meZoom!

heya. i know some of you ES drivers have had problems with the AC. what exactly was the problem and how was it fixed? my air conditioning system all of a sudden only wants to blow warm air out, even when i put it on "max cold". thanks

1994es300

You probably just need more freon.
Your A/C system probably has to be recharged if its not blowin cold anymore.

I think someone said they picked up an A/C recharge kit @ NAPA for like $40 which includes everything you need. If you take it in it could run you a couple hundred bucks.

meZoom!

i thought there was a AC recall on some ES's. i guess not mine but justa wonderin what the problem was with the recall. i don't know if its the refrigerant or not. first sign i knew there was a problem was when only the left of the middle 3 and very right vents would blow cold air. now i think maybe only the very right one does. i cant really check all vents while i'm driving. this blows.

Lvangundy

The same thing happened to the previous owner of my LS. Turned out it was the A/C compressor and they had the pump or whatever replaced for around $400.

j2tha0e

..alright, previous thread was hard to find.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=46589

if you think it's the freon, you could get a recharge for about $60 at a local a/c repair shop.

here's a little thing you could do...

with your engine warmed up, turn your a/c on max setting.

open your hood, and around the front-rignt side, there's this tube with a glass peep hole type setup.

you see liquid bubbling?

if not, either out of freon or that valve in the other thread is stuck.

koo.

LexusPia

meZoom, go to my 5/5/02 "ES300 AC problem" posting to see the problems some of us were having and how we fixed them. You may have the same problem I had. Good luck.

Gekko

I had the exact same problem it would be cold for like 20 minutes and then all of a sudden blow hot air and then next day cold again. I took it to Dealer A and they "thought" it was freon - they charged me like $75 and I STILL had the same problem. Frustrated I called Dealer B and I explained my problem. I have a 95 ES300 and Dealer B said it was a common problem for ES of my era and that there was a defect in these A/C EXPANSION VALVES. Anyway, they replaced the EXPANSION VALVE for $325 parts & labor TOTAL and now my A/C works like a CHARM! I had it fixed back in early May and I've been COOL ever since. By the way I have 109K+ on my 1995 and this was the ONLY defect I ever had. It still runs like a TOP!

meZoom!

thanks all of you guys. i was about to tell you "nevermind, my ac is kinda cold again" until i read gekko's response. thats exactly what's happening. cold when started, then hot after a few minutes, then cold again the next day. i've noticed that after i park outside on a killer (100+ degree) days, the a/c doesnt wanna do its job. hmmm. i guess the expansion valve is the same as the camry. wonder if it is DIY-able. thanks again.

Gekko

1. I usually take my car to Toyota Dealer for all service (cheaper) - but there was two things they could not do for me - the Timing Belt and the A/C Expansion Valve. Apparently, these two things are different on the ES300 vs. Camry.

2. Regarding the Expansion Valve, I suggest you let the dealer do it for you. There may be some special additional associated (small) parts which need to be replaced too that the service guys will know about and you won't (if you just try to replace the Expansion Valve alone.) BUT - I would offer them $300 TOTAL for the job and see if they take it. They do negotiate sometimes.

If you plan on keeping the car, I would just get it done.

GOOD LUCK!

LexusPia

Just be careful if you take it to the Lexus dealer for repair because our dealer in town tried to screw me with a $2000 repair estimate on my ES plus a $100 inspection fee and they wouldn't tell me what was wrong. I fixed it at a local AC shop for about $300+ instead after I saw the helpful tips from others posted to my original 5/5/02 posting. It is still working great and I'll never go back to my Lexus dealer again for any non-warranty work.

lexusk8

The A/C on my '96 ES has recently been making this "hissing" noise when it's turned on. My first instinct tells me I may be low on Freon (no bubbles seen from the "see-through" housing under the hood), but I'm getting cold air (not A/C-like cold air, obviously) coming from the vents, so there is the possibility that my valve could be leaking or shot. I'm thinking of taking it to Midas for a first-hand inspection, but I was wondering for you guys who had their A/C expansion valve replaced at either the shop or the dealer, about how long did it take? Is it like an on-the-spot fix-up, or an all-day or 2-day venture??

flipside909

Usually refrigerant recharge is the case for these situations. And in some rare instances, A/C lines are known to freeze up and cause hot air to blow out instead of cold when the A/C switch is on. Cases like this call for turning of the A/C for a few mins...then restarting it.

As for Freon aka R12 refrigerant, you will not find that on any 1994 or newer vehicles. The refrigerant used is the R134 alternative. R134 does not cool as well as R12 but is much better for the environment.