Prius (2004-09) :: 2005 - AC Malfunction / Possible Blockage Or Really The Compressor?
Jul 4, 2014
It's one of those days again when the temps are starting to get hot here in Austin, Tx. My AC started acting up during the Spring and first started working fine then after about 10-15 minutes of driving the air starts to blow warmer. The air doesn't go back to cold unless the car has been parked and off for several hours or overnight, and even after that it only blows cold for 10-15 mins again.
Well, I didn't have the time/money to mess with it. The recent May it stopped cooling completely. I recently took it to a local shop and we look at it together. Drained the system and the mechanic was saying it's pulling some air and a little refrigerant. Well, we recharged the system and we could only put in 0.5 lbs and the Low side just maxes out. The system is supposed to hold 1.06 lbs so we were left scratching our heads.
Decided to check for leaks, discharged the system again and hooked up a vacuum pump and see if the gauges will go below 0 for negative pressure and they never did. So the shop doesn't think my system has a leak. They could have used a dye to check but didn't have any on the shelf at that moment.
I also have a DTC code of B1476 and we followed the shop manual. Fans blow into the engine and sometimes we had the bubble but couldn't add more refrigerant due to the Low side being maxed.
My father thinks I most likely have a blockage somewhere in the system. If so, how I can check for this? Is there a specific place or two I can look to find out the system is blocked?
Some people on the form seem to have AC problems, including some with the B1476, and others that couldn't find the problem very well. I'm worried that replacing the compressor wouldn't solve the problem, especially if there is a blockage or something. I usually do a lot of mechanic work but I've never actually worked on an AC system before. I would love to dive into this, even if I can only do part of it and then send it to the Toyota dealer for a flush and charge.
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My wife and I have had a 2005 Prius for a little over a year now. When we bought it, the previous owner said the A/C system was new. Once the spring/summer hit, we realised that wasn't true- apparently the blower motor was replaced, but the compressor was bad (dealer confirmed). We just lived with it last summer, but I am wanting to replace it now before it warms up.
I am home mechanic- no professional, but I have done everything from engine rebuilds to engine swaps at my house before. There are very few jobs that my cars have needed that I haven't done myself. The Prius is one thing I haven't done much to, and am not completely familiar with. I looked at a diagram, and the compressor seems easy to access from below the car. I have ordered a service manual for the Prius, and will use that.
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I have an issue with the air conditioner of my prius. It just works while I am driving, but it does not work when I stop for a short while, such as waiting for signal. The fan is working fine. I visited a dealer and they told me the gas is leaking... but, they are wrong. I cannot believe them. The gas is fine and there is no leak and no problem exists at any other parts. Need to know about it? Should I replace the compressor?
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First off new jetta owner. I changed the thermostat. There is no heat coming into the car upper radiator hose hot lower hose is cold & seems there is no pressure. I bought the book to repair the car but it doesn't give me troubleshooting directions other than it might be the water pump or a blockage in the radiator.
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In my one-owner purchased-new 2005 Prius w/ 74K miles and w/ no maintenance/accident history other than doing all scheduled maintenances at Toyota Dealers along w/ recalls applicable at each time (other than we had Toyota replace the 12V battery last year just because I knew it would die at some point anyway and I don't like pushing my luck; I'm not 100% certain if there's been a recall on any water pump for this car and if so, don't believe the dealer has mentioned it), I have the following indicators which appeared all at once while I was driving along at around 45 MPH in no unusual circumstances (80F, dry afternoon, about 30 minutes into a trip of mixed speeds, no loads in the vehicle, no effect on the car while driving):
From Left to Right on the display:
1) Red Triangle - Master Warning Light
2) Orange (Symbol)CHECK - Malfunction Indicator Lamp
3) Orange (!) - Brake Warning Light (but it didn't highlight the word 'Brake' in red)
4) Orange VSC - Vehicle Stability Control Warning Light
On the Screen:
Orange Car w/ the ! symbol - Hybrid System Warning Light
We immediately aimed for the house (about 5 miles away); the car drove perfectly fine, with the engine stopping and starting at lights as needed, with speeds going from the 55MPH we were traveling at the time of the alarms down to 0 and back up thru 35/45 MPH and such per normal off-interstate driving. The battery currently shows all the blue bars, and the engine and hybrid systems showed charge/discharge as usual as we drove. There was no discernible change in the driving reaction of the car to brake, steering, accelerator, etc.
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Truck has the EATC system. Blower motor works, blowing 78.5 degrees at the vent. Compressor will not kick on at all. I checked all fuses and they are good. Put gauges on the low and high side, both sides register a constant 70psi, held for 30 minutes with the a/c on max. What the problem is?
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I pulled my 2005 Prius out of the garage today and parked it on the driveway. When I went back later that day to pull it back under the garage, nothing would work and the "Malfunction Indicator Lamp" came on. I was thinking my battery in my key had gone bad and replaced it. When I tried to start the car for the second time the engine would not turnover, the clock light looked dim, the locks would not work and my headlights would not come on.
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I have a 05 gx470 and I was having trouble with the rear staying bottomed out and not pumping up. I replaced both ride height sensors. Nothing changed until about 1 hour of driving the compressor kicked on. it road better but still bottomed out some. So I raised the sensors about 5mm. it road great for about 10 miles then went back to riding on the axles. No compressor activity. Also when the compressor is not engaging the push buttons do nothing with changing the dash from H-N-L no matter when you push it. If you hear the compressor running all the buttons will work just fine. I have a useless car because it is not safe to drive when its riding on the axle bump stops.
