Air Con

[Crabbit]

I’ve just returned from having my car serviced & have been advised that the air con should have  anti bacterial treatment. The dealer is quoting £140. Is this reasonable or should I shop around?

[scudney]

Would shop around 

[Spock66]

32 minutes ago, Crabbit said:

I’ve just returned from having my car serviced & have been advised that the air con should have  anti bacterial treatment. The dealer is quoting £140. Is this reasonable or should I shop around?

Are there any unpleasant smells at all?

If so there are various diy products you can use for a fraction of the cost.

If not the dealer is just after making a quick high margin sale that is not needed and just leave as is.

[DavidCM]

The title of the thread says it all.

[rayaans]

It probably doesn't need it but the price sounds right. 

The gas is quite expensive to get now

[Notamech]

4 hours ago, Crabbit said:

I’ve just returned from having my car serviced & have been advised that the air con should have  anti bacterial treatment. The dealer is quoting £140. Is this reasonable or should I shop around?

Definitely expensive. I was quoted ~£50 recently for an aircon purge / clean at lexus twickenham. They quoted £150 for re-gassing the ac. 

[Mr_Groundhog]

that's quite the margin @Crabbit ! Here I found it for 12 quid: https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product/lexus-air-conditioning-system-cleaner/

I have seen things you people would not believe... AirCon treatments quoted at a 1,066% price premium... dealers trying everything to make a quick buck... all hese moments will be lost, like fees under warranty....

[Digifant]

It's not difficult to do it at home if now how to.

[PCM]

If it's a re-gas... but then they would not know how much gas is there unless they took it all out first.

I assume they mean the thing I do at home, having bought a branded aerosol from eBay, that costs me about £7 and takes about 10 minutes.

That way you can use the £133 you save to buy something nice or save it for a rainy day.

[Mr_Groundhog]

1 hour ago, Digifant said:

It's not difficult to do it at home if now how to.

That's the one! I ordered it the other day from LPD

.....is it really just a matter of spraying it down the vents and wait? does it turn into foam? how does it smell? how long do you have to leave it there, etc?
It just feels a bit counter-intuitive to spray liquid down the vents!

[VFR]

Anti bacterial treatment does “not” involve any regassing.

Read this link and buy one that suits you to “easily” do it yourself. 

https://yourcar.co.uk/best-air-con-cleaner/

[NemesisUK]

18 minutes ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

It just feels a bit counter-intuitive to spray liquid down the vents!

Certainly don'y do it if you have the nanoe™ option fitted....

[Mr_Groundhog]

51 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

Certainly don'y do it if you have the nanoe™ option fitted....

The nanoewhat?! ....oh man, this car is too sophisticated for me....  how do I find out? 😵
Edit: seems it does not have it.... here are the models https://www.lexus.co.uk/discover-lexus/technology/lexus-nanoe-x#/

[Digifant]

1 hour ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

That's the one! I ordered it the other day from LPD

.....is it really just a matter of spraying it down the vents and wait? does it turn into foam? how does it smell? how long do you have to leave it there, etc?
It just feels a bit counter-intuitive to spray liquid down the vents!

Yes, it has flexi tube in the set, and all you need is just put the tube in vents and spray. I haven't used it yet, so I don't know if it is foam or not. But as far as I remember, if it's foam, 30 min should more than enough for waiting. don't worry about the liquid in vents, as long as you wouldn't turn it into floods.

[matt8]

I have this foam and there are certainly no instructions with it.

I've read the right way to clean the system with this foam, is to find the condensate pipe and insert the flexi tube into that, spraying the can directly onto the condenser. Let it expand, foam up and then drip out the system.

The Is300h is quite low down so is hard to access or see this pipe.

https://youtu.be/AR6yF2NzRBc

Finding someone with a ramp or experience of doing this is what I need, but £130 is excessive!

[Herbie]

On 2/22/2023 at 5:57 PM, Crabbit said:

have been advised that the air con should have  anti bacterial treatment. The dealer is quoting £140. Is this reasonable or should I shop around?

As others have said, that's an absolute rip-off. It's a very easy DIY job and cheap too.

