sres300

got a 95 es300, my a/c will work for a little bit then blow warm. ill turn it off wait a while then turn it on and it blows cold for a few minutes then blows warm again. i know its not then compressor cause it continues to cycle the whole time. any ideas?

Infin1ty

Though it is blowing cold air while it is working, I would suggest doing a charge on the A/C system just to be safe.

Beyond that, I can't make to many suggestions, as I've yet to have to many issues with the A/C is any of my vehicles.

CUMan

Sounds like a sticking expansion valve.

This is a very common problem on the mid-90's ES models. It has been discussed numerous times.

Do a search and you will find lots of threads.

llcoolpass

I agree, and I would stick r-134a gauges on there from a fresh beginning and watch what they do as the problem starts happening.

lexus72

My '94 es300 too has been diagnosed with a faulty expansion valve. The part alone cost roughly $70 from the Lexus dealership. Anybody know if an expansion valve from a camry would work? Here is one from ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AC-Ex...spagenameZWD1V

Why should I pay so much for the lexus part if the camry part is interchangable. Does anybody know if they are and what part number from a camry I need for my '94 es300?

CUMan

Welcome to the world of Lexus part sales. My past experience with buying parts leads me to believe that you will always pay more for a part from a Lexus dealer than you would pay for the same part from a Toyota dealer.

The part number for the expansion valve is 88515-20100. This part is used on Lexus models and on numerous Toyota models.

I checked the price at several dealers that sell on the internet. This part at Park Place Lexus in Plano, Tx sells for $65.39. At Carson Toyota-Lexus it is $60.47. At Champion Toyota (www.toyotaworld.com), it is $59.68.

The part on ebay may or may not be a Toyota part. The part number shown does not correlate with the Toyota part number.

Replacing this part is very difficult due to its location. I think if I were going to have this done, I would pay the extra dollars to get the genuine Toyota part.

lexus72

Awesome response! Exactly what I hoped for. Thanks CUman.

One last question. My '94es300 is generally lumped together with the parts from the '92 and '93 es300 models and not so much with the '95 and '96 models. Are there 2 different expansion valve part numbers? ie. one number for the '92-'94 and one for the '95/'96?

In fact, here is an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/93-97...QQcmdZViewItem

This advertises an expansion valve for a es300 '94-'01 with the part number you suggested. Is there a different part number for '92-'94?????

Thanks,

lexus72

Out of shear curiosity, are these aftermarket expansion valves just junk or too risky? This one online is the correct part number:
http://www.ackits.com/merchant.mvc?S...ta024Runner3-4

and soooooo much cheaper. But yes, I will use the OEMToyota part as you all have said. Just curious because my mechanic loves to insist on aftermarket and always feels like the OEM parts are just a waste of money.

GEORGE_JET

I would stick with a toyota valve. You may be able to save a little with the ebay part, but who knows where it was manufactured. The major expense of this repair is going to be labor. I personally would spend a little more for a known quality part.

lexus72

One more thing, do I need to purchase the "receiver-dehydrator" as well as the expansion valve?

CUMan

According to the Park Place Lexus website, the same expansion valve (88515-20100) is used on all 1994-2001 ES models and on the 1996-1997 LX450 models.

I would hazard a guess that the expansion valves being sold on Ebay are replacements for the Toyota part and are not made by the same manufacturer. This may or may not be good. Obviously, the original Toyota part was flawed; otherwise, there would not be so many failures. I have no idea whether or not the weakness was addressed in valves produced in later years. It does seem that the expansion valve failures seem to be less of a problem in the late 1990's ES models. Does the Ebay substitute have the same flaws as the early Toyota parts? Who knows?

Unlike many people, I do not use strictly Toyota-Lexus parts when a repair is needed. Brakes, filters, hoses, batteries and things such as these are usually widely available at better prices from sellers other than Toyota-Lexus. I have never had a bad experience buying and using parts such as these from these outside sources. But these items are fairly easily replaceable. An expansion valve is a different matter. I would not want to have to go through the replacement process on this item if I got a bad part.

lexus72

How did you figure out the part numbers from the lexus website? I found the expansion valves there, but no part numbers were listed. Also, what about the receiver dehydrator?

CUMan

That's a weakness with all the internet Lexus dealers parts operations. You have to get the part number elsewhere. I have always had the feeling that they did this so it would be more difficult to compare prices, especially when the part is sold at both Lexus and Toyota. But maybe I'm being cynical.

You can get the part numbers at "www.*******.com/parts". Enter the year and model of your car, and it will show diagrams for the various components of the car.

At the asterisks above, fill in: t o y o d i y.