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I noticed my 2005 GX470 started to "bottom out" when going over speed bumps or potholes. The air suspension seems to work fine raising and lowering ok and the general ride is still quite smooth. From some simple searches on the board it would seem that leaking of the air suspension could be the problem?
I did a code read and got the following error codes none of which sem related to the problem.
Code
CO200 Right front speed sensor malfunction
C1223 Malfunction in ABS control system
C1340 Open circuit in central differential lock signal
C2172 tire pressure, transmitter identification number not registered
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The dealership states that this is not a big problem and that the headlights will not be affected but the malfunction light stays on and the exclamation point is on the dashboard. The fix: replace the rear sensor harness where corrosion on the connection and pin was found - new harness assembly needed. What about just replacing the pin? Dealer states you cannot cut the wire and replace because the wires are not sealed.
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I took the car in today for the damn A/C.
They said my compressor is shot.
So, when I get it back I hope I will have cold A/C. I will let you know.
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The 2005 Prius I bought has had the AC compressor replaced 3 times in about 6 months with new toyota parts, the repair shop told the man I bought the car from not to bring it back there anymore they cant find the problem and toyota will not replace the compressor again for free...I guess 2 replacements is their limit.
The AC blows warm and Im not sure how to tell if the compressor is working or not, the inside fan works on all speeds, the fan by the radiator comes on but is VERY loud....of course I don't leave it on, only for testing to try to find the problem.
Where to look or why this car is burning up compressors.
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I recently put in a new compressor and accumulator. I didn't change the orifice tube since it is almost impossible to get to. I added freon and oil with dye and it would work fine sporadically sometimes it wouldn't get cold at all other times it would be freezing. This lasted about a week. I noticed that when it was hot the clutch was engaging fully but I felt the pipe near the firewall and it wasn't cold as if the compressor wasn't compressing and then it would start compressing and it would get cold. The compressor sounds different when it was making the car cold. This led me to rule out a problem in the air control doors. Now there seems to be a leak which is bad since it runs out almost immediately. The problem is finding it since there isn't any oil residue or freon dye where I can see.
(Looking for some shortcuts where I don't have to remove the vacuum brake, brake booster to change the orifice tube?)
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I have been waiting for the pulley to be replaced and was just informed that the air compressor put in last July was defective. The compressor is being replaced because it's under warantee but I'm wondering if a defective air compressor could have caused the pulley to break.
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2006 Mustang GT Convertible; air conditioner doesn't always work. When I press the button to turn on the air conditioner, the panel light illuminates but the a/c compressor does not engage. After driving the car for anywhere between 10 and 45 minutes, the compressor clutch will engage and the air conditioner cools normally. When I first noticed this problem over a year ago, I discovered that if I left the air conditioner in the "on" position when I turned off the car, the air conditioner would work the next time I started the car. This hasn't happened lately (so much for that "solution"). The car has been at the local Ford dealer multiple times for this problem and although they have been able to duplicate the problem, they have no solution. The dealer checked the electronics, recharged the system and tested the computer and told me that these were all fine.
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I have a 2008 Prius. In 2009, I got into a collision, and the car required extensive body work. This week, I took my car to the mechanic to repair the air conditioning system - only warm air was blowing out. According to my mechanic, the compressor went out because the auto body shop put in the wrong oil in the air conditioning system and re-installed the fans backwards. I got my car back today, and the air conditioning works really great!
However, my family spoke to their mechanic (different person from my mechanic), and he indicated that used compressors are dangerous due to the high likelihood that contaminants will be leaked. This sounds completely ludicrous to me. My mechanic said that the other mechanic's concerns are unfounded.
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The AC on my 2002 Prius works fine, as long as it's cool outside and I'm running it on low. As soon as I stress the system -- either it's above 75 degrees outside, or I'm running it on maximum, or driving on the highway for more than 30 minutes -- the compressor conks out. Fan's still blowing, but no cold air. The light on the a/c button starts flashing. If I turn it off for a few seconds, the cold air comes on again, but usually only for a few minutes, and then we repeat the cycle. The Toyota mechanics claimed they couldn't replicate the problem, but I bet if I forced them to ride with me up and down the highway on a 90-degree day with the windows up and no a/c, they'd believe me.
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I have an 05 Prius with 53k miles and the ac just recently stopped working. The blower fan still comes on, but neither the compressor nor condenser cooling fan will come on. I've checked the fuses and relays, and they check out ok. I'm hoping there may be one I missed? It just stopped working with no warning signs. What could be causing this? If the compressor was bad, the condenser fan would still work, right? I'm fearing it's the ac inverter. Do the symptoms match?
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Quick back story, bought the car a year ago, seller told me it was in an accident and the radiator was replaced. He let me know that the discharge AC hose was missing and that the other hose was disconnected. I also noticed that the low pressure cap is missing. I recently ordered and installed the discharge hose with the intention of filling the system later.
I have always noticed a noise/vibration coming from the passenger side when braking at low speeds. I havent noticed at higher speeds but maybe there is more road noise. The best I can describe the noise is that is sounds like a compressor running. I have a hunch it's the AC compressor and might be related to the regenerative braking, but I am no expert.
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Unplugging the Ac compressor, what the voltage reads on the three orange leads that run the compressor (one lead from voltmeter to ground, AC voltage). Test with Ac off then on.
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After more than an hour of continuous AC operation, something seems to be blocking the air flow coming out of the vents. Could it be ice forming on the evaporator?
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