2006 Prius “How Customers Kill Their Electric AC Compressor. 

Lol. Cannot operate without coffee and a warm engine keeps it warm and slightly stirred not shaken.

@@coldfinger459sub0 damn right

That's an uncommon failure. If a Schrader valve is leaking, a leak test before/after servicing should find it. It is also imperative that the service caps be installed and tightened. All Schrader valves leak some, the caps prevent loss of refrigerant and keep debris out that causes the valve seals to be compromised. I have seen cheap A/C manifold service fittings damage Schrader valves by bending the pins.

OneLegged hondamechanic Carol has a very unique mechanical business approach to take care of her customers and her employees. It’s too bad we have to call this unique it used to be standard practice but not anymore. She is very strong on education of her employees and proper mechanical technical business practices Now we have corporate shop franchise shops shops with idiots who never worked on a vehicle in their life giving orders on how to repair car. With incentive and bonus programs to twist the arms of employees to do some things to customers cars that should not be done and sell unnecessary services and products.

@@coldfinger459sub0 spot on!! I can't keep a job at those places... They keep firing me for doing the jobs correctly and not ripping people off (doing work/jobs that need not be done)... And yet every time I look for new job listings, those same shops are still looking for mechanics SMH

Let’s first think of a old house refrigerator where every line is made out of copper and there’s absolutely no gaskets or bushings or seals anywhere because everything is breeze together with silver. Old refrigerators would last 20 to 40 years . (Not new refrigerators) To make the air conditioning highly efficient energy wise and high heat transfer they switched to what it’s called microchannel condensers and evaporators. . You can make the evaporator and condenser much thinner and smaller in diameter height length and width. . And the thinner the metal the better the heat transfer. And whisper this ultrathin condenser and evaporator literally just a hair thicker than Reynolds wrap aluminum foil comes micro pinholes from manufacturing that are nearly in perceivable for leakage but they do happen periodically in a literally a acceptable and measurable amount of leakage even brand new from production. Through vibration and thermal and pressure cycling fatigues this ultra thin material used in the heat exchanger. And due to the fact that the material is so incredibly thin the slightest oxidation from road salts and any other environmental conditions that land on the condenser or absorbed from the interior of the car make corrosive conditions that either way and pit the surface of the heat exchangers. And the same corrosive condition can exist inside the air conditioning system anytime it is exposed to the atmosphere for example a collision and the car goes to the autobody shop and they leave the lines open to the air while performing their service that may take days or weeks. That moisture goes into the POE oil does not get removed by vacuum before recharging when the new condenser is replaced and through the heat of compression and moisture and God for bid if they have air contamination add an oxygen creates an acid when mixed with the refrigerant that eats away at the metal from the inside out a microscopic level slowly over time like a ticking time bomb. All these conditions or whatever I play causing leaks in automotive air conditioning systems and home residential. The difference between your car and your air conditioning system in your home or your refrigerator your house air-conditioning system and refrigerator don’t go driving down the street at 65 miles an hour vibrating hitting potholes and may operate in places in winter time when they sprinkle salt on the roads for getting rid of snow or living anywhere by a ocean where this constant salt mist in the air. Then as with all systems use O-rings at every connection and brand new right out of the box from the factory every O-ring has a very minute amount of leakage that is acceptable and has accounted for in the design of each system. These type of leaks not the type of leaks you go after looking for with a leak detector because the leak rate is so small when the seals are in good condition that they are not detectable with the average handheld leak detector or bubbly soap. These type of leaks are detectable with leak detectors costing $6000 plus in laboratories measured and ideal conditions or using helium or hydrogen leak detectors because the molecule size of helium and hydrogen are so small and they have detectors that are so sensitive they can easily measure the regrade through rubber and hoses. This is why so many new condensers leak on cars because they all use microchannel now compared to the old fashion thick walled copper tubing and fins from the 1960s the 1970s a little bit up to the 1980s started to fade it out. . Still to this day I service antique vehicles built in the 1950s and 60s with their original condensers and original evaporators (and hoses occasionally)

@@coldfinger459sub0 That makes a lot of sense actually. They definitely don't make them like they used to

@@lincolnhunt9558 they were big heavy bulky and they require a lot of energy to run in the case of cars gasoline in the case of refrigerators electricity. I still have one of those lay down flip up lid freezers in my basement from the late 1960s early 1970s still operating perfectly today running on R22 It’s in a cool basement on a concrete floor in cool San Francisco so it’s never had to work a hard day and it’s life. In one of my houses I still have the original gas furnace working Circuit late 1950s early 1960s It works excellent pizza at the house in no time no cracks in the heat exchanger. Original blower motor still working recently converted it over to teach my son about three phase VFD’s and wireless thermostats on this old furnace. But we’re going to change it because it’s an energy waster. The thing is barely 50% efficient there’s literally more heat going up the flu out the roof went into the house. Now that my grandchild is two years old if I did not change this furnace he would probably have a child growing gray hair by the time this furnace needs to be replaced from breaking down. It’s somewhere between 110,000 BTU to 160,000 BTU furnace but since the house we insulated the ceiling we stuck in Armstrong foam roof painted white. We put the most energy efficient air tight sealed windows in the house. Added exterior foam insulation to the outside of the house. Now to heat the house or cool the house with air-conditioning we only need 15,000 BTUs. In San Francisco only on record breaking heat wave days approaching 100 or a freezing cold winters when we barely get below 32°F would we ever even need 18,000 BTUs to 24,000 BTUs of heating or cooling.

Usually by the time it make some noise that doesn’t sound right some damage has already occurred. The one thing anybody can do for air conditioning is to never ever allow it to run low on refrigerant . By keeping it full of refrigerant, there’s always cold, refrigerant coming back cooling off the hot, spinning bearings, and a hot electric motor windings I always keeping the Refrigerant 100% filled. It will always bring back the oil that leaves the compressor to make sure it always happens lubrication Just a few ounces low in the compressor starts overheating and lack of lubrication decreases the life expectancy of the compressor So the one thing anybody can do, it’s just never allow it to run low that simple . As we’re trying to fix it PriusChat Forums has a lot of information if you do attempt to do it yourself . I but that’s usually for somebody who is already the kind of person who changes alternators changes starters they do their own brakes and have a little bit of do it yourself experience on cars . If somebody has no experience, then it’s not quite recommended. It might not turn out so right. . And we have seen many people burn up their brand new compressors 12 or even three times trying to do it themselves before giving up and either selling a car or paying a shop to put it in . Do your homework go on PriusChat Forums see what you find to see if you want to tackle it or not .

