Air Con Question Please

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Partners asking...

Why the air con isn't blowing as cold as it used to all of a sudden.

It gets super hot with AC on but not super cold with Ac on.

No leaks and all works as it should on his T27 2.0 2010 diesel

Cheers guys

Oh and is it expensive to top up if that's what the issue is?

[Heidfirst]

You say no leaks but has the aircon system been tested?

On a 2010 it shouldn't be too dear to regas as it uses the older & cheaper refrigerant compared to my 2017.

 

p.s. you aren't having much luck with cars atm, are you? 😞

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

7 hours ago, Heidfirst said:

You say no leaks but has the aircon system been tested?

On a 2010 it shouldn't be too dear to regas as it uses the older & cheaper refrigerant compared to my 2017.

 

p.s. you aren't having much luck with cars atm, are you? 😞

Lol I don't think I've had much luck for awhile, such is life, must pursue on.

We've never had to sort an air con issue, where do i start, unsure which places do it?

I remember seeing a DIY can on Amazon whereby you top it up yourself? There's two taps, I assume you screw down the nozzle and let it fill?

[TonyHSD]

Hi, air cons are better tested and Regas by automatic machine in a garage. You can try Toyota or any garage that has these facilities. They will connect your car to the machine, vacuum tested and if  passed  the machine will regas and add some oil too. , if leak is detected further investigation might be the next step. 
Regards 

[Stivino]

11 hours ago, SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS said:

It gets super hot with AC on but not super cold with Ac on.

Is there a typo there or am I missing something?

Are you saying that the air con is actually working but you think it should be colder?

edit; I think you are saying that the heater works but not the air con?

Get something like this an put it into one of the vents, turn heater control to cold, switch on the A/C, the thermometer reading should start to drop after about 5 seconds.

Don't use a human thermometer as the human range is high 30’s and you want it to read between 0 and 25ish.

[Konrad C]

It sounds like the air-con is low on gas. mine was last re-gassed back in 2016 and still working fine. Was using it recently and a friend commented that his BMW was not as cool as mine. Yes the system will function, but low refrigerant means no cooling effect. There is a label on the underside of the bonnet, stating type of gas R134a and the amount in weight. 
 

[oldcodger]

Hi Sam,

Most of the well known tyre places have machines which will check and regas you air con for around £60, yours  will likely be R134A gas, vs the more expensive later type.

However before you do that just do a simple test, switch on the air con with the engine running and you should hear a distinct Click as the Air Con compressors Clutch engages, if it does hopefully the compressor works ok.

We had a similar problem, eventually turned out to be a small leak on the air con radiator/condenser.

We found a good local Mobile air con guy, they use the same machine as most garages, but do seem to give you a better one to one service without the typical distractions of a busy garage.

As for those diy cans of gas, which are almost as expensive as a garage recharge, plus you do not know what pressure is in there without any pressure gauges. The air con gas can be quiet dangerous both from its pressure and toxic nature, so would suggest you avoid messing with anything you are not 101% confident with.

After seeing what that mobile guy and his machine does you would never use the cans, plus our guy has Sniffer tools to check for leaks etc.

hth

[Cessna]

1 hour ago, Konrad C said:

a friend commented that his BMW was not as cool as mine

Not often a BMW driver will admit a Toyota is a cooler car 😉

[Konrad C]

21 hours ago, Cessna said:

Not often a BMW driver will admit a Toyota is a cooler car 😉

His BMW is a 435i M sport coupe with more than double the power and torque of my 1.8 estate. 

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

On 9/14/2021 at 10:42 AM, oldcodger said:

Hi Sam,

Most of the well known tyre places have machines which will check and regas you air con for around £60, yours  will likely be R134A gas, vs the more expensive later type.

However before you do that just do a simple test, switch on the air con with the engine running and you should hear a distinct Click as the Air Con compressors Clutch engages, if it does hopefully the compressor works ok.

We had a similar problem, eventually turned out to be a small leak on the air con radiator/condenser.

We found a good local Mobile air con guy, they use the same machine as most garages, but do seem to give you a better one to one service without the typical distractions of a busy garage.

As for those diy cans of gas, which are almost as expensive as a garage recharge, plus you do not know what pressure is in there without any pressure gauges. The air con gas can be quiet dangerous both from its pressure and toxic nature, so would suggest you avoid messing with anything you are not 101% confident with.

After seeing what that mobile guy and his machine does you would never use the cans, plus our guy has Sniffer tools to check for leaks etc.

hth

Cheers oldcodger, I'll get it looked at for him, will research tyre places that have that facility, would love to use the dealer but I expect they'll be extortionate, I'll ask them anyway. Won't be using air con till next summer anyway, he just doesn't like knowing somethings not working!

[Catlover]

15 minutes ago, SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS said:

Cheers oldcodger, I'll get it looked at for him, will research tyre places that have that facility, would love to use the dealer but I expect they'll be extortionate, I'll ask them anyway. Won't be using air con till next summer anyway, he just doesn't like knowing somethings not working!

There are users on this forum who leave their air con all year round, or at least use it regularly. It’s good for demisting windows in damp weather.  But the big bonus is that the seals are lubricated whilst being used. Not used and they could dry out and leak the gas you spending money on to replace.

[Stivino]

I use it as much in the winter as I do in the summer.

Before you spend any money, you should test it to see if it is working. And, the easiest way for an amateur is the way I described in my previous post.

I did this unorthodox repair to my own car in February.  I used a can of gas from Halfords.  The repair is holding up and the air con is freezing. 

[Catlover]

5 minutes ago, Stivino said:

I use it as much in the winter as I do in the summer.

I do as well, at least I do since I heard about the benefit on here.

[Yugguy1970]

Keep a look out on the usual places, Kwikfit etc, as they can often have deals on for regassing, oil changes and the like.