wombat55

Have a 2006 GX470 with 120,000 miles. The AC compressor failed in December of 2015 and had it replaced at an independent shop. Subsequently the cooling has gradually faded and needed to add freon/dye in May 2016. Now 6 months later it is blowing hot air from front and back units again. Have had it back to the same independent shop a few times and they have been unable to locate a freon leak with their UV lights. They say the next step is to start taking apart the dash piece by piece until they can locate the leak (evaporator, condenser, ?). Any thoughts on this approach or any other alternatives that are less invasive to my dashboard/wallet? Would consider just recharging every year and leaving it but the leak seems to be too large. Thanks much!

BradTank

I tend to think the original shop may have done something wrong with the compressor replacement if it's not holding refrigerant but a few months. You might want to take it somewhere else and get a 2nd opinion.

But my theory is most of the GX's with the rear AC has some sort of leak in the rear evaporator. Mine did, and the dealer told me it wasn't cost effective to address. You'd be looking at thousands of dollars and who knows if the fix would last.

Basically, every year I top it off myself. So every Summer, it costs like $6 for a can of R-134. I'm fine with that.

But I don't get "hot" air coming out, just "not so cold" AC. Your leak could be something different.

BlackCat81

Evaporator leak can generally be seen from dye coming out of the a/c drain. The condenser is in the front of the truck, not sure why'd they'd have to pull the dash to look at the condenser, lol.

wombat55

My bad on the car geography. The independent guy I went to found dye coming out of the a/c drain which suggests evaporator job. Not the answer I was hoping for but at least I know where it's leaking. Would happily just top it off once a year with R-134 but the cool only lasted a month or so the last time.

chiph9

If you're waiting for a new dash, see if they'll give you some labor time credit if you get the evaporator done at the same time.

Chip H.

kwkshift

Doing an evaporator is no picnic. I did it in my truck and it's much harder than swapping the dash. Removing the dash puts you at about the 1/3 way mark into that project, maybe.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...ge-pics-2.html

wombat55

The evaporator was way beyond my scope. Took it to a good independent shop and got it replaced. Was a lot of dye and corrosion on the old one. Seems to be working well now and the dash is rattle free (must have used all of the nuts and bolts they removed).

BradTank

If you don't mind me asking, what was the total bill?

wombat55

$1200. dealer wanted $1400. got another quote for $1000. given the number of moving parts I decided to go with a higher priced shop that I knew had done this many times.

kwkshift

Good choice. That job is no joke.

chiph9

Just got mine checked. Refrigerant level was down to 1.15 lbs and should have been at 1.75 lbs. So they evacuated the system and refilled it as well as added some dye in case there's a leak.

They said it likely hadn't been serviced in 12 years, and that the R134a molecule is smaller than the old stuff so it was easier for it to seep out of the system.

They also said that when they did make repairs, it was usually to one of the evaporators (under the dash, or in the back). Ouch.

Chip H.

don2lexus

Hi, fellow 2006 GX470 owner here in Chicagoland area with 125k miles on it and having similar issues with the AC. Which shop did you go to if I may ask? Thanks!