However, do you even need it at all?

If you're getting a musty sort of smell in the cabin then yes, it could do with a freshen up, but if the cabin smells as it always has and is 'normal' then there's no need for antibacterial treatments at all.

[Mr_Groundhog]

21 hours ago, matt8 said:

I have this foam and there are certainly no instructions with it.

I've read the right way to clean the system with this foam, is to find the condensate pipe and insert the flexi tube into that, spraying the can directly onto the condenser. Let it expand, foam up and then drip out the system.

The Is300h is quite low down so is hard to access or see this pipe.

https://youtu.be/AR6yF2NzRBc

Finding someone with a ramp or experience of doing this is what I need, but £130 is excessive!

This is different, though, from the one I bought (the one @Digifant posted above) , which seems more user-friendly for non pros and weekend warriors like me 🙂

[matt8]

43 minutes ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

This is different, though, from the one I bought (the one @Digifant posted above) , which seems more user-friendly for non pros and weekend warriors like me 🙂

It looks the same to me. Let us know how you get on!

[Digifant]

2 hours ago, matt8 said:

It looks the same to me. Let us know how you get on!

Oh sh*t, you are right. I actually haven't seen that kind before. All I bought before was meant to be used in vents.

[Mr_Groundhog]

Yeah this one (the one i bought) says it's to be used on dash vents https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product/lexus-air-conditioning-system-cleaner/

[Digifant]

6 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

Yeah this one (the one i bought) says it's to be used on dash vents https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product/lexus-air-conditioning-system-cleaner/

That's the all confusion is all about. My last photo was from the product instructions manual. But the website says different.

[Mr_Groundhog]

On 2/27/2023 at 3:38 PM, Digifant said:

That's the all confusion is all about. My last photo was from the product instructions manual. But the website says different.

I just got the one I odered and guess what.... the instructions on the site were wrong! it is NOT for the dash vents but for the aircon evaporator.....

Does anyone know where it is, and whether it is something I can do myself ...or should I return the item?
Help! 😞

[Notamech]

6 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

I just got the one I odered and guess what.... the instructions on the site were wrong! it is NOT for the dash vents but for the aircon evaporator.....

Does anyone know where it is, and whether it is something I can do myself ...or should I return the item?
Help! 😞

Here is a diagram of all the ac parts

http://zatonevkredit(blocked word)/repair_manuals/raw_content/AWHuk534U9h2CeTmOt_S

Not sure if you can access it easily though. But arent these cleaners just meant to be sprayed into the vents... I am pretty sure you should be ok spraying that cleaner in the vents. It will eventually reach the evaporator and then drain down from the drain hole that is meant for condensation from the evaporator to drain. But perhaps ask lexus? 

[Notamech]

7 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

I just got the one I odered and guess what.... the instructions on the site were wrong! it is NOT for the dash vents but for the aircon evaporator.....

Does anyone know where it is, and whether it is something I can do myself ...or should I return the item?
Help! 😞

Just read the instructions someone else posted above. Looks like this is not meant to be sprayed in the vents but rather in the air inlet. I think on most cars thats typically around the black plastic area where the wipers are. Not sure if anything needs to be opened to get to the actual inlet in which this needs to be sprayed. Perhaps if its too complicated just return it and get one of the foam ones that go in the vents from a different brand. Else going to a dealer to get it done might work out expensive. 

[Mr_Groundhog]

21 hours ago, Notamech said:

Just read the instructions someone else posted above. Looks like this is not meant to be sprayed in the vents but rather in the air inlet. I think on most cars thats typically around the black plastic area where the wipers are. Not sure if anything needs to be opened to get to the actual inlet in which this needs to be sprayed. Perhaps if its too complicated just return it and get one of the foam ones that go in the vents from a different brand. Else going to a dealer to get it done might work out expensive. 

Thanks @Notamech ! Also, amazing URL to the online parts catalgue, how did you find it?
I wrote to Lexus parts direct and they replied saying both methods are all right, which I found very surprising. I guess I will believe it, after seeing some videos where people do similar things with similar sprays...