Air conditioning cool not cold

Kopper · April 12, 2021

Hi

I have noticed today that the air conditioning is cool rather than cold on my RX450H. I originally thought it was because it was on Eco Mode but even when off it is only slightly cooler.

Would I need to take it to a Dealership to have it gassed or would any local garage be enough to have these done?

I do have the Lexus Extended Warranty so not sure if its worth using that to check for Air Con faults?

Thanks

Herbie · April 12, 2021

It's most likely that it just needs to be regased and if that's the case, a local A/C specialist would indeed be able to sort it out for you. NB: Make absolutely certain that they use ND11 oil or equivalent, NOT 'normal' PAG oil.

However, the aircon is a sealed system and should never need to be regased unless there's a problem somewhere that's allowing gas to escape, in which case you'd be wasting money by taking it elsewhere and not seeing if the Lexus Extended Warranty would cover it.

Well, that's a perfect example of 'fence sitting' isn't it? Sorry :whistling:

Kopper · April 12, 2021

Thanks Herbie.

When I called the service dept of my local dealer, they said it will probably need a regas and one should be done every 2 years. They charge £100 for a regas and £125 for a "Air con service".

I have had the car for 18 months but there is no record in the sales paperwork to say an air con regas was carried out at the time of purchase.

Shall I go for a regas at Lexus and if it's still an issue, then go through warranty to fix any leaks or faults?

b4u2 · April 12, 2021

@Kopper

go to any local garage for fifty quid

you pay over double at Lexus

Herbie · April 12, 2021

1 hour ago, Kopper said:

When I called the service dept of my local dealer, they said it will probably need a regas and one should be done every 2 years.

This advice comes up often but in more than 40 years of driving and owning a few different cars, I've never, ever, ever had an aircon service done, or a regas done, unless gas was leaking. I've had cars for 10 years or more that were as cold on the day that I sold them as they were on the day I bought them.

Like I said earlier, it's a sealed system so nothing should need to be 'serviced' - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The fact that yours isn't getting as cold as it was would suggest to me that there's a problem allowing gas to escape. I think if it were me, I'd go to Lexus because of the possibility of a problem that may come under the warranty. If it doesn't work out, you've paid over the odds compared to a local garage but not a huge amount.

Las Palmas · April 12, 2021

I have had 1 car with air conditioning problems (Honda Accord Coupé). I would go to an expert in air con systems instead of Lexus unless it is to be fixed under warranty.

The only air con center I know of that have competent people is Waeco. Maybe they have a center or 2 in UK. I worked with MB, Toyota and VW and all were doing air con service, but if something was not mentioned in the service manuals and easily fixed we had Waeco take care of it. Retired 16 years ago, but suppose they still are good at what they do. No I do not and did not work for Waeco.

A stupid question: You have the temperature selector set to cold? Sorry! I did not mean it.

flookyk · April 13, 2021

14 hours ago, Kopper said:

Thanks Herbie.

When I called the service dept of my local dealer, they said it will probably need a regas and one should be done every 2 years. They charge £100 for a regas and £125 for a "Air con service".

I have had the car for 18 months but there is no record in the sales paperwork to say an air con regas was carried out at the time of purchase.

Shall I go for a regas at Lexus and if it's still an issue, then go through warranty to fix any leaks or faults?

I was told by an A/C specialist the first time I had a car that had A/c that it was best to have them re-gassed every 5 year, it might be a sealed unit but the gas still looses efficiency over the 5 years.

With the Lexus A/C, as mentioned before, make sure they use the correct oil in the system or you will get expensive problems down the line.

Herbie · April 13, 2021

2 hours ago, flookyk said:

I was told by an A/C specialist the first time I had a car that had A/c that it was best to have them re-gassed every 5 year, it might be a sealed unit but the gas still looses efficiency over the 5 years.

Sorry Keith but I can't agree with that.

How can a gas "lose efficiency"? It's a sealed system and contains nothing for the gas to chemically react with so the gas cannot be changed in any way chemically, nor can the pressurisation/depressurisation of it affect it physically. The only thing that can lead to inefficiency is a loss of gas that presents itself as the aircon not getting as cold as it used to.

Delphius1 · April 13, 2021

Aluminium aircon parts can become porous or gain micro-cracks with age and it's not unusual for aircon systems to lose a little gas especially over several years. A re-gas may well enable the system to regain frosty-cold air again for a few more years. It probably won't last as long as it did from new, but it should give the system a few years of life.

Of course if the system has taken a shorter amount of time to lose it's ability to cool the air, then a more obvious leak would be the prime suspect.

PCM · April 15, 2021

Air con - a hot topic.

royoftherovers · April 15, 2021

31 minutes ago, PCM said:

Air con - a hot topic.

Cool response Piers.

Kopper · April 28, 2021

Just to update, Lexus Woodford looked at the car last week and found a leak. They have now replaced the hose which was covered by the warranty.

Thanks all

b4u2 · April 28, 2021

@Kopper

Good job your covered under warranty otherwise it would have cost you a fortune

Barry14UK · April 28, 2021

I understand air con hoses are very expensive!

Herbie · April 28, 2021

1 hour ago, b4u2 said:

@Kopper

Good job your covered under warranty otherwise it would have cost you a fortune

51 minutes ago, Barry14UK said:

I understand air con hoses are very expensive!

No doubt they would be from Lexus.

However, Pirtek can supply or custom make hydraulic, power steering, air conditioning and other pipes and hoses, more than likely at a fraction of Lexus prices https://www.pirtek.co.uk/services/trade-counter

Barry14UK · April 29, 2021

22 hours ago, Herbie said:

No doubt they would be from Lexus.

However, Pirtek can supply or custom make hydraulic, power steering, air conditioning and other pipes and hoses, more than likely at a fraction of Lexus prices https://www.pirtek.co.uk/services/trade-counter

Thanks for posting Herbs, the sort of info for my 'In case I should need it notebook'

I needed an air con hose for a Merc many years ago and due to very high price used one from a breakers. So not just 'through the nose with Lexus.

granadaman · April 30, 2021

Did that on a navara I had, got a hole in rad at the front Nissan Wanted £350 plus £200 labour. Sourced new rad £95 and took an hour to replace. Went to local Halfords £50 to regas. So main dealer not always the best. On another note my 450 wasn’t cold and had no leaks detected by Lexus as they did a neg pressure test, but needed topping up to get cold.