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Thankfully very unusual for me to have two issues with the car on the same day!

However in addition to the my earlier post re the parking sensor I also find my air con has stopped working.

I am guessing this will be solved by a re-gas and was hoping somebody could recommend a reliable palce to have this done in the Bracknell/Reading area.

When I turn on the a/c with the engine idling I would expect to see the revs rise slightly (has been the case with other cars I have owned.)

Can anyone confirm that this sholud be the case with the LS?

Any help/recommendations with the above would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

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In aircon systems I have had experience of in the past, if the ambient temperature is too cold the compressor won't engage. Not sure if this is also the case with the LS, but I can't see it being any different as it is a safety measure to prevent compressor damage.

Last regas I had done (on a previous car) was at Kwik-Fit for about £40. Normally I wouldn't go near Kwik-Fit, but all they are doing is connecting the machine, entering details of the car and the machine automatically measures and recharges the system. They aren't doing any actual "work" on the car so pretty hard to mess it up.

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Hi,

Redtwin is correct, if the outside air temperature is 5 degrees C or less the compressor will not engage.

Also when the compressor is engaged the RPM does increase to around 800 RPM.

It's not worth having the aircon checked whilst the weather is so cold as they will not be able to check the system out anyway, you are best to make it an annual springtime event.

I also went to Kwik *hit and they said it was working fine without anything needing doing and if they did regas it would not be any better than it was already, good news was no charge but gave the guy a fiver for his honesty and time.

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I've had my LS430 for about a year and a half and have never switched off the air con. I even leave it switched on in the back as well. I've always been told to use it or loose it. It also keeps my small bottles of water cool in the fridge so were ready for drinkies at the end of a journey.

Jim.

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Hi Steve,

Yep, the engine revs should change a bit as the compressor clutch engages. Speaking as a refrigeration engineer my first port of call would be to check the refrigerant charge....then if ok, the electrical side of the system (check fuses etc). The a/c should work in this ambient temp, although have no idea if your model has a outside temp sensor for the a/c control as some cars do. If the system is void of refrigerant, it has gone somewhere!..not like a company like kwik fit cares..they will take your money for a "re-gas" and you will probably be back to square one in 6-months! A pressure test with dry nitrogen etc will find where the refrigerant has gone. A LS430 should still have it`s charge as the systems are such good quality and not that old!

And yes, it is good to run the a/c every now and then as it circulates the pag oil in the system and keeps seals like the compressor input shaft in good shape as debris and rust can eat under them leading to a leak.

Hope this is of help..good luck

Scott

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Funnily enough, my Air con stopped this week as well.

Turns out that there are pipes that run from the front unit to the rear unit, and they run under the floor and it is these on mine that have corroded.

The engineer that I deal with says that this is a common fault on the 430.

Unfortunately the pipes themselves cost £750 to buy from Lexus, on top of that you have the fitting, which involves dropping the back axle and removing the petrol tank, so that would not be cheap.

What he suggested was to clip the pipes where they join to the front, use the unions to make blanks, and run it without rear air con, which considering the cost and the fact that the rear seats dont get much use is the one I went for, all I loose is the fridge and I can live with that.

He said that a couple of months ago he had the same problem on another 430 that was only 3 years old, when the guy went to check with Lexus they said that the warranty was over by a month and a day, so they would not cover it, guess the guy will be heading to the nearest Jaguar garage when the time comes for a change of car! He went for the cut and cap job as well.

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This happend on my LS about a week before I took delivery. It was all coverd under warrenty though. It's not an easy job apparently but I do keep the air con switched on in the back all the time too. Hopefully this will make it last longer.

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Many thanks for all the useful info provided.

Will be getting the system checked over the next couple of days, really hoping it's not the corroded pipes problem experienced by Steve!

Just had my LS430 re-gassed today - great local company but no use to you, as they are in Paisley!!

BTW my gas pressure was ZERO mbar (i.e. = empty) and after regassing they didn't replace the filter even though the A/C filter warning was coming on (and still is). I guess I'll need to let Lexus charge me a bomb for that one one day, but my A/C is now working fine.

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Just had my LS430 re-gassed today - great local company but no use to you, as they are in Paisley!!

BTW my gas pressure was ZERO mbar (i.e. = empty) and after regassing they didn't replace the filter even though the A/C filter warning was coming on (and still is). I guess I'll need to let Lexus charge me a bomb for that one one day, but my A/C is now working fine.

Hi adc

Your post has served as a reminder that I need to get this sorted out!

The problem you have with the a/c filter warning message can be resolved by following instructions from the the thread linked below:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...+filter+warning

I've had the filter replaced by Lexus previously only for this message to re-appear a couple of weeks later so chances are there is nothing much wrong with the filter itself.

Steve

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  • 4 weeks later...
Funnily enough, my Air con stopped this week as well.

Turns out that there are pipes that run from the front unit to the rear unit, and they run under the floor and it is these on mine that have corroded.

The engineer that I deal with says that this is a common fault on the 430.

Unfortunately the pipes themselves cost £750 to buy from Lexus, on top of that you have the fitting, which involves dropping the back axle and removing the petrol tank, so that would not be cheap.

What he suggested was to clip the pipes where they join to the front, use the unions to make blanks, and run it without rear air con, which considering the cost and the fact that the rear seats dont get much use is the one I went for, all I loose is the fridge and I can live with that.

He said that a couple of months ago he had the same problem on another 430 that was only 3 years old, when the guy went to check with Lexus they said that the warranty was over by a month and a day, so they would not cover it, guess the guy will be heading to the nearest Jaguar garage when the time comes for a change of car! He went for the cut and cap job as well.

My 2001 LS430 aircon stopped working recently and the dealer diagnosed a pinhole in the front pipes. When they tried to replace them, they stripped the threads of the pipes they connect to. They said this was a common problem as they are aluminium and therefore fairly soft.

The thing is that the affected pipes are the ones that run to the back, so they are going to have to replace them too. The dealer said that the problem with these pipes is that they rub together and gradually wear away the coating that protects the aluminium, this oxidises and eventually causes pin holes. These pipes have now been redesigned so that they are better protected and insulated so the problem shouldn't re-occur. This indicates to me that it's a known manufacturing fault and Lexus should be covering at least some of the cost.

Anyway, the dealer's booked the car for 2 days to get the work done because of the way these pipes are routed. The good news for me in all this is that my car is under a Lexus warranty, so it's only costing me £55 for a regas. Phew! :yahoo:

KEITH

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Ended up having the regas done at Kwik Fit about three weeks ago.

The report I was given suggested there was zero refrigerant left in the system.

Interestingly the report did detail a leak test with the result none.

Not sure how this was carried out but guess the machine they hook up has the capability to do this?

Air con has worked very well since, if anything a little too cool when it is first activated.

If I do have any of the problems with pipes that others have experienced I wonder how long the refill will last!

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That reminds me Lexus quoted me £102 for a regas and i keep getting conflicting reports whether this is the right price, is this a job i can trust to a kwik fit or should i just bite the bullet and get it done at lexus?

Look for a local refrigeration engineer, or even better an auto refrigeration engineer.

Expect to pay £40 to £60 for a regas.

Dont know if all kwik fit`s are the same, but I wouldnt trust my local one with a pushbike.

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