stephenM999

Hi all, Thanks for the advice. Assuming the noise indicates that the compressor is now running without any refrigerant/oil, I guess (hope) that suggests the refrigerant pipes are OK - otherwise presumably it would have been making a noise before being taken to them? Do you think running it with a lack of refrigerant/gas could be damaging other parts of the system, apart from the compressor? I'm pretty angry with them at the moment - they didn't call to tell me it was ready, they didn't tell me about the noise, nor did they engage the handbrake or lock it when they left it in their public car park! They aren't a small company either, so I wasn't expecting any of this.

Hi all, My 2006 LS430's air conditioning recently stopped working abruptly (completely dead), so I took it to a local workshop for diagnostics. They have diagnosed a dead compressor, at a cost of £2500 for the Lexus part, plus £250 fitting. Obviously I would source a reconditioned/generic part rather than paying that kind of price for a Lexus compressor! Prior to taking it to them, the AC was dead but the compressor was silent. However, upon starting the car to take it home from the garage, there was a pretty loud clicking/whirring sound from the engine compartment, similar to a tractor. They say it's the compressor making the noise, and after listening myself I believe they are correct. However, I'm skeptical as to whether a diagnosis should have caused this sound. It seems unlikely, unless they've been diagnosing it with a hammer! I've read that compressor noises can be caused by a lack of gas - they did say they tried to regas it during diagnostics - so I'm concerned that they have drained it of gas and handed it back to me? I'm worried that whatever is causing the compressor noise could be damaging other elements of the air conditioning, and I'm now reluctant to give them the work of replacing the compressor once I've sourced a new one. I obviously need to discuss this with them tomorrow, but any feedback/advice would be appreciated. Thanks