Is my aircon playing up?

[fred88]

Over the last month of so I've felt that the aircon hasn't been as cool as it was. In order to get comfortable in warm weather (we did have some) I've had to turn it down to 15 or 16. Even then it didn't seem as cold as normal

Today on a run I noticed the outside air temp had dropped to 12. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that cold, and I was having similar issues keeping the car comfortable.  The ambient did drift up to 18 later.

Car is 2.5 years old. Should I take it to the dealership as a fault or just go for an aircon service?

Any th9ught appreciated. 

 

[TonyHSD]

At this age you may want to do an AC regas and change cabin filter as part of the regular maintenance, 2-4 years.
 If there are any problems with the system this will likely show up when vacuum tested and take it from there. Usually the cabin temperature may vary depending on sunshine ☀️, if it’s cloudy outside the ac will not blow as cold as if it’s sunny 😎. There are sensors on dashboard that pick up that and the hvac ecu do the rest. 

[fred88]

Ok thanks Tony. I'll give that a go first. Any idea on the cost roughly? Do you think I should voice concerns over the ambient temperature drifting or will that be picked up.

[TonyHSD]

You can ask them and see what they gonna  say about it, but if there are any leaks when the system is tested the machine that does this likely to pick them up. 
You can test yours the AC performance. 
Turn your car ON, select AC ON manually, in normal mode settings, air flow towards the middle of dashboard, cabin temperature lowest, speed fan 3-4 , air intake from outside. Use a thermometer 🌡, put into the central vent and after 2 min work the air flow temperature should be close to 4C° , 5 or 6 still ok, anything above will show low on gas or other issues. 👌

[fred88]

Not the most scientific test but anyway, crept down to just under 10C in 4 minutes. Outside temp displayed as 21C.

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, fred88 said:

Not the most scientific test but anyway, crept down to just under 10C in 4 minutes. Outside temp displayed as 21C.

Not bad results but even so an ac regas can make a difference. 
I did mine last month after 4 years since last time was done, it only needed around 90gr of gas and little bit of oil. 
I use Kipling motors ( pro tyres ) garage. 
Your car has different type refrigerant and special type of oil for hybrids, something you need to confirm when booking in the car, prices might be different. 
 

https://www.protyre.co.uk

[fred88]

Thanks for your advice Tony. I'm concerned though that it could be a fault or a leak so considering sticking with the dealership. Do you know whether the Corolla is prone to leaks or faults on the aircon?

[flash22]

be aware on new cars the gas used is 1234yf which is 3-4 times the price, my first port of call would be to check the cabin filter that lives behind the glove box it's a cheap and easy part to change - if it can't suck the air in, it can't blow it out

[fred88]

9 minutes ago, flash22 said:

be aware on new cars the gas used is 1234yf which is 3-4 times the price, my first port of call would be to check the cabin filter that lives behind the glove box it's a cheap and easy part to change - if it can't suck the air in, it can't blow it out

The output through the vents is as good as ever, does that rule out that filter being the problem?

[ThomasL]

This guy had some broken pipe, see "update 13 august" on page 3

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/194272-air-conditioning-fault-corolla-hb-2020/page/3/#comments

Maybe not same situation as you though.

Make sure the dealership understands (i.e. writes it down) that you want to pay for a leak test and not just a top-up or re-gas.

 

[flash22]

It doesn't cost anything to check the filter

[fred88]

How do I do it?

[flash22]

its the same on most toyotas

this is LHD - RHD is the mirror image

RHD Yaris cross

 

[fred88]

Yeh, looks OK. I've booked it in for diagnostics and regas. 

[fred88]

Just a quickie, does putting the AC in Recirculation mode by pass the cabin filter?

[TonyHSD]

4 hours ago, fred88 said:

Just a quickie, does putting the AC in Recirculation mode by pass the cabin filter?

I think so. But to be sure you can open glove box in position for cabin filter replacement and switch to recirculating mode and look at the flap opening. Most cars it’s just above the cabin filter. 

[Saxmaniac]

Best to diagnose first before deciding to regas, the problem might be other than low gas! There's quite a lot of data in obd which can point ti possible problems, you can hear what the compressor is doing too, is it revving flat out a lot to try to pull temp down? You can see all this stuff in live data so I'd be reluctant to open a system unless it's actually needed, a really good air con specialist is going to be way better than a dealer but finding one is the tricky part 😭

[fred88]

It's under warranty so options are limited

[fred88]

But I am getting diags first. To be honest its not too bad at the moment, just seems to have lost its edge. Prob just a regas but I'll see.

[fred88]

Dunno if I've done the right thing but I've cancelled both. I was out and about yesterday and cabin temp was controlled just fine with the ambient temp at 27C. Reckon I was going to spend nearly £200 for little or no improvement. I'll monitor for a bit.