Just like the Cadillac Cimarron back in the 1980s. It was a Buick with a Cadillac badge on it that had some of the newer up-to-date advancements in engine and drive train features they charged extra $10,000 for it and then all the advancements in features would migrate down in trickle into the Buick badge emblem models later on.

@@donaldlee6760 no the safety switch on there is basically an idiot light like on the old 1960s and 70s and 80s cars Where the light would come on after your car overheated and possibly damage the head gasket What happens as the refrigerant slowly leaks out oil does not always come out with all refrigerant leaks The refrigerant slowly leaks out and superheat, which is let’s put it in simple lame in terms, the cooling effect of the cold, refrigerant re-entering the compressor to cool it down from the heat of compression and the heat of friction plus electric compressors have the heat caused by the electric windings, which can basically be 1000 W heater that needs to be removed But when you run low on refrigerant, the cooling disappears So the compressor starts running really hot 🥵 As you continue losing refrigerant that pressure switch never engages. You just keep running low on refrigerant to the point where there’s not enough mass refrigerant oil leaves the compressor because refrigerant is an excellent oil solvent for refrigerant oil. Velocity refrigerant fall enters the evaporator up inside the evaporator falling out of suspension and vapor refrigerant returns to the compressor to remove more oil and this continues until the compressors burn out.

Because this is one of the only hybrid Prius specialty shop in the whole city. So everybody with a Prius comes to this one shop They’re always having to refix Prius from other shops who did not know what they were doing

Right now there’s nothing special needed for the Prius. You just swapped the compressor. Unless it’s a burned out compressor, you replace everything The oil is different of course because it’s high voltage electric dielectric oil If you could only afford a tiny cheap handheld scanner, this is what I use on my personal Prius for the cheapest one I could recommend THINKCAR 2 Model number TKD04 There’s more expensive ones, but this allows you to see the compressor PM speed. You can see the evaporator temperature sensor and you can even move some of the actuator on the blender doors for the HVAC case. This is a good cheap starting point for somebody learning Or do it yourself at home?

@@coldfinger459sub0 Thanks a lot you’ve been a lot of help in the past few years.

Unfortunately automotive systems are not really close systems. Automotive systems use gaskets O-rings and seals. These are made out of different materials that actually allow and Leach refrigerant at the molecule size level passes through them very very slowly. From day one they start leaking that’s how they’re designed. Nothing is perfect especially in automotive where they have to go through an earthquake vibrating constantly as you’re driving down the road compared to your residential split system sitting in your backyard still and stationary. In a residential or commercial refrigeration or HVAC system all the copper pipes are silver braised sealed. There is no old rings or gaskets used in commercial or residential. The exception to that rule some manufacturers on your residential units use a Teflon O-ring that uses a fitting to compress to hold expansion valve in place others Silver braze them in place. And even over decades the solid copper pipe has a measurable leak rate that the manufacturer know about the molecules of refrigerant even pass through a solid metal vessel but of course at a extremely low rate. The pressure switch sometimes kind of works but only when it’s too late. It’s kind of like gambling the dice sometimes you got lucky and the compressor did not get damaged and sometimes you’re not lucky and it lets the compressor get damaged. The low pressure switch operates kind of like the idiot like what they used to call it on the dash your car if your engine overheats and leaves you stranded on the side of the road and then the light comes on to let you know that it’s overheating. Some customers blew their head gaskets by the time that idiot light came on and some customers got lucky. In automotive it comes down to costs and how high of a level of protection they’re going to put on the vehicle to protect the components. The manufacturer only has to make it live in last long enough to get out warranty and then they won’t return works to make a revenue. Here’s some other higher end models luxury vehicles when they since the low refrigerant sensor trigger three times the computer permanently locks out the signal to the compressor so it cannot turn on it Hass to be taken in to be looked at and the code Hass to be cleared for it to start again. It all comes down to money The fewer components the simpler system the higher their profit margin‘s

It might have suffered a little bit of damage, making a little little noise, but it’ll still work.

The only proper way to do it without making a mistake and without guessing is completely recovering the refrigerant completely vacuuming it out and then only by weight indicated by the manufacture for that specific year make model vehicle it gets filled up and then it works perfectly every time if everything is in good working order. Maybe you got lucky and EPA doesn’t like it and the tree huggers don’t like it release some of your refrigerant that you put in and the lower level goes down lowering the pressure and possibly it’ll start working again. But if it’s making an unusual noise sometimes you’re not so lucky In the shops this is where we get a big majority of our burnt up compressors is from somebody who read online listen to a friend or a neighbor or a RU-vid video that says they added a pan to their car and they were lucky and it worked fine And that’s just it they were lucky Then there’s another group of people you don’t hear about who are usually too shy or two embarrassed to admit they just cost themselves a $700 or a $2700 repair bill because they grab that five dollar can of refrigerant and thought they could just add more Those are the people you don’t hear boasting and bragging and making videos how they screwed up their car on accident So you have two choices You could release some of that refrigerant of course you didn’t hear me say that because that is not morally or ethically or environmentally correct answer. And maybe your system will start working again Or hopefully you find a good shop who Can completely recover the refrigerant and recharge it by way to only then determine whether or not your compressor has been damaged

In small asterisk in small letters AC pros is do not use an electric vehicles electric compressors

If mouse 🐁 involve need to open and look. Testing time.

If it’s always vary cold but the stop cold after a hour. It can’t be that low. Because it get cold. 🥶 And it’s still blow air out the dash but just not cold after a hour. Maybe an electric problem after something get hot. Does it do this on cool days ? One other thing but rare. Moisture in the system blocking refrigerant flow after the expansion valve.

