnormal service problems.

And so, before I go find an independent shop and shell out some money, I'm curious to know if anyone here has had any past success with Toyota Corporate offering out of warranty assistance to vehicles that were also NOT regularly serviced by the stealer? Basically, I'm trying to understand whether or not I just landed a useless agent, and some persistence may yield a different result.

Cheers!

 

A limited warranty period is just that, a limited warranty period! Just because you think that your AC system is a "lifetime system" (whatever that means), does not mean that it should /will last forever. My recommendation is find a good Indy-AC shop and let them fix it.

PS: welcome to TW!

 

Lifetime means I've driven many vehicles upwards of 200-300k on the clock and I have never had A/C failures related to the refrigerant lines or compressor. A quick web search yields a recurring theme with 3rd gen Tacoma's and A/C problems; coupled with the lines blowing out the charge at 135k, I believe still warrants the disappointment and criticisms.

None the less, thank you for the input and recommendation.

And thank you for the warm welcome!

 

I have a 2016 Tacoma and had a A/C hardline puncture near one of the shredder valves around 56k miles. Had that fixed then 30k miles later the A/C compressor clutch seized, replaced it with a new oem clutch and it's been trouble free for almost 2 years.

It happens

 

Yea I can't see Toyota coming in to help on an 8 year old vehicle.

And per previous advice find a good independent shop that specializes in Toyota and get their opinion/advice/price quote.

I find these independent brand-specific shops tend to do very good work at very good prices and they are usually busy as hell.
I know mine are sometimes 2 weeks out for even basic maintenance.

 

Location? https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/regions.36/ Tone of help here.

Go do a search of your local area for the best independent Toyota repair shop that does AC work and come back with results.

 

It sounds like you prematurely jumping to conclusions. Take the truck to a different mechanic for a second opinion.

$1100 to replace some shader valves makes no sense. If it isn’t obvious, those are the valves used by (some) bicycle tubes.

 

Not sure if yours was making a whistling sound before hand, but here's the TSB for that.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10207964-9999.pdf

 

First of all you don’t need to use the Yoyota Services to keep your truck in warranty, and if it’s broken due to something covered by a TSB, you still should qualify. Can you give better details what was wrong with it? There is a TSB for underperforming AC in hot weather you may still be able to get if it’s partially keeping cool, and maybe the older one for component failure. Did they say there is a refrigerant leak? A private AC shop may be able to help fix it for much less, but if it is something covered under the AC TSB’s I’d try that first.

https://imgur.com/a/0PpKgw7

and this one:

https://imgur.com/a/J3Ic95k

 

Especially corporate. They suck

 

There's nothing "lifetime" about an a/c system, they do a lot of work over the life of the vehicle and that refrigerant gas is hard to keep sealed up.

Leaks can be hard to find, especially if its a long slow leak. They dont always leave a lot of evidence behind. I never tell the customer I found the leak, I tell them I found a leak.. Murphy's law, as soon as you over promise and tell them "it should stay sealed up for a while" something else will start leaking

Yes we have several electronic leak detectors but they often dont provide much help. I usually end up looking closely for oil residue and sniffing around. A spray bottle of soapy water helps too..

$1,100 is a lot but its not catastrophic. Wait until you need a compressor or a evap core, those can be even more expensive

Sounds like they're selling you the entire line assembly (for hi and low side) with fittings and valves already installed. Pretty sure the low side valve can be replced separately, not sure about the hi side on a 1234YF system

We keep boxed assortments of valve cores at work, but we're really just starting to see new style refrigerant vehicles at my shop. For the first few years those cars were basically only going to the dealer. Now theyre starting to trickle in last few years..

Maybe try a reputable indie shop? You dont necessarily need a toyota mechanic, a/c systems are all pretty much the same.

 

This, ridiculous price. With the correct tool you don't even have to purge the system. We are talking about less then a half hours work while drinking coffee and the parts are less then that cuppa joe. [wholesale price]

I replaced schrader valves all the time on residential units. I'd buy new valves by the container full. I think I went thru two or three tools in a couple of decades simply because they wore out from use. It's basically the same setup [but WAY smaller] we used for tapping steel gas mains and inserting and removing rubber plugs and removing coupons. [from the cuts]

 

Curious- How to replace schrader valves without purging the system?

 

With a core changing tool. This one is a

$107 Mastercool 58490-YF R1234yf Valve Core Remover/Installer Kit – Services Standard Valve Cores Under Pressure – Includes 17mm & 14mm R1234yf Fittings and Storage Case

Mastercool 58490-YF for R1234YF systems. Around $100.

 

That is interesting. To get the correct charge after a leak though you still have to evac, vacuum, recharge. Yes you can use ac pressure dials to adjust the freon charge but its not exact and modern vehicles work best at the correct charge not at just about the correct charge

 

Wut? If it was just leaking at the valve, didn't completely lose pressure and replacing the core resolves, the system does not need to be evacuated. You absolutely would use gauges and a pressure chart to correct charge. You'd never charge a system by refrigerant weight.

 

You should do as you would like. From a shop point of view if you want a warranty you would charge it by weight.

 

In a professional shop, using a service machine that calculates by weight is the only way to truly guarantee the correct amount

In your driveway you can get close with manifold gauges but its still "backyard" at best. You might add what appears to be the correct amount, the cooling performance improves but 2 days later the ambient temp changes and the performance drops off.. As a DIY it's no big deal, you just get out your tools and add or subtract a little more to your liking

A professional only has a limited amount of time with each vehicle and it has to be perfect when the car leaves.

 

Refrigeration systems can’t always be fixed in one step. One thing reveals another.