A/c Compressor

[Hazman]

Hi all,

I'm new to the fold having just bought an 04 ls430. Got a problem in that the front pulley has sheared off he driveshaft, so need a new compressor. Have a receipt from the previous owner only 22 months previously when the a/c compressor was replaced by lexus dealership. Car has full LSH and covered just under £100k. Two questions: can I get lexus to replace foc under the sale of goods act. They have said doesn't apply as sale was between previous owner and them, not me and them. Is this true?

There's obviously an underlying problem to go through two compressors in under 100k, any ideas what? From the paperwork I have, owner had a/c problems throughout ownership.

Thanks in advance....

[The-Acre]

Hi Harry, welcome to LOC.

Sorry to hear your tale of woe. Unfortunately my understanding of the sale of goods act is that it's a contract between the seller and the buyer, therefore it doesn't seem to pass on to the next buyer. I don't know of any common problems with the AC compressor, although mine did start to play up last year. I bought a unit from a breaker for £75 and it's been fine. I may be wrong, and I'm sure someone will confirm, but I think the compressor on the 430 may be the same as the 400 so finding a used one may not be too difficult. The main thing is to find one that's still on the car and not left lying around for months.

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

Never heard of a case like this before, I would think one reason for the premature failure again could be the compressor is not correctly aligned to the belt run possibly due to mounting brackets not being true resulting in uneven stresses on the pulley.

As The Acre mentions the SOGA will not apply in this case so it will be a case of sourcing either a reconditioned pump or a good used one.

Perhaps get it fitted by an AC specialist rather than Lexus and ask them to check the pulley to belt alignment during installation.

[Bluesman]

As this is not a common failure I would have thought its well worth approaching Lexus. No harm in asking. Mike

[Hazman]

Thanks for all your responses everyone. Looks like my best option is to try a breaker, though the ones I've approached so far want £200 ish- I can get a new one from the US for £230....

I did try Lexus but they basically told me to 'go forth and multiply'.

[alanr]

Hi Harry,

Perhaps I can suggest that when you have your replacement compressor fitted, you have the system re-gassed and pressure checked thoroughly by an A/C specialist who knows his onions. Two compressors in 100k is not normal for Lexus. Also, the history of the previous owner's A/C problems tends to indicate a deeper problem that needs to be accurately diagnosed. These systems are as a general rule inherently reliable. The fact that the drive pulley has sheared tends to suggest that the compressor has suffered a catastrophic internal failure and lockup - most likely to be the swash plate and associated pistons.

As a cautionary tale, before I became a convert to Lexus, one of my cars was a Mercedes Benz E Class, which was a real pain in the wallet for me. I went through two A/C compressors within six months, both suffering catastrophic internal failures and lockups. It was only when I took the car to an A/C specialist that it was discovered that there was a problem with a sensor somewhere in the system which allowed one side of the high pressure/low pressure system to over-pressurize sufficiently to cause the compressor to lock up. I can no longer remember the exact details, but I do recall that the sensor concerned was buried somewhere within the structure of the car and not accessible without major stripping. MB had no idea how the system worked - they just fitted new parts, re-gassed the system and sent me on my way each time. They certainly couldn't even begin to diagnose the problem properly. If I can manage to look out the invoices for that car, I will post which sensor was changed to cure the problem. However, I'm not overly confident that I will still have that information, as it will be over ten years ago now.

Please post the results of your repair, as it's a bit of an unusual problem and will certainly add to the corporate knowledge of the forum.

Regards, Alan

[symon]

Hi Hazman , when my 04 ac compressor failed , Lexus wanted an arm and leg for a replacemnt . I took mine to an independent a/c specialist , who removed unit stripped it down and found the internals had disintegrated and therefore recommonded changing the condensor radiator and flushing out the system so as not have any contaminants possibly ruining a new compressor , cost was £1,400 approx 2 yrs ago all done .

[Colin M]

Hi Harry

Sorry to hear about your AC woes.

I notice that you are in Shropshire and I have used a good independent AC specialist in Birmingham who did a great job sorting out the AC on my w126 Merc 500SEL.

He is a 'one man band' but I will certainly use him if I get any AC problems on the Lexus.

I can pm you the details if you would like me to do so.

Regards

Colin