@@coldfinger459sub0 It's not that the space inside the car gets colder and the cooling stops. It always happens about an hour after using the air conditioner. The air blows out, but it's just not cold anymore. It made the car quite stuffy. No matter in cool weather or hot weather, the air conditioner in the car can only be used for about 1 hour. If the moisture in the system blocks the refrigerant operation, can it be improved by replacing the refrigerant?

@@ketaliu if replace desiccant bag in the condenser . Leave it on the vacuum pump a few hours. This will lower and moisture content that may be absorbed into the oil.

@@coldfinger459sub0 Thank you for your answer. I will share this approach with the maintenance technician.

AC system can still cool great to your perception. But still be low on refrigerant charge Way before the refrigerant level drops low enough for the passenger to notice that it’s no longer cooling acceptable. The refrigerant level starts dropping low enough where there’s no leftover cooling that is required to make its way all the way back to the compressor to cool down the hot electrical High voltage motor windings. So the compressor starts slowly suffering for long-term overheating running at higher than desirable temperatures. Along with running at a slightly lower refrigerant charge than factory recommended oil is always leaving the compressor that requires a completely 100% fully functional charged refrigerant level to bring back 100% of the oil volume that leaves the compressor So slowly with the degradation of refrigerant volume slowly leaking out as the massive refrigerant drops but still capable of cooling the passenger compartment the percentage of oil returning to the compressor decreases. With both of these functions of cooling reduce to the compressor and oil return reduced to the compressor it accelerates the where on the compressor itself both the installation of the motor windings and the mechanical moving bearing components. Depending on the level of damage. Sometimes but not always after a complete proper non-contaminated full refrigerant charge is enough to flush out the refrigerant oil that got stockpiled and logged back in the evaporator pushes it forward back into the compressor and the noise goes away. But it depends on which noise there are several distinctive different types of noise that develop from the electric compressors Many times the damage is permanent and even after recharge the noise is still there meeting bearing moving loadbearing surfaces have already been damaged. So this process will continue until failure. But just like a human being with a bad heart I cannot tell you whether it will be in two days two months or two years. It’s always different in every situation. Have no recommendations out there in Alabama area all I can say is attempt to a find a shop that specializes in Toyotas is a big plus. And their specialty is hybrids. Just like a doctor for the human body there is no doctor that’s a specialist in every part of the body Just like there’s no mechanic who’s a specialist in every year make model vehicle ever made. Usually a mechanical shop that specializes in one brand and has many years of experience has already learned and made many mistakes and knows all the pattern problems a particular vehicles especially if they specialize in hybrids.

All it Hass to say is pure refrigerant with no additives. There is only one R134a . Anything else by any manufacture they had some other components in it for example dye , Oil or some sort of leak sealant additive. For some special super NASA hyper magic snake oil cooling additive lol 😂

@@coldfinger459sub0 I'll look harder for that print. I first look for "no hybrid"

If it was 100% empty 0 psi . Even time the car gets hot in the day when it runs the gas expands pushing out a little air temperature. Every night when the car gets cold.. the gas inside the lines, contracts, shrinks pooling in outside, moisture containing air. So you end up with a system that is moisture, contaminated, and air contaminated. Over a long period of time the oil turns into an acid with the reaction with the air and moisture. This slowly attacks, the high-voltage windings in the electric motor Slowly breaks down the oil viscosity Slowly attacks the aluminum components I condensers and evaporators. Causes the condition called formicary Corrosion. Think of tiny little beetles or worms that burrow holes into wood. But instead of microscopic holes that corrode from the inside of the Condenser for the Evaporator outwards. Doesn’t happen overnight takes a long time could be many months could take a year two. Pressure in a little bit higher reduced cooling capacity. Yes Chevy well works good one done properly.

Ahh...interesting. I was wondering how air and moisture made it into the system with only a pinhole leak. I plugged the hole with jb weld within two days. Still likely air and moisture got in in such a short time? Luckily I found out that the two large auto parts store chains on the west coast both rent pumps and guages. So im going to Diy it. Does your channel have a step by step for this job? If not no worries appreciate the time and reply. 😄

@@travisu8109 no step-by-step. Oh my videos are a mishmash of little bits of pieces of information spread throughout. I do know editing I do know, retakes I leave all my mistakes in my videos. . The fancy step-by-step videos are done by the You Tube professionals, who tell people to use Shop air for pressure testing RU-vid professionals who tell you to add a ounce of oil just to be careful and safe RU-vid professionals who show you how to charge up a car with a can of AC pro RU-vid professionals who tell you to charge a car by a certain psi pressure on a gauge RU-vid professionals who never show you recovering refrigerant because they don’t owner refrigerant recovery machine but yet somehow miraculously they could work on air conditioning without releasing it today air. They can make a video and get a couple hundred thousand views on it pretending they know what they’re doing. . And then have Amazon links to buy equipment down below.. No, I don’t make those kind of videos . One day I’ll make a good video just takes too much time and I have too much work . You Tube does not pay enough to get me to make a good video with editing, nice lighting, retakes, sound microphone, multi camera angles. One day I’ll make that video

Ok. If you do make a video eventually I think that would be great. A lot of people want to do a good job but are not near a good mechanic.Thanks again for the info. Found your channel informative. Take care. Bye.

@@travisu8109 I will one day I plan to make that video. It will be really long. It will have lots of steps in a lot of people will probably turn off the video because they will get bored..

