AC problem, concern over garage diagnosis

[stephenM999]

Hi all,

My 2006 LS430's air conditioning recently stopped working abruptly (completely dead), so I took it to a local workshop for diagnostics.

They have diagnosed a dead compressor, at a cost of £2500 for the Lexus part, plus £250 fitting. Obviously I would source a reconditioned/generic part rather than paying that kind of price for a Lexus compressor!

Prior to taking it to them, the AC was dead but the compressor was silent. However, upon starting the car to take it home from the garage, there was a pretty loud clicking/whirring sound from the engine compartment, similar to a tractor.

They say it's the compressor making the noise, and after listening myself I believe they are correct. However, I'm skeptical as to whether a diagnosis should have caused this sound. It seems unlikely, unless they've been diagnosing it with a hammer!

I've read that compressor noises can be caused by a lack of gas - they did say they tried to regas it during diagnostics - so I'm concerned that they have drained it of gas and handed it back to me?

I'm worried that whatever is causing the compressor noise could be damaging other elements of the air conditioning, and I'm now reluctant to give them the work of replacing the compressor once I've sourced a new one.

I obviously need to discuss this with them tomorrow, but any feedback/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[cruisermark]

Hi Stephen - Air con problems on the 430 have been limited in numbers so there is not much information available on the forums.

If the compressor is working then you should be able to hear it cutting in and out when air con is selected.

If they tried to regass it then did it hold pressure? if not why not - did they detect a leak?

A common problem on the 430s is the air con pipes corroding resulting in loss of gas  - could this be your problem?

I would take it to an air conditioning specialist and get a second opinion - if possible watch them while they check it  and at the end ask how they reached they diagnosis.

If it is the compressor then the cheapest route would be a second hand unit - preferably with some warranty.

If it is the pipes then there is 2 options - the costly one is buy the pipes from lexus and get an independant to fit them - this involves alot of dismantling including removing the petrol tank. The second option is is to cap off the pipes for the rear aircon and regass - this leaves you with front air con only but in reality it does not make a huge difference since we don't get many hot spells here and most cars come with front aircon anyway

Hope you get it sorted soon

 

 

[messi]

Hi, if the noise you heard was like a tractor, it may be the bearing in the air con unit. But you may have to take to a proper AC specialist to check it out for you. 

[Verbout]

I would manage without it, but if you're the sort that likes everything working be prepared to pay....good luck.

[Shiner]

Hi

I had exactly the same thing happen to me on my LS430! It was a very bad year! Lexus paid half the cost to replace the pipes which are prone to stone damage and leak, but refused to make any contribution towards the compressor.

One thing Honest John ,of the Telegraph , says have the gear box of your compressor checked by the independent aircon specialist...if thats the problem, it would be a much cheaper solution.

 

 

[steve2006]

As the above comments suggest I would get an AC specialist to take a look, the fact that your garage regassed the system without first checking for leaks is worrying in that it is bad for the environment if the gas is released into the atmosphere and also illegal.

Correct diagnosis involves filling the system up with nitrogen and a special dye which then shows up leaks under ultra violet light.

Chances are as other members have mentioned is that the rear AC pipes have corroded to the point they are leaking.

BTW...welcome to the LOC.

[Ruud]

I have also read that the rear pipe seem to leak quite often.

Some opt to blank off the rear a/c instead of fitting new pipes

[skyway]

Mine wasnt working when I got her.

there was a hole in the front aircon rad thingy.So I bought a new one from amazon at I think 80 ish flown in from florida.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3111-New-Condenser-For-Lexus-LS430-2001-2006-4-3-V8-Lifetime-Warranty-/201465696972?hash=item2ee84a92cc

Then I bought a couple of cans of air con gas and a extension pipe from Halfords which worked a treat.

All this after taking it to an air-con specialist who told me I needed a new compressor a rad thingy pipes cutting and shutting andvery special oil putting in the gas, Must of had mug on my head that day. (quoted me 900 labour)

I drove it on a 5000 mile tour of France and Spain with no problems.

So don't be put off thinking you cant fix it YouTube is our friend.

[stephenM999]

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice.

Assuming the noise indicates that the compressor is now running without any refrigerant/oil, I guess (hope) that suggests the refrigerant pipes are OK - otherwise presumably it would have been making a noise before being taken to them? Do you think running it with a lack of refrigerant/gas could be damaging other parts of the system, apart from the compressor?

I'm pretty angry with them at the moment - they didn't call to tell me it was ready, they didn't tell me about the noise, nor did they engage the handbrake or lock it when they left it in their public car park! They aren't a small company either, so I wasn't expecting any of this.

[Ruud]

As far as I know the compressor clutch won't engage when there is no refrigerant/pressure in the system.

A quick way to test for pressure is to find the low pressure side fill port and use a nail, or any other thin object, to press on the little pin. If you hear a hiss you still have pressure. If nothing escapes 99% certain you have a leak

[Newbie1]

12 hours ago, stephenM999 said:

They aren't a small company either, so I wasn't expecting any of this.

My experience has been to expect this from larger outfits.