A/C evaporator broken, quoted $1,800 to fix

Oh man. I’m not sure when the “redesign” part happened either but I have a 2021 Tacoma and I just finished having the dealer take a look at my AC and they concluded that it was the evap core needing replacement under this same TSB. I have only 12k miles but my car was making an intermittent whistling noise that got progressively worse when the AC was on. Soon after the AC also wasn’t cooling as well anymore. Glad to hear you got yours back and it was all good cause I’m a bit nervous about them having to take the whole dash off to get to the part.

My car is still under warranty obviously so no charge to me but a bit disappointed to have to deal with this so early on in owning the car. Hopefully once it is fixed I have no more issues.

 

I just dropped mine off at the dealer this morning was shortly told my evap core is bad. Luckily I had an extended warranty I forgot/didn't know I had that is going to cover the cost. 2016 model with 49K miles.

 

where was yours leaking?

 

A few days ago I took it to the store and noticed it was only blowing semi cold air out the left vent. They other 3 were warm. With the radio off I could also hear a hissing sound coming from within the center of the dash. Going to pick it up this morning. All I know so far.

 

Went to pick it up this morning. AC working great again but quickly noticed the blind side monitor wasn't working. Turned it around and dropped it back off. Now I have to wait until tomorrow for them to figure out what was left unplugged.

 

Thanks for the update. Hopefully they figue the BSM issue quickly.

 

They said they got the BSM working by reflashing the computer. ?? But then noticed the vents weren't working correctly. So had to wait another day while another tech had to fix the fuc up of the first one. Everything is working as it should now.

 

Yeah in today's world with labor shortages I expect the worse most times unless you find a trusted mechanic. If I have to go to the dealership I'll try and work with the service adviser and try and get a experienced tech to work on the issue if it's complicated. I've had luck with this in the past on 1992 Toyota truck. I even knew the Tech's name via the Service writer. Haven't had to go through this yet with my 2020. I do know he still works at the dealership but must be getting close to retirement. Good to hear they finally got it sorted out for you.

 

I expect the techs to have some sort of trouble putting the whole dash back together. It looks like a big job from the videos.

My service advisor just contacted me saying they need to hold the vehicle another week since now they are having issues with the vent control system. The truck has already been in the shop for a week. Crossing my fingers they get everything sorted out by the time I get it. Going to test drive it around the area before taking it home since it sounds like something can easily be left disconnected or not put together correctly. Thanks for the update.

 

You probably just recovered the cost of the Toyota extended warranty. Mine was $1000.

 

Literally created this account to reply to this thread lmao! I had the exact same description as bazinga, intermittent whistle noise while AC is on! But never had any performance issues it was still quit cold. I mentioned the TSB to dealer, and they took care of it right away. I just got back my truck today, noise is gone, and AC is blowing way colder now! I never noticed that, probably cause its so intermittent. COVERED under warranty.

 

dats gray8t

 

Had the evaporator replaced on my 2016 about a year ago- was leaking down to the point the dye was coming out the drain tube. Zero cold air at the time. Dealer did repair at $1800. Think Toyota would help out due to the TSB? Thanks.

 

My 2020 DCSB MT OR has been intermittently “whistling” since i drove it off the lot. Last week it started to be more frequent. A few days ago it got really bad and started making “darth Vader” noises also. Took it right to the dealer along with a printed copy of Toyota TSB 04-22 and they are fixing 100% under warranty!

Thank you TW❤️

 

Glad to hear it was a seamless experience for you. This is a known issue. My 2020 does the whistling as well. Don’t know if I want my dash torn apart tho and the A/C works great. For now.

 

I felt the same. mine worked great until last week. Darth vader noises marked the start of the ac performance decline. by the time i dropped the truck off it was barely cooling.

 

must be a different issue. mine's made the whistling noise since new and still blows ice cold A/C. my 2020 did it as well.

 

I’ll report after the repair if the new style evap coil solves the whistling.
My truck had ice cold AC and no problems alongside the whistling until last week. The whistling got more frequent and started to make other weird noises only with AC on.

 

yikes, hopefully mine doesn't stop working