AC Leak: Does This Price To Fix Seem Right?

[AJ Deschanel]

I have an AC condenser and hight pressure pipe leaking on my CT200 and the Lexus service station quoted £1090. This sounds extreme but I have no idea if this is roughly correct. 

I know getting your car done by Lexus will have a premium but are they trying a fast one or do you think that sounds about right?

Thanks in advance

 

[Herbie]

Do you mean the condenser is leaking as well as the pipe or just the pipe?

If it's both, that price may well be right because they'll just replace the condenser. I'd enquire at an aircon specialist before making a decision.

[200h]

i have just done a search for lexus independant garages in london

and here is the link :-

https://www.approvedgarages.co.uk/mot-servicing-and-repairs/car-brands/lexus/london/

you may find an independant will be more affordable and possibly closer to you as well.

[Bowserman]

Probably half that cost at an independant.

The gas cost a fortune now.

[Wass]

A condenser  is the coil which is typically positioned close to the radiator. the HP pipe is one of the pipes which feed the condenser coil. So, one of the condenser pipes needs changing and the condenser coil needs changing. This process will commence by recovering the remaining refrigerant gas from the system and disposing of it in an approved manner...typically sending it to a registered disposal contractor. Having done this,the old condenser coil will be removed and a new one will be installed. Due to the close provimity of the cooling radiator, it is often necessary to remove the coolant and radiator along with large pieces of body work in order to acheive this. ( I am telling you about a typical installation rather athan a lexus specific installation). Having fitted the new condenser coil and pipework along with the cooling radiator, it is then prudent to pressure test the instalation with dry nitrogen and leave it overnight in order to ascertain whether the newly installed equipment is gas tight. Having established that the refrigeration system is gas tight, the car mey then be re-assembled and the refrigeration system then needs to be connected to a vacuum pump in order to remove air, nitrogen, small traces of moisture. ( the vacuum allows the water  to boil out of the system and so the longer the vacuum, period , the less chance of the system being contaminated) Finally, the system will be re-gassed with new refrigerant and tested.

If you can find out the cost of the coil, the gas charge,scrap gas disposal and the pipe, most of the rest of the price will be labour. The task, if done properly, is labour intensive. I would be worried if the cost were to be less than a thousand pounds since this would point to labour savings created by corner cutting.

If I were to be doing the job myself I would "triple vac" the system  while I was re-assembling the bodywork/ radiator and bleeding the engine cooling system. Triple Vacuuming is a process during which one vacuums out the system in the normal way and then breaks the vacuum with the introduction of dry nitrogen three times on the final time breaking the vacuum with the introduction of refridgerant. "Triple Vac" in simply a method of ensuring that any potential system contaminants are removed. Since the car system is a comparatively tiny system, it it possible to complete the work relatively quickly over the space of two working days since some aspects such as pressure testing asre best done overnight and the longer the test, the better the chance of finding any potential leakages of the newly installed equipment ( or previously undetected leakage of existing equipment).

Hope this helps to shed some light on your dilema.

 

[stormchaser]

Why would a Lexus dealer be trying a fast one? [emoji849]


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