Cracked Air Con Condenser

purse3223 · April 15, 2016

I've had my IS300h F Sport for five months and absolutely love it. It's my third Lexus the others being an IS200 and IS 250 F Sport.

I noticed recently though, that with some slightly warmer weather, as I tried to cool the interior it remained stubbornly lukewarm instead of cold.

It went in for its second service today, so I asked the excellent Bristol centre to investigate.

The end result is that I have a cracked condenser which is going to be replaced next Friday, fortunately for me under warranty!

Hoping they give me something nice to drive for the day.........................

tHomBleached · April 16, 2016

Welcome purse. I've had all three IS's an all and I've noticed the mk3 doesn't get anywhere near as icy cold as the other two, maybe I've got the same problem. Glad to got it sorted :)

purse3223 · April 16, 2016

Thanks Thom.

I'll update this post when the work is done next week. The service manager told me Lexus aircon systems are very efficient. We'll see - but glad the problem has been diagnosed with the summer on the horizon (and that I'm not paying!).

steve2006 · April 16, 2016

Good to hear it's a warranty job, reliability seems to be good my LS400 is all original on the AC including the gas after 21 years

tHomBleached · April 16, 2016

Quality on my 250 was second to one. It was an 06 plate, came to regass in 2015 and they said there was no point - still on original gas!

rayaans · April 16, 2016

10 hours ago, tHomBleached said:

Welcome purse. I've had all three IS's an all and I've noticed the mk3 doesn't get anywhere near as icy cold as the other two, maybe I've got the same problem. Glad to got it sorted :)

Might be a good idea to fiddle with the settings. There's soft blow, fast blow and medium which does change how cold it gets. Also leaving car in ECO mode will make it more efficient but less effective

purse3223 · April 24, 2016

Update to my cracked condenser - all sorted on Friday with minimal fuss. Lexus Bristol gave me a 2016 IS Advance for the day. Nice but much prefer the F Sport! One thing I did notice was a glossier looking Nav screen which looked good. F Sport much more of a matt effect screen.

Air con now working as it should just in time for summer. Lets hope we get a good one!

claudiocristo · June 23, 2019

Have the same problem with my one , i took it down to Lexus and need to replace the compressor, whole job to Lexus comes up to £890. I wish a well day to those who are out of warranty lol like me

Herbie · June 23, 2019

That sounds very cheap.

Just to confirm - you're getting a new aircon compressor and they're doing the job, so that price covers parts and labour?

claudiocristo · October 1, 2019

Yes, that was the full price inc the Air Compressor , the parts for it + Labour

Mr_Groundhog · March 1, 2023

Where is the condenser?

agent_dess · March 1, 2023

4 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

Where is the condenser?

Engine bay

steve2006 · March 1, 2023

Located in front of the engine coolant radiator so unfortunately exposed to the elements and debris damage.

Mr_Groundhog · March 1, 2023

Do you think the condenser is the same as the evaporator?

I have this aircon cleaning spray and says to apply it somewhere in there....
I called the dealership and someone at Lexus told me the evaporator would be deep in the engine bay and accessing it would mean a couple of hours of labour...

Notamech · March 1, 2023

38 minutes ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

Do you think the condenser is the same as the evaporator?

I have this aircon cleaning spray and says to apply it somewhere in there....
I called the dealership and someone at Lexus told me the evaporator would be deep in the engine bay and accessing it would mean a couple of hours of labour...

Pretty sure the evaporator should be buried somewhere under the dashboard. Its the thing that cools the air that the blower motor blows on it. It should be in the cabin as opposed to the engine bay.

Condenser is a different thing. Its the one behind the radiator