Because the pressure and temperature of the unit is not a stable item it’s constantly slowly swinging up and slowly swinging down all the time. And to use the tank method correctly and accurately recovered refrigerant to measure temperature to pressure for PT chart 1st of all you need an accurate method of taking the temperature of the bottle in a stabilize room for example 70°F for 24 hours wherever the bottle is located a garage is a horrible location because the temperature is constantly swinging throughout the day from nighttime cold temperatures in the 40s and 50s through the daytime temperatures of the 50s or 60s in the winter time so you never have a exact stable temperature You do not use an infrared lasers to monitor to take the temperature they are not accurate you use a contact sensor thermistor probe. You do not use your standard non-calibrated roughly only 3% accurate in the center of the gauge scale not accurate at the lower end of gauge scale or upper end of gauge scale analog gauges If using analog ages you specifically have to purchase one percent or 2% accurate gauges add a gauge reading range that puts your desired pressure in the middle of the range. For example you would never use a gauge that goes from 0 to 600 psi when you’re trying to accurately read 70 psi because you’re outside of its accuracy range that is somewhere in the middle of the gauge say 200 psi to 400 psi it’s roughly within 3% 4% accuracy and as soon as you get above that or below that it starts going quickly farther and farther off its accuracy range. So if you wanted an accurate measurement do you use a pressure gauge if analog and you wanna read 70 psi because you’re in a 70° temperature room you purchase a gauge that has a maximum reading of somewhere around 150 psi put in your 70 psi range you’re looking for somewhere in the dead middle of the accuracy range. Or you would just go out and purchase an accurate digital gauge that’s accurate within 1% from zero psi all the way to 600 psi and that will solve that problem really fast And the same thing goes with temperature measurement Devices the majority of them for automotive or cheap low accuracy not very reliable devices But this is why you have a Refrigerant identifier you just hook it up to the tank and it tells you if you’re contaminated or not you don’t need to waste all that time guessing And then the PT chart measurement system with temperature does not work if the gas that you are measuring is contaminated with another gas that has a lower pressure to temperature ratio it sticks within that gas and you could never read it but yet it’s inside they are contaminating. Example propane and butane are both low pressure gases below the pressure temperature of R 1234yf R 134. So using the PT chart method does not work

@@coldfinger459sub0 A temperature stable bottle has no pressure swings.

@@flinch622 But the majority of guys instruments using to take the temperature are usually not accurate in the first place That’s why taking the temperature of a bottle inside a temperature stable room . Compared to a room temperature of 68° three hours ago and now 74° now and with the majority of the guys attempting to take their inaccurate temperatures with devices that are not always just taking the temperature of the bottle that they’re trying to hold their device on the surface Do you have temperature swing plus the inaccuracies of the person not knowing how to correctly using whatever temperature device they’re using plus there an accuracy of their cheap device the majority of shops on in the first place Look what kind of guys were usually talking about in this industry the kind of guy who doesn’t even know that if you’re taking the temperature of one item and part of it shiny metal on the same item and a part of it is painted flat dark color the same item will show up two completely different temperatures oh they’ll try to use something that it was not meant for a surface contacts probe to chat something with completely getting a wrong reading

That say you should have your vehicle checked or serviced after about the first 3 to 4 years Or as soon as you first feel it not getting as cold. As a vehicle gets older and all the rubber seals and hoses get older they slowly start to leak just a little bit more every year. Some people get lucky and they have vehicles that have not been serviced or checked in 10 years and they have no problem at all. But on a hot day like 80 or 90° when your air conditioning is running the large refrigerant pipe that returns the refrigerant back to the compressor should be nice and cool going all the way back to the compressor. Because it’s not only the passenger that needs to be kept nice and cool there needs to be enough refrigerant left over to make the journey through the pipes in the engine compartment to deliver nice cool refrigerant to the compressor to.

No high voltage on the chassis. The system is designed to feel proof if it ever grounded shorted to high voltage to chassis would instantly open up the contactors that are a failsafe to stop voltage from the batteries from flowing to the chassis.. it also has a fuse to blow in line to. They have several redundant safeties to make sure the chassis never becomes hot..

@@coldfinger459sub0 im checking diagram of nissan leaf compressor, and there is oil separator on discharge port. Everyone ev compressor got a separator? Thats cause too much valves and separates circuits? and oil can be trapped behind someone valve?

@@hbo7799 the oil separator’s are to reduce but not 100% eliminate the amount of oil that leaves the compressor and get circulated in the system. It would be ideal if possible to only have 100% Refrigerant in the Evaporator in the heat exchangers, because the refrigerant is an excellent conductor of heat . Where refrigerant oil is the exact opposite it’s almost an insulator . Think as the oil as fat on a whale, or a seal that is in the Antarctic sea, or arctic sea in the north pole.. that oil layer acts as an insulator to stop the transfer of flow of heat, So the less oil that is traveling with the Refrigerant, the Better it’s thermal mass at conductivity absorbing heat. But they still have the problem when the system slowly runs low on refrigerant and they’re still running the refrigerant oil leads the compressor and because there’s not enough refrigerant to keep up the mass flow in velocity of refrigerant through the evaporator . The oil leave the compressor and it gets logged in trapped inside the evaporator and does not return to the compressor. And this is why we get burnt up compressors when they run too long to low on refrigerant .

@@coldfinger459sub0 tomorrow im starting replace compressor in my Leaf. There is any special rule between replacing mechanical compressor and ekectric compressor? Except super deep vacuum ?

@@hbo7799 oil balance

Yes they have low pressure cut out just like all others. BUT ! just like all others it’s like the old IDIOT LIGHT for the engine overheating, many times it comes on too late. The other scenario before it runs too low it runs low enough to overheat the compressor and start restricting the amount of oil that returns just a little but over a long period of time. It still doses some damage and reduced the life of the compressor. But the owner or mechanics don’t know this. Sometimes you get lucky and nothing happened. It’s the customers responsibility to have the AC service at the vary first sine of lost of Preformance. It’s like the owner who keeps filling up a leaking tire until it gets slow over and over again. Each time it gets slow with flexes in the friction causes overheating with the sidewalls of the tire and a tiny amount of mechanical damage. Then one day it adds up in the tire blows out all together while you’re on the freeway and then the owner of the car cries and whines and complains of damage the rim or they got in an accident it was the owners responsibility for not taking care of it in the first place. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED!!!... ITS THE OWNER FALT!!!!!!!

@@coldfinger459sub0 I don't know man, you say that Toyota's compressors are so fragile that will be destroyed even with a slight drop in pressure yet their engineers are so dumb that can't tune their sensors to disable the compressors on time. To me, this sounds like Toyota's fault!

