2015 A/C Issues Help: under warranty

For his sake, I hope it works out that way.

 

So far the dealership hasn't even brought this up. I think I was even under 36K Friday when I brought it in because this morning I'm only +/- 36,200. I also purchased an extended warranty (72K) when I bought the truck because I've seen too many stories of people in general having something happen "just after the warranty ran out".

According to the person I talked to with Toyota there is apparently some difference in how they handle things before and after 36K. It sounded like some paperwork bureaucratic thing. The lady I spoke with said that for now everything should be handled as if it was under warranty because I brought it in for this issue at 35K. She said if anything new came up it would go to some other department or something. She couldn't really explain it well.

 

That's essentially what they told me. I had the thermistor replaced 2 weeks after my warranty ran out, but they replaced it under warranty because I had first brought the issue to them a month prior and they tried something else that didn't fix it.

 

I dropped my truck on at 7:30 this morning and the AC was frozen up. Spoke with the AC tech there. Just called and they only now just starting to look at it. Apparently they're having trouble diagnosing anything because its not frozen up anymore. So I told the service guy, again, that it only starts freezing up after driving which is why I brought it straight there this morning and why I asked them to look at it first thing.

The service guy also said that if it is the thermistor it will take 2-3 days to repair and that they don't do loaner vehicles. Does 2-3 days sound accurate? I feel like I'm wasting my time with this dealership. Not sure how I will get back and forth to work either if all this is accurate.

 

I asked my dealer about the loaner vehicle and their policy is anything that requires more than 1 day of work gets a free loaner. Otherwise its $23/day.

My compressor change is marked for 2 or 3 hours, so no freebie for me.

Im sure its up to the dealer to make those rules.

 

Why? Take that long to get the part? If so, drive the vehicle till the part comes in, then make the appointment. It certainly doesn't take that long to do the work.

While it's a warranty issue, I don't know if a loaner is a dealer choice or a Toyota policy. Since I rarely buy vehicles that have a warranty, and even more rarely have actually needed to use a warranty, all I can suggest is to look at your warranty papers. Might find some guidance there.

Could be. At best they certainly don't seem to communicate well. Makes you wonder about the value of a warranty if you continually jump hoops to get a $9 part replaced.

 

Mine took 3 days exactly, the service manual lists the job as only a few hours but the job is apparently much more difficult than the manual leads on.

 

Well, the dealer called me late this afternoon. Their AC tech ended up having to call Toyota and they opened a "task number". Toyota techs walked him thru some sequence of changing connections thru which they determined that the problem is not the thermistor. They said its the AC amplifier that's bad. They also told me that they couldn't get the compressor to shut off, even with switching it off, that it just ran continuously. They said that Toyota Corp would not allow me to drive the vehicle, because it might cause more complications or something. So they set me up with a rental. The part is on backorder and they expect a 1 week wait for the part. Hopefully they got their diagnosis right.

Toyota will only cover a rental of a Toyota. Enterprise only had one available in my area so we had to drive across town to get it. That all took over an hour to get me set up in a Camry (woo-hoo) that smells like a cheap hotel room. I haven't driven a 'car' in over 20 years. It will take some getting used to but I am really grateful to have a way to get around. (Probably can't talk my wife out of her FJ either.)

 

The amplifier controls the thermistor and pressure switches, so the symptoms may be the same. Either way, they don't want you to drive it because with the compressor is stuck on all the time, which puts a heavy load on the starter and could possibly cause the starter to go bad. I'm guessing they will replace the amplifier AND the thermistor, and possibly pressure switches while at it, just to be safe.

 

The thermistor is a just a few hours job because the refrigerant has to be recovered, and then swapped out, vacuum, and recharge the system. They say a 2-3 day because the parts warehouse probably doesn't have it in stock, so shipping of the part is the cause.

 

nope http://www.ussensor.com/technical-info/what-is-a-thermistor

No refrigerant removal required.

 

I'm having trouble understanding this. By starter I assume you mean the device that turns the engine when you turn key that's been placed in ignition switch.

 

I have to say I agree with their diagnosis as very plausible. THe AC Amplifier take several signals one of which is the Thermistor and uses these to control the AC System.

 

Update:The dealer called this morning and said the part came in but they weren't sure if they would be able to finish today. They needed to install the new amplifier, then call Toyota Corp to run thru some testing or something.

They ended up calling me around 2:30 pm and said it was ready. I've only had a chance to drive home and run a few errands, but so far so good on the AC. It seems to be working like it should. My only concern now is my MPG. I can't tell for sure but it feels like there's some additional strain on the engine when accelerating and going down the highway. I know my mileage had dropped while the compressor was running all the time. I plan to fill it up in the am, then drive several days and check my mileage to be sure.

 

BTW, I want to thank everyone who's contributed to this thread. I've learned a lot about our AC's in general.

I had never even seen or heard the word 'thermistor' before this. Apparently its also the little wiry thing on window units AC's that I've seen forever but never knew what it was.

 

Dealer replaced my compressor unit. Solved my issue. Stated compressor would not disengage so the system turned itself off. Clutch and compressor assembly replaced.

So far so good here.

 

I'm still assessing things. Filled up this am, mpg was 15.6, a new low. That's over 3 mpg below my average. Going to try and put some miles this weekend and check again. I disconnected the battery to see if resetting the computer might help. Truck feels like I'm driving with a load.

Any suggestions on how the AC could cause an mpg drop like this?

 

Is the AC clutch disengaging as it should?

 

I'm not sure how to tell. I know the cold air seems to be cycling on and off like it should. The only thing I'm noticing is that the truck is driving like I've got a bed full of building materials. Feels like I'm having to give more throttle to go from a stop and getting up hills.