AC stopped working, only 36000kms or 23000miles, what gives??

So I must say I'm a little disappointed in Toyota. The AC in my 2016 has stopped working and my vehicle is off warranty!!! I didn't expect a failure at such low miles as normally the AC should last a lot longer. I did some diagnosis and its leaking (compressor still runs) so I just filled it back up. A few weeks later its still cold so thats good. This is a video of my truck that I filmed, it may help someone out if your AC goes just after your warranty period.



https://youtu.be/fcEoGYzr2S8

 

You all need ac in Canada, eh? Could be from lack of use. My guess would be a bad evaporator. They are making them ridiculously thin now and if you get some build up from lack of use, you get corrosion and then you get a leak. Maybe you will be lucky and it will be your condenser which is much easier to change.

 

What did you fill it with? Aren't u still under warranty?

 

Had the same problem on my 2016. At about 36200, my AC went warm. It's a long story, but it had a leak. They pulled dash and replaced evap. AC sucked after that. They have pulled the dash 3 times to look at it, including a Toyota field engineer. It just works "ok" as long as the temp outside isn't over 90. Toyota says they are "working on a new part" but it's been over a year. It sucks and the only thing I hate about my truck.

 

My 2019 has the best AC of any vehicle I have ever owned.....hope it lasts years beyond the warranty tho. There was a guy with a 2017 4 banger on here that posted his first failure in 230k mi was with the AC. Go figure.

 

Same here with my 17... cabin gets frosty... down right frigid in 108 outside temps lol

 

Oh man I feel for you OP. I've had A/C issues in one form or another with almost every car I've owned.

In fact I just replaced the AC compressor clutch on the wife's acura.

Good luck!

 

Same experience. I’ve had a lot of cars through the years and my Taco’s AC is the best performing of all. After about 10 min with it being 100º outside and I set it to 62, I have to turn it up to 70 because I’m freezing.

 

The A/C is a critical component not just too cool in the warm weather, but to defrost the front window in cool weather. It used to be that the "defrost setting" simply used the engine heat via coolant to redirect warm dry air to the front and side windows, but it was only effective when the engine warmed up. Not ideal when you first start your vehicle on a cold day. As a result car engineers decided to use the A/C system to defrost the front/side windows by drying the air (removing the moisture) and also equalizing the temperature between the glass and outside temperature. So although we may not use the A/C as much in cooler climates to cool, it is definitely used in the winter to defrost the interior windows. If you A/C is not working, I would definitely have it repaired to ensure your defrost mode works correctly.

 

You clearly have never been to Florida. My AC is on every day for at least 10 out of 12 months. My AC was used maybe 4 times in a 6 month period when I was living up north. I parked in a garage at home and work, rarely was there a need to turn on the defrost unless I happened to have parked outside during a snow storm and don't know about you, but when it was snowing, I never had it on defrost unless I parked outside and it iced up. I get what you are saying about the AC automatically coming on with defrost, but I really doubt you use it that much. If you do, good for you. I'm sure your AC will last longer than those that don't much like putting your truck into 4wd once a month just to keep the parts lubricated.

 

No, my truck just went off warranty. It was me that shot that video, that is my truck and I was able to find a 1234yf replacement. Really sucks, because I called Toyota and its going to be really expensive for the part and to remove the dash, that's what they think it is as the evaporator is a common problem on these.

 

For the last month in the Toronto area its been close to 40C, that's 104F. Toronto is a souther part of Canada and we get really hot summers. In the VID you can see the temp on my dash and I use a thermometer in the vents.

 

Damn man, that fuckin blows. Pulling the dash on any vehicle is never fun. If you do do it yourself, document it! It will be infinitely helpful for the people who come after you.

 

Ya, if this stuff doesn't hold for long then I'm pulling the dash and will make a video of it. As of now the replacement 1234yf has been in there for about 3 weeks and it's still cold, so even if I go through one fill per summer its better than fixing the dam thing as a can is only about $25. its when it leaks bad enough that its only lasting a week or two, then I have to fix it. Really expected more from Toyota. This thing is not a high mileage and I really take care of it. Sucks......

 

I wouldn't pull the dash unless you KNOW the evaporator is leaking.

I would recommend that you buy an A/C dye injector kit for the r-1234yf hvac system and a black light. The dye injector will look like a caulking gun basically.

Shoot some dye into the A/C system, drive around a few minutes with the A/C on, then check all of the components with a black light (compressor, condenser, a/c lines, and the evaporator drain tube - where condensation / water comes out) and see what glows.

I'm an ASE Certified Master Automotive Tech and this is THE ONLY WAY that I verify A/C leaks.

This way you can visually confirm which component is leaking (which will save you a lot of headaches and guess-work)!

I hate doing evaporators so I would avoid pulling the dash unless I know 100% that its a leaky evaporator.

The A/C dye injector is the way to go, for sure...

 

Or a sniffer! But those are $$

ETA, OP buy a sniffer! The cheaper ones aren't too bad

 

A/C dye injector kit

$153 UView 471500YF Spotgun R-1234yf Injection Kit

https://www.amazon.com/UView-471500YF-Air-Tool-Fittings/dp/B07CSK6RQS

Blacklight / UV light

$60 Streamlight 66149 Stylus Pro USB 400nm UV Rechargeable Penlight with USB Cord and Nylon Holster, Black

https://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-66149-Stylus-Rechargeable-Holster/dp/B0188YF80G

 

It's been my experience with "sniffers" that I tend to get a lot of "false positives". I ONLY use dye to confirm 100% without-a-doubt where an A/C leak is at (because I can visually see where the leak is coming from).

 

Fair enough!

 

Mine went out at around 32,000km. They said it was some hose that was leaking. They fixed it under warranty so it was all good.