jpower

2 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

That doesn't sound too bad as a solution. Is he saying the compressor is probably not damaged then, presumably given that you caught it early?

Correct as its early little mileage driven, the suspicion is that its unlikely but not impossible. I have been told do not turn the fan on or get the compressor disconnected till this is resolved.

Thanks just wanted to confirm.  After a few phones calls, (not with Lexus as my closest dealer is far away and the phone is just engaged all the time) I found a specialist who seems to know what he is talking about and has spent time to look into further.

The advise was to take gas out (special machine to do that), take the compressor, receiver and expansion vessel out, drain oil, flush the system.  New receiver leak test, then regas/oil estimated cost £750

I am just in disbelief that all of this is over aircon regas DISBELIEF.

Could someone confirm is the AC belt driven or motor driven?

6 minutes ago, Britprius said:

I would take the car to Lexus, and explain what has occurred, and ask what the cost would be of putting things right. Do not be surprised at a figure totaling £5000. 

Not wishing to alarm you, but when the fault does appear the complete car will shut down, and amongst the many fault codes issued will be POAA6  "HV battery voltage isolation fault". This means the high voltage from the battery is leaking to the body of the car, and as such the high voltage relays in the battery pack will disconnect the battery to prevent electric shock. This could happen at any time even in the middle of a motorway.

Go to Halfords with the estimate from Lexus, and demand that they pay all costs. 

John.

I am alarmed, I can't believe the possible outcomes from just the AC system, arrrggghhhhhhh.

The funniest part is Halfords responded and even against the manufacturer's advice they are saying its ok for some Hybrids, I will battle on anyway.

Yes next challenge to get it into writing.  Guessing they are not going to be so quick to do that.

Mystery solved - and I prob *******

So Halfords customer services got the store to ring me and they said the same line if the nozzle fits its the right one, I managed to get out of him what they put in:-

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/air-con/ez-chill-auto-air-conditioning-recharge-gas-r134a

And it quite clearly states:-

Quote

Please be aware that this product must not be used on hybrid vehicles.

 

Warnings!

The above products are not suitable for application with Hybrid Vehicles. Customers with hybrids should use straight gas for their top-offs or take to a mechanic. 
The hybrids mostly use electric compressors.  These compressors need 'dielectric oil' that prevents electric current from reaching the exterior metal housing.   The industry advises this is a serious safety issue as the electric power involved can be quite high and dangerous.

Obviously they are giving a refund and say if compressor is damaged then it would be a different issue to resolve with customer services, re compensation.  I am looking up zircon specialist that knows what they are doing to see if I can get it emptied or whatever they next course would be.

Irrelevant to this thread but driving and comfort is a dream in this thing. 

Holding my head in Pain/Vain

i just wanted a less hassle car, arrgghhh. 

Gosh I found a backward solution, can you believe the FM is working fine, better then DAB. 

Here's the response to which lubricant or what exactly was used:

Quote

Unfortunately, I will not be able to provide this, it would be best go back to store if you doubt what the technician has done so he can clarify this with you.

Just now, m4rkw said:

Completely misses the point. You were asking about the lubricant not the gas. I would follow up and push them to state exactly which lubricant was used.

Query - Does the canister include the lubricant? Because they just use a gas canister?

So I emailed Halfords customer services, they took there time to respond, but this is what they came back with:--

Quote

Thanks for getting in touch. I'm so sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We've been experiencing a higher than normal level of contact recently, and we're working through a backlog of cases.

There are two different types of air con gas at Halfords and the port under the bonnet of the car would determine this making it safe so this wouldn't make it the wrong gas.

 

If the port under the bonnet was different then the technician in store wouldn't have been able to refill this for you.

Confirmed its not the amplifier, as I mentioned all other sources are fine.  Will listening to DAB I can see the volume changes when it losses 'POP M', basically strength issue.  I know I am in a rural area, however my Nissan Leaf which has a far better antenna works perfectly and almost never drops.  So I think I am convinced its to do with the antenna strength not being great.  I will check that out more when I am in town one day.

4 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

No issues whatever regarding DAB reception across the south. I drive from east to west quite often and have never experienced drop-out. This is with my previous Merc and current RC.

Suggest getting the antenna checked out along with the amplifier?

The volume issue only happens on DAB, if you use any other source it works perfectly.

I am finding the DAB strength is not great even Radio 1 which is usually a strong signal struggles. I assume this is down to the stuck on antenna on the windscreen?

Also notice the volume seems to go high and low is that normal?

Original iPod cable did the trick. Can’t believe there no access to Playlists. 

Regards Bluetooth audio I think 2 is the limit as I have 2 registered and 4 phones. And if one of the phone only ones it connected it will not allow the audio only the 2 registered can do audio. 

To be fair they did seem hyper confident and very much like it's just not possible.  The above looks fancy, in terms of Halfords they just use a canister with a pressure gauge to push whatever inside the canister into your system.

Oh man what a mess. So no paperwork but I did get out of them it's done by Halfords. So I went to the store around the core er from the dealer and asked about the regas they do. 

I have no idea if this part is true hopefully someone here can confirm. They said it's not possible to but the wrong one in and they have 2 types and each has a different nozzle which will only fit according to what it requires. So there saying the right stuff is in the car. 

Anyone buy that?

Oh man. Ok now I'm worried because when I was speaking to the dealer asking questions I did get him speaking freely and he mentioned to me that same gas and they used to use Halfords and Kwik Fit for years but now they use a small independent. The car was taken away to do this and there is a Halfords very close by. 

Would just a single regas cause this kind of issue? Should I go get it emptied and refilled by a specialist?

2 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

I don’t think they can test the gas level, I think all they can do is an evac and re-gas again. The evac will show how much was sucked out of the system. I’d leave it alone unless it stops working again.

My thoughts exactly.

To be honest I don't know what they have done, I just know currently it works and hope they done the right thing.

Been Re-Gassed and working - claimed there is no other issue.  I'm planning to visit Halfords for there free check and see if I have a leak by seeing what the pressure is left.

That sight glass is tiny, it just looked blue to me, when off kinda looked clear.  This is if we are talking bout the same one that looks about 1cm.

So called the place I bought the car from private dealer - they are going to regal for me as a start point, it did come with a 6 month warranty so we will see where we go after the regas.  They sell only hybrid motors and mostly Lexus so I would hope they know what they are doing.  They did have a good rating too, and to be fair I called to ask for warranty paperwork and they called me back to say bring it down they would look and regal if required.  A good start.

Damn and I thought it was just AC, never had it default on in any car I have had.

Question - if its not blowing cold air is there any chance it is doing damage to anything, or is it just that the AC is not working as it should?

As we are having such a heatwave I needed to use the aircon this weekend, firstly I was surprised to see the aircon was already on (seems like it's on by default and the only way to turn off is via menu? Surely there.a button or something simple?)

The main issue even at LO the air was not cold - I can see from receipts that the aircon was refilled July 2018 so I cannot imagine it would be out already.

Is there some trick or do I have my first issue?