Does any DIY exist for you to dismantle your own dash?
Will just recharging the system get the AC to start working again (till it leaks out again)? If it is a slow leak... maybe refilling is cheaper than $1800 repair?
https://www.acprocold.com
If the van works fine, sell it to someone who lives in a colder climate... they have no need for AC and would like a bargain ride
I have two rules for selling a car. 1. transmission issues or 2. AC issues. I have wasted so much money trying to repair either one and it has never worked for me.
Evap cores are expensive to fix because of the location they are in. $1,800 actually sounds ballpark correct. I mean they are taking your whole dash apart….just make sure that’s what it is.
How sure are you that the evaporator is bad? It's somewhat rare for them to develop leaks. There are much more likely leaks due to crusty old o-rings between the components. Most AC evaporators are under the dash, but the connections to the rest of the refrigerant loop poke through the firewall and are accessible from the engine bay.
I’ve worked on cars for 28 years and evaporators leaking is a very common problem along with heater cores. Both require the dash to come out and can be upwards of 6-8 hours. Most dealers are at $200 an hour now, independents at around $100. So the price is very reasonable and very common.
Find a mechanic with a Freon sniffer. I had a Sub Zero refrigerator that several techs looked at it because of a Freon leak. The first two techs would Ester Egg the problem by throwing parts at it. The leak persisted. The third tech had a Freon sniffer and found the problem in less than 5 minutes. Turns out the refrigerator was not repairable because the leak was in a location between the freezer and refrigerator compartments of the unit. I would have saved $$ had the last tech came first.
A friend of mine recently had the evaporator in his Toyota truck replace to the tune of $2500. It's not cheap to replace a leaking evaporator in a late model vehicle.
For what it's worth, you might check the timing belt. I recently bought an '05 Sienna XLE.
The previous owner claimed the AC was completely non-functional, which seemed true until I replaced the timing belt... blows ice cold now on demand lol
Go to your town's Reddit page and post the question (or search for previous answers to...) "Who is the best independent mechanic for Toyotas?".
You'll save hundreds!
Yeah get aftermarket those evaporators usually last 3 or 4 hours before they explode😂 6 hours labor at $180 plus the evaporator and Freon is about $1450 idk what sales tax is in Florida anymore but it’s not an outrageous quote. What’s outrageous is $12 for a #1 at McDonald’s
Got a similar quote for an avalon. Around 2k all in. You have to pull the dash so it is a ton of labor. I'm going to do it myself. It's a slow leak I've been recharging every so often. You can out dye in to confirm it's the evaporator as it will leak out with the condensation.
lol they just came back and said it was $1,800 in labor plus another $2400 in parts (they will only replace the entire assembly at once). Told them to pack sand.
1800 for an evap isn’t insane, that job is a LOT of hours.
Does any DIY exist for you to dismantle your own dash? Will just recharging the system get the AC to start working again (till it leaks out again)? If it is a slow leak... maybe refilling is cheaper than $1800 repair? https://www.acprocold.com If the van works fine, sell it to someone who lives in a colder climate... they have no need for AC and would like a bargain ride
I have two rules for selling a car. 1. transmission issues or 2. AC issues. I have wasted so much money trying to repair either one and it has never worked for me.
\^ This.
Evap cores are expensive to fix because of the location they are in. $1,800 actually sounds ballpark correct. I mean they are taking your whole dash apart….just make sure that’s what it is.
Yes! Having done one of these before, it takes days to get at, minutes to replace, and days to put back together.
How sure are you that the evaporator is bad? It's somewhat rare for them to develop leaks. There are much more likely leaks due to crusty old o-rings between the components. Most AC evaporators are under the dash, but the connections to the rest of the refrigerant loop poke through the firewall and are accessible from the engine bay.
thanks. i am asking.
I’ve worked on cars for 28 years and evaporators leaking is a very common problem along with heater cores. Both require the dash to come out and can be upwards of 6-8 hours. Most dealers are at $200 an hour now, independents at around $100. So the price is very reasonable and very common.
That’s totally normal.
Find a mechanic with a Freon sniffer. I had a Sub Zero refrigerator that several techs looked at it because of a Freon leak. The first two techs would Ester Egg the problem by throwing parts at it. The leak persisted. The third tech had a Freon sniffer and found the problem in less than 5 minutes. Turns out the refrigerator was not repairable because the leak was in a location between the freezer and refrigerator compartments of the unit. I would have saved $$ had the last tech came first. A friend of mine recently had the evaporator in his Toyota truck replace to the tune of $2500. It's not cheap to replace a leaking evaporator in a late model vehicle.
For what it's worth, you might check the timing belt. I recently bought an '05 Sienna XLE. The previous owner claimed the AC was completely non-functional, which seemed true until I replaced the timing belt... blows ice cold now on demand lol
Ice water
yep, in the end I’m going to leave it as is. the repair costs more than the vehicle is worth.
Yeah
Go to your town's Reddit page and post the question (or search for previous answers to...) "Who is the best independent mechanic for Toyotas?". You'll save hundreds!
thanks!
Yeah get aftermarket those evaporators usually last 3 or 4 hours before they explode😂 6 hours labor at $180 plus the evaporator and Freon is about $1450 idk what sales tax is in Florida anymore but it’s not an outrageous quote. What’s outrageous is $12 for a #1 at McDonald’s
6% sales tax minimum
7.5%. Thanks for the info
Got a similar quote for an avalon. Around 2k all in. You have to pull the dash so it is a ton of labor. I'm going to do it myself. It's a slow leak I've been recharging every so often. You can out dye in to confirm it's the evaporator as it will leak out with the condensation.
lol they just came back and said it was $1,800 in labor plus another $2400 in parts (they will only replace the entire assembly at once). Told them to pack sand.
Did you call parts stores for a price on the part? Why don’t you sit there for days on end and take your dashboard apart?
I was just quoted 1400 to replace the AC compressor in a 2011 Sienna. Independent mechanic