@@ghenkhoash2440 every manufacture is at fault they all do the exact same thing. It all comes down to how much money are you willing to spend for a certain degree of safety buffer. There are a few and I mean only a few manufactures on certain models that gave that extra level of compressor lockout went after a few experiences of this condition they would permanently locked out the AC compressor until you took it into a shop to have it serviced. But if you want to spend that $50,000 plus on a Prius to get that extra level of protection to put your vehicle up in that category go right ahead. And less than 20% of the $50,000 plus vehicles actually have that level of protection in place. No Toyotas compressors are not that fragile I’ve never said that. It’s a high percentage of technicians who service improperly the Toyota and all other manufacturers electric compressors that caused the failures or lack of maintenance by the owner of the vehicle. Because the owner doesn’t change their oil in their engine and keeps on driving it until the engine blows up doesn’t make the manufacture of that engine a crummy engineer and a poor product. It’s a crummy owner of the car with poor service habits that are at fault.

​@@coldfinger459sub0 What I said has literally $0 cost for Toyota and their customers. They just need to change the ECU program and set the compressor disable threshold at a higher pressure!

Yes they are as I said before like most other vehicle just not too extreme levels of monitoring and permanent cut out at the first sign of a problem. You have to know and understand the engineering implementation the level of sensors used at a cut off point to the monetary value that manufactures are willing to implement. All this information is readily available at every manufacture service manual. Along with the trouble tree for troubleshooting diagnosing any problems that are associated with any of the safety switches are sensors. This is all basic high school 101 level automotive shop class instructions you received back in high school

It all depends on what level shop you go to in the hourly rate. Just the compressor by itself can be $1200 brand new from Toyota Or a used one from the wrecking yard for a few hundred dollars. If the compressor was removed in the oil is clean inside the compressor and there’s no metal particles just a clean failure then your condenser should be OK and not need to be replaced But if it’s an actual burn out in the oil got burnt and they were tiny metal flake spread throughout your system than 100% to your condenser have to be replaced. Flush out the lines and hoses And for warranty any compressor replacement should have expansion valve replaced after a burn out to If somebody does not want to replace the expansion valve because it cost too much if it’s one of the older Prius that takes 7 1/2 hours to get to the expansion valve under the dash then you just don’t get no warranty. So you can see how this could end up either being a easy lucky budget replacement with just say electrically failed compressor not needing a condenser in a used junkyard part. Or a nearly $3000 bill with a new Toyota compressor a new Toyota condenser a new Toyota expansion valve flush all the lines and hoses flush the evaporator on one of the older Toyota that takes 7 1/2 hours to get to the expansion valve. This is based on San Francisco California is labor rate of an average of around $170 per hour for a mechanical shop.

@@coldfinger459sub0 thank you very much for that informative reply.

Before it was recharged it was low it exhibited this behavior ? After it was recharged it still exhibiting the same behavior? If it was recharged properly it should not be overcharged and cutting off on hi limit switch. When it’s a cool evening turning on the air conditioning does it still do this try that when it’s a cool morning or cool evening curious if the air AC stays running. . I have not come across this problem yet at first I was going to jump to conclusion and say it was a first GEN with a clutch gap that was too wide it has that symptom. But your compressor has no clutch

@@coldfinger459sub0 Hey, sorry for getting back almost after a month. We finally figured out what was wrong with my Prius. After diagnosis, we found the inverter to be bad. It's temperatures would spike up the moment I turned the AC on. I replaced the compressor and the inverter, both. All is good now.

​@@techguy1678 quick question. could you tell me how much did you pay to get it fixed

@@CT-um7zq I actually took it back to the shop I bought it from, they did a scan and even though, there was no check engine light, the inverter itself was bad. Replacing that fixed my problem.

@@techguy1678 so you didn't pay for the repair?

They usually live. Depending which stop leak it is when there’s air in moisture in the system sometimes it’s thickens and then causes problems. There’s several different manufacturers of stop leak and they use different chemicals that cure definitely under different conditions. There are actually Stabley chemical specifically made for electric compressors in the commercial and residential HVAC market

@@coldfinger459sub0 which stop leak would you recommend for a Toyota Prius with the electric compressor

@@chipete1 I normally would not recommend any. But if I was going to take a chance and gamble I would look for a company that specifically says it’s for high-voltage electric compressor. I know there is a company out there because when I was at the MACS expo convention in training seminar I believe I seen one of the vendors promoting their stop leak seal for a electric compressor but I didn’t bother to look at it so I don’t know the name

Ben Kenny what country are you in where you cannot find R134a . It is everywhere in every auto parts store in the United States. ND-11 from Toyota dealership. But you should not have to replace any oil unless you were replacing a component. The oil does not wear out. Only lost when a component is changed or if there was a front an accident that punctured the condenser and there was a rapid loss of refrigerant.

@@coldfinger459sub0 The sticker under the hood says to only use HFC143a. I'm also very concerned about adding conductive oil to my system or there being some kind of additive in the refrigerant that destroys my AC system. Is it really just a regular can of R134a that I can get at the local auto parts store? I was reading up that it had to be some kind of special refrigerant because it's an electric compressor. But have not found specification on what product works.

@@benkenny3220 R134a not R143a. There is no R143a in automotive so you do not have to worry. No such can exist in auto parts stores. You just get the can that only have R134a with no added oil. like this from O'reilly auto parts. www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/refrigerant-3695/chemicals---fluids-16461/air-conditioning-chemicals-16497/r-134a-19049/fbb82d6bbf77/chemours-refrigerant/r134a12v/6271914?q=r134a&pos=0 The brand name is not important all the same, as long that is only the gas with nothing added.

@@coldfinger459sub0 HFC134a and R134a are both the same refrigerant?

