Do all older Toyota A/Cs wear out?
I've owned three old Toyotas: 03 Camry/2013 Corolla/2005 Lexus ES 330. I sold the 03 Camry before any issues, but the 2005 and 2013 have had leaks in the dash of the a/c...$4-5K repair for both...!
Is this super common in used Toyotas? Considering buying a 2012 Camry, but am hesitant after this...
Thanks!
Do all older Toyota A/Cs wear out?
ALL old air conditioners wear out. It can be challenging to keep an air conditioner working in an old car.
the 2005 and 2013 have had leaks in the dash of the a/c...$4-5K repair for both...!
Evaporator leaks are very common in R134a systems, especially if any moisture gets inside since that creates acids that eat small holes in aluminum parts. Unfortunately most manufacturers seem to build the car around the evaporator and expansion valve, requiring a lot of disassembly for replacement. Typically the entire dashboard has to come out. (Not all of them are like that, my car has the evaporator and valve easily accessible under the hood.)
Considering buying a 2012 Camry, but am hesitant after this...
Then you should not be considering a 13-year-old anything, since any old AC system can develop problems. All you can do is make sure that during the pre-purchase inspection that the air conditioning is checked for existing leaks.
@chucktobias Thank you for the info! What kind of car do you drive? 🙂
@matthaislip I drive a 1997 Saab. I recently replaced all the hoses and seals in the AC system. All a normal part of keeping decades-old car air conditioning operating.
@chucktobias Thanks! Trying to decide if I want to buy something a bit newer or repair my A/C in my 2005 Lexus. It doesn't burn any oil and is a great car apart from all the stuff wearing out on it...
@matthaislip On my car I had a seal blow out last summer and I wasn't going to leave the other old seals and rubber hoses in there. It works better than ever now since I was able to put in the exact amount of oil and refrigerant the system calls for.
@chucktobias Cool. I think living in Mississippi may not help me here. Humidity...probably not great for A/C evaporator...