06IS250FL

The AC on my 06 IS250 was working fine until about a week ago...then it started to blow "warmish" air. The outside temp is mid-90's but the AC definitely wasn't working ok. Throughout last week the air would work intermittently...it would always "blow" but it wasn't always real cold the way it's supposed to be. This morning when I took it to my local Lexus dealer it felt like it was working fine. The dealer says that there's a leak in the evaporator and that the cost will be $1900 to replace it (from what I've read here, it's a very labor-intensive job). Dealer says I had a 1/2 pound of freon in there when they took it out . My question is, if it's the evaporator, would it work sometimes and then not work other times or might there be another problem? Obviously don't want to pay for an evaporator if that's not truly the problem. Car has 135K miles on it if it makes a difference. Waiting to see what I hear from some of the experts here before making a decision on this. Thanks in advance.

toyoman29

It sounds like it's low on freon due to a leak some where, if it gets to low on freon it will not let the compressor engage so then it will not cool any. I would have it checked by a local mechanic you trust that can recharge the a/c and check for leaks, it may stay charged for a long time if it's only a small leak.

06IS250FL

Thanks Toyoman...the Lexus dealer decribed the leak as a "pinhole" leak. Since the car is so old, I'm having difficulty wrapping my head around spending this kind of money on it. The dealer DID say they would replace my dash at no cost (which, when it's hot, tends to get "gummy" and is a known problem for these vehicles). Since they have to remove the dash, it would be like killing two birds with one stone. I love my car...just not sure what to do. Would the low freon be causing the compressor to "sometimes" engage and sometimes not? Seems to blow cool better when I just hit "Auto" versus manually adjusting the fan speed.

toyoman29

It's usually will not let the compressor engage when the freon gets to low, sometimes the ac switch light will flash or blink and the compressor will not engage. I know what you mean about being a good time to replace it with the dash being out but that price sounds to high for me at the dealer.

06IS250FL

Yes, it works fine (blows cold air) when I have it on Auto and Lo...if I take it off auto it generally gets warmer within a few minutes...is this really how a leak in the evaporator acts. Just seems strange that on one setting it works fine but when taken off auto it doesn't work. We took it to a mechanic and he said he did not see a leak and evacuated then recharged the system but still encountering the same thing (only works on Auto and LO. Anyone have any ideas?