Hedgehog The Sonic yes

You only need to add a oil when you replacing a part or for example when you’re in a car accident in a refrigerant line gets cut open and burst and releases all the refrigerant very quickly some oil will come out to

It varies on every year make model vehicle. And it’s a very huge difference in price between a compressor that just electrically malfunctioned and the compressor is clean and not burnt Then a compressor that slowly burnt out and overheated and cooked the refrigerant oil and made metal flake and contaminated the entire system with Burk oil and metal flake there’s a thousand + $1500 dollars difference in price . Because after a burn out, the system Hass to be flushed out all the lines. Expansion valve needs to be replaced. Evaporator needs to be flushed out with a extreme compressor burn out If it’s one of the newer vehicles with YF refrigerant the refrigerant itself is extremely expensive compared to the old refrigerant

@@coldfinger459sub0 thank you, really. I have learned a lot from your videos and blog posts. Incredible that you’re able to share this much knowledge to the community AND run a successful business. Keep up the amazing work!!

@@AlfonsoEnriquez you notice I do not edit and no retakes, leaving all mistakes in my videos. That’s the only way I have time to upload the videos. Too much work , work first. Videos just for fun. Sharing knowledge that is not in books 📖 or school

I have no idea what the maintenance includes. There is no such thing of top off refrigerant. Only completely recover and recharge by manufacturer specific weight.

@@coldfinger459sub0 why do you say that it has to be maintenanced after every 2-3 years then

@@viisteist1363 every vehicle naturally loses a very small amount of refrigerant every year whether it’s the best system on earth or not it’s just because of the materials they use in automotive air-conditioning. At least after three years do you want to find out what route your vehicle refrigerant loss per year is to make sure you do not run low on refrigerant because this is what causes compressor burn out. Prius have very small refrigerant charges around 16 ounces and it only takes 2 to 3 ounces to make a great impact on the temperature at which the compressor operates and how much power it consumes from the high voltage battery that will also decrease your gas mileage. 1: you may find yourself lucky and after three years find out you have only lost 1 ounce of refrigerant or less that’s not bad 2: or unlucky and find out after three years you’ve lost 3 ounces of refrigerant which is a large percentage of the overall total refrigerant capacity on a small tiny system like a Prius. (15 years ago the average refrigerant quantity was about two. 2 pounds and if you lost two or 3 ounces it was negligible almost unnoticeable. Now remove two or 3 ounces out of a 16 ounce charge that’s a world of difference it has a great impact on life and performance because as refrigerant levels for the oil that travels with the refrigerant does not all come back to the compressor when you’re low on refrigerant and you lose the cooling capacity ability also does not come back to the compressor that has the high-voltage heat generating electric motor windings that need to be cooled)

I’ve made many videos explaining what kills compressors. I can’t keep explaining it in each and every video. Many other things kill compressors. That’s why there is so much work in replacing compressor that were not properly recharged. But that still blow cold . So the person who recharged the car thinking that they did it right ?. It’s easy anyone can make cold But correct with out knowing all procedures seams to be the big problem

Must not let the refrigerant level get low. When a owner allows the refrigerant to get low and keeps using it. The compressor over heats and the oil that leaves the compressor dose not return to the compressor. If a compressor burn 🔥 you must replace the compressor, flush out all the lines and hoses. If a hose has a muffler attached it must be replaced. Replace the expansion valve. Flush the evaporator New compressor may come with all the refrigerant oil ( DENSO ND-11 ) Used compressor need drain out old oil and replace with new ( DENSO ND-11) In the future if you use AC , when you think 🤔 it’s not as cold as it used to be. TURN IT OFF STOP USING IT. Find the leak. The large pipe going back to the compressor should always be cold when in use. This is important.

Also here is a post I made if you would like to see the sound it makes with and without the ac running. facebook.com/groups/1008484842510953/?post_id=4693142334045167 Thanks!

Adewale Taiwo i’m sorry I could not log on to Facebook because I do not have a Facebook account. And you cannot determine just buy a low side gauge you also need the high side pressure. Then it’s extremely helpful in diagnosis if you have the air temperature entering the evaporator that would be the air located just before the air filter. Then the air temperature coming out of the evaporator that would be the air leaving your duct passenger side center vent. Also the temperature of the refrigerant line leaving the compressor where it enters the condenser and then the temperature of the refrigerant line leaving the condenser. Also the temperature of the refrigerant line of the suction line leaving the evaporator heading back towards the compressor . just a single pressure or temperature does not give a Knouff information for a proper diagnosis this is how mistakes are made you cannot use pressures only.

@@coldfinger459sub0 Thanks! I understand exactly what you mean however, with Covid and lack of an AC specalist in Houston I'm left with a bunch of mechanic shops that do not know what nd-oil 11 is which scares me. I unloaded the clip to my channel and understand its not something that can be pinpointed by sound alone. I would rather like your opinion since you have so much experience and theres just so little information out there. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UGw7Cv7FJ_0.html

Also just to add I took it into the stealership and the service advisor (not a mechanic) attempted to tell me I may need a new transmission! I'm a engineer by degree with 10 years of diverse experience so trust and believe I grilled him!

Adewale Taiwo I worked for many shops when I was very young in franchises and a dealership I was even going to buy two different franchises Automotive believe me never trust the service advisor or service manager. Their money and their paychecks are tied directly to what they sell you and the more they sell the bigger their percentage. Steelership it’s just a business license to steal legally. Anytime you look at any automotive business that has a overbloated fat gluttonous amount of office personnel and sales staff and managers and service advisors. That’s a lot of overhead and the few mechanics you see Working have to work their ass off to pay the fat lazy SOB‘s in the office who can’t diagnose their self out of a wet paper bag. On top of that you have the owner and shareholders or owner partnership who have their greedy hands in the piggy bank all making their living off the backs of the real guys who actually have to work and get their fingernails dirty. If you study a little and do a little research if you can get the system evacuated remove all the refrigerant put it under a vacuum pump for an hour and then charge it to the specific factory documented weight of refrigerant in grams or ounces. If everything is mechanically sound and electrically operating you should be good to go and have a good working system after you’re finished if every procedure is done correctly.

