Wife's 2020 ES350 lost A/C at 36K miles. It uses the new and expensive R1234yf freon. So premature charges would not be nice to have to do. Anyways I did a recharge and it works again. Obviously it slowly leaked out. No signs of leakage. Are there any known problematic areas? IE: seals, lines or components that are common fail points on these cars?

 

On a 2020 did you check to see if this was still a warranty issue? You shouldn't have a dead AC system that soon.

 

That is unexpected. If I was you, I'd check the condenser up front of the radiator in case it has sustained damage like a rock hitting it. You could add some dye to the system and use a black UV ilight to inspect O-rings, condenser, etc. for leakage.

 

We bought the car new"ish" but used from a BMW dealership. So no warranty. No accident history, it was just traded in for another car. I did inspect it as best as I could. Condenser is always suspect, but it looks really good. No damp spots anywhere along the system that I can find. I will see how long it lasts. If it doesn't make it a year then I'll be forced to really go after the problem. Was in a hurry this time and had to just recharge it and get the car back to her. Luckily I am a auto tech and have the A/C machine and the cheapest possible services. Still not something I'm happy about though. I was the one who convinced her that Lexus is the way to go for a problem free experience. Already having a premature issue though .

 

I can't see that problem going away by itself. Once an AC system leaks, does it ever stop leaking without repair? I don't think so.

 

MY 2020 is now four years old - far from "newish". You sound like you have the skill to trouble shoot it even if it still leaks which is likely but who knows how long it will take to run low again.

 

We've had it for over a year. Was still like new at that time is all I was saying. And of course I don't expect it to fix itself. When it runs out again I will look into it. Just not sure if that will be within a year or even 3+ years. I assume it is likely the original charge. If it lasts years I will probably never find the leak. If it runs out quick, I'll have to find it. My real purpose to posting here was to see if there was a common fail point that has been identified. Doesn't seem to be the case.