How ? What ? The noise? Usually compressors do not die all by themselves something causes it Most common is a Lowering the Refrigerant charge to get Low in the first place As the refrigerant charge gets low, the compressor no longer is receiving a cold flow refrigerant back to it to cool off the hot compressor windings of the electric motor and cool off the heat created by compression and the heat that is generated by friction . On top of that at the same time as the refrigerant level low, the tiny amount of oil that leaves the compressor does not. I’ll return it start stacking up and evaporator and it gets stuck there so at the same time the compressor slowly starts operating with less and less oil returning. This causes more friction more heat and more metal to metal bearing wear . It’s a Refrigerant level has never allowed to get low. Then the compressor always has the proper amount of lubricant and call Floyd Refrigerant, returning to it for the rest of his life.

@@coldfinger459sub0 I'm sorry I butt commented haha thank you for being so active. How do I know if the compressor is not reparable and, when it's better to change out the compressor instead. Thank you very much!

@@ComfyNami on the Prius if the electric compressor windings are shorted out, they will draw a lot of power current amperage wattage. Their computer will since this it reads it and set a error code for excessive current draw.. at the same time it will lock out the compressor. This is one way. Another way is when the bearings really start going bad they’re extremely noisy that is really obvious because the noise is horrendous. Then it has to be replaced. That is another way. . Sometimes at the beginning of another way, an intermittent stoppage of the compressor it’ll work for a few minutes . It will shut off normally because it has possibly satisfied temperature in the cabin.. but when it goes to start up a second time, you hear the compressor, try to make a revolution and then there’s a sudden stop of the. The computer picks up a high current cuts the power to the compressor immediately.. it’s sometimes will do this three times in a row and if it’s senses this problem, then it will cut out the compressor 100% and not allow her to try to reengage. Until you turn off an cycle, the engine and then re-insert ignition key and started back up again it will reset the clock and it old. Try this attempt three times again and then lock out again.. Donely other way, if you’re doing some sort of other work if the compressor was removed . And the refrigerant oil was poured out of the compressor and you see it’s all black or has a Little find metal flakes.. Even though it might still be running, it’s about to die . And those metal flakes have also filled up the Condenser, which also will have to be replaced . And the correct way by the book after a compressor replacement specially, if dirty whole system flushed and expansion valve, replaced at the same time .

Dia Kimm You live in a hot area you need air-conditioning. If yours is making a lot of noise but still working it’s highly likely metal particulate matter has already been spreading into your condenser. Unfortunately the really only true method would be to remove the compressor turn it upside down pour out the oil it either comes out crystal clear or it comes out with tiny particles of metal in it. As for the condenser if tiny particles in metal came out of the compressor oil a lot more are inside the condenser must be replaced if this is the scenario. On your 2014 the one thing you are lucky about is that replacing the expansion valve is now much much easier and faster because it’s located in the engine compartment on the firewall. Where before it used to be located under the dash in the HVAC box 7 hours of labor just to get to it. If your air-conditioning is working it’s one of those things do I charge it up now and cross my fingers like when the doctor says you have a bad heart and you’ll probably die from it but you end up living 20 more years or you could drop dead as soon as you walk out the doctors door. I have seen these compressors live a little while making noise after doing a recharge. And then have the exact same car with the exact same noise last two or three days. Unfortunately no I do not know anybody help in Chino. I had family who lived in Hemet and San Bernardino close to you so I know what hot is down in that area.

@@coldfinger459sub0 Thank you for your reply. I live 4 hours from the bay area in Paradise CA where the fire took place on November of '08, north of Sacramento . My guestion is, what is the most it coast for you to repair the AC and do I run it till it quits like I was told by the mechanics here in town or would that further complicate the the fix?

This is one of those scenarios where you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. Other possibility can I do anything to make it last longer at the same time possibly doing some diagnosis deeper into the system well I’m performing the procedure of recovery and recharge. I could suggest one option that can kind of do both combination diagnostics and combination MIGHT ? make your system last a little longer. You would go through the same procedure of a complete recovery and discharge to recharge it 100% full my weight. But once the system is discharged you pull out the desiccant dryer sock located in the tank on the side of the condenser. You inspect it for tiny metal particles or a dark gray or black suet like from a fire. This will tell you the compressor got extremely hot was ran low on refrigerant and was suffering from lack of lubrication return to the compressor. I do not know if your mechanically inclined and you do a lot of your own maintenance. If there is metal particles in you already need a condenser so that’s going to be replaced no matter what. You could do it all now or you could do it all later. If you decide to do the repairs later for now replace the dryer sock since the system is already damaged and the compressor is going to die sooner or later add an ounce of ESTER hybrid oil Recharge the system and enjoy it until it fails and save up your money for a replacement of the compressor and the condenser should do the expansion valve at the same time and they will be flushing out or replacing hoses and lines. Once mechanical damage has started whats done is done. I hope that gave you some insight of what your choices are but you know possibly in the end you will be going through a great expense. And you might possibly one of those people who get to keep using your air conditioning for a long time. The most important thing about any air-conditioning system but especially ones with electric motors that’s been an extremely high RPMs and generate a lot of heat in the motor windings is to never allow them to run low on refrigerant. The refrigerant is not for just keeping the passenger cool but picking up and re-delivering lubricant back to the compressor and showering the compressor with a cool fog of refrigerant to cool down the motor windings

I don’t know maybe just for the excuse for that one occasion where somebody dropped in a 454 blown Chevy engine in there 😂 A slip of the tongue when you’re making videos and trying to do work at the same time I don’t pay too much attention to the videos it’s not my job I don’t edit I’ll leave that for the guys who don’t have a job and have all day to edit their material and keep doing retakes to make it perfect.

R134 with no additives no stop leak. Only one product I would add extra is UV dye to help look for leaks later.

@@coldfinger459sub0 Thank you so much!

Jeffery Epstein Your assumption is correct.

t lech I’ve been thinking about getting a low mileage second generation Prius. I’m in Naples Florida. How well do they hold up in hot and humid climates?

Jeffery Epstein Very well no problem at all. Now here’s the one secret it Hass to be properly charged. Finding a shop that will take the Time To properly pull a vacuum. Has a accurate has a accurate scale. Just two or 3 ounces just two or 3 ounces above or below Has drastic negative consequences In hot weather. Good quality 3M window tinting highly recommended. Lighter color cars white preferably does better in hotter claimants. Light colored interiors.

t lech Thanks for your advice I will definitely use it

I have never seen this problem I have never heard of this problem. Even that one is a mystery to me. This sounds more like a electrical problem because when your air conditioning does work it works good ? But it is just not turning on under these circumstances with lights on , I’ve never heard of the headlights having something to do with the AC turning off or on. Was this vehicle in an accident or possibly came from somewhere where it was submerged in water Just a wild guess thinking a ground wire issue. But you would definitely want to take your vehicle to a shop that specializes in Toyota (not the Toyota dealer) Impressively a hybrid specialist shop that is heavy on Toyota hybrids. Did you buy this car used ? And not know it’s history of being in an accident or a flood ?

I buy on used !! And thank you for reply me. So the problem is when I turned the light 💡 on While I’m driving long distance The car acting crazy like star beeping and go too Neutre With all warnings light on. The Ac is another problem sir ! It’s been working since a bored the car but Now it’s won’t work I give you detail what’s Ac doing When you turned to Ac is not gonna cold it turned to Hot .

@@maxdiamolaye6706 Now I have more information that is important. If you give your doctor wrong symptoms and do not tell him everything he may give you medicine they kill you. Definitely the problem is not just your air-conditioning I will check your 12 V battery first. On the Prius when the 12 V battery starts to go bad a lot of weird things start happening. As you say (“acting crazy”)

😂😂😂😂 that’s good one Are you in New York City or ?? So I can bring my car there ??

I don’t think battery because last time I check the guy telling me it’s on good condition. But he mention water pumping need too change.

This is one of those urban myths that pressure switch saves them compressors. That story is for the one who read and believe paper. Remember the old idiot lights that would come on car dash when it would overheat but often too late and the head gasket would be blown. Same thing. I have many video showing AC systems running with nothing but paper left in the system nothing wrong with the no pressure switch. Yes if there’s a puncture in the condenser or a hose blows out and loses all of It’s refrigerant that is on the switch works. Other than that if you just have one or 2 ounces nothing more of refrigerant left in the system it will allow the compressor to keep operating overheating itself and expelling the oil out of the compressor into the evaporator where it gets stuck and does not return to the compressor

@@coldfinger459sub0 So what is the solution? To put switches in that shut off the compressor at not such a low pressure ?

@@houseoffolly that’s a good question that deserves a good answer. Some of the high-end European cars and even higher and Mercedes in a few manufactures on the more expensive cars but not all models have other sensors. They have a program algorithm that measures both temperatures in time and they somewhat come up using a superheat or sub cooling method of calculation and when it hits a critical level that could cause damage more than I believe three times in a row or for a certain duration of. They permanently lock out the ECU or the HVAC control module to disable the compressor permanently until somebody recharge the system and reach sets and clears the codes. But in the first place as an owner of a car the customer should never allow their air-conditioning to go low in the first place. The owner of the car is responsible at the first signs that they think that the duck Dash temperature isn’t quite as cold they should have a leak check performed in AC recharged All cars leak refrigerant from the day they were built they were designed that way because of the inferior materials and processes used just some cars leak more than others. Unless there’s a malfunction like something puncturing the condenser or some corrosion on the condenser that actually eats through that exterior of the aluminum causing the condenser to leak

@@coldfinger459sub0 I think this is exactly what happened to my friends Prius ac compressor. He said when he got last summer it it worked but took a long time to cool down the interior. This summer it doesn't work at all. I told him he probably has a bad compressor, you can hear it trying to turn on then it shuts off, then tries again, maybe again then doesn't try anymore. Just like this video. It isn't loud though. Maybe it is not even starting,maybe that is the motor humming until is shuts off .

@@houseoffolly they have many different failures sounds they are not all the same. But yes your friend continued using his air conditioning as the refrigerant was slowly getting lower and lower slowly overheating and killing the compressor is very common. Even when you use defrost in the morning the AC compressor turned on.

San Francisco

@@coldfinger459sub0 Great I'm in San Jose please send me the name I couldn't hear the name of that shop

@@carlloeber luscious Garage

Jonesy i’m in San Francisco a city of 1 million people in our bed area we have roughly 3,000,000 people surrounding us Close by who can get to this location. So most people in this area can get to this shop.

Basically, she’s saving... save the Prius shop talk for the end of your video. Thanks for the video nonetheless .

Saying*

Jonathan C. Ward Apologize for not getting my content customer and consumer-based first. But the majority of my content is best for automotive technicians also. Majority of automotive technicians have no mechanical or technical training at all whatsoever and many working very poorly equipped shops in poor working conditions. So the young technicians I would like to let them see some of the shops I work in. Many consumers customers of vehicles actually don’t know they take their cars to shops or nobody has very much training and a guess at what parts to change and that the owners of the shop themselves don’t even know how to work on cars they just are in the business for the money.

Info 3minutes It sounds like you have a lot of problems there may be more than meets the eye. With that many compressors tell me that the evaporator was physically removed and flushed out or replaced and the expansion valve was replaced. All lines and hoses should’ve been flushed out on any system that has mufflers attached to the hoses must be replaced. Of course condenser was replaced highly recommend OEM DENSO. And refrigerant is to be charged back in by weight only not by pressure not by temperature. If the above procedures were not performed expect to burn up more compressors. When procedures were not followed sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t it’s a gamble. If every correct procedure is followed it usually works every time 100% of the time for a long time. Of course Alex must be found use the electronica leak detector to find leaks if not if refrigerant keeps leaking out will burn up more compressors

@@coldfinger459sub0 thnx i am gona trry again with 8th compressor

Info 3minutes At least there’s somebody very happy selling you compressors. I would visit the MACSW website to learn a little bit more about Automotive air-conditioning www.macsw.org/web/MACS

@@coldfinger459sub0 bro can you plz send me your whtsap in messanger i need your help regarding this

Info 3minutes PanasonicECOi