ASE

Leakage is almost invariably on the high (pressure) side of the system ... so we would fully charge the system, and then run the high side close to maximum pressure .. and use an electronic "sniffer" probe to detect freon being present ... indicating a leak. The challenge is access under the dash (assuming that is the leak location) to "sniff" for potential leak locations. Given the odor (assuming not musty) ... an under the dash leak is highly probable (and the reason why it was not fixed in the past).

jtrue28

It has a leak. It's a closed system, it doesn't just evaporate with time. I would not buy that vehicle, unless you're prepared to replace the A/C.

ASE

A leak does not require replacing the A/C ... it requires repairing the leak ... with the challenge being finding the leak which takes labor hours to discover the leak location. The fix may be as superficial as a leaking connector, but based on location may require “dash surgery” for access.

ASE

The danger here is that the seller may have the attitude "Hey, the AC works now ... so it's fixed" ... maybe the case, but for how long ? You have no way of knowing if the leak has been fixed ... and there is a leak without question. Yes, you can insist that they fix the leak ... and they can tell you that they fixed the leak ... but with a full freon charge, you will have no way to verify that this is in fact the case until at a later date when you will have no recourse. So the long-short ... if you proceed, you need to get in writing a guarantee that ANY failure of the AC system to provide cooling specifically due to freon loss for a period of xx-months will be fixed free of charge (with a loaner car).

coolsaber

Either way unless this is a one off GX, its time to move on to the next GX on the market. Those service history records would deter me away. No one (and I assume the dealer as well) wants to perform dash surgery on a GX they just bought.

nuclearn8

the price would have to be below kbb "fair" trade in value for me to consider it... too much risk and too many used GX's to pick from to consider vehicles with suspect maintenance history.

ASE

Agree ... deduct the price of replacing the evaporator coil (and both hoses) from the purchase price ... and call it even given that would be a worst case scenario ... but better to move on given there are too many GX460's out there to inherit a potential nightmare.

CTML

Thanks everyone, very insightful advice here - the dealer got back to me today and as expected, he recharged the system and it blows ice cold. I mentioned my concern of an unfixed leak and potential for ongoing issues and he seemed happy to run this by the techs tomorrow so we'll see. But as it stands, it doesn't make sense to take the risk on the car - it is a $27k car with 55k miles so while that is good value, its not worth the future hassle.

Acrad

There are also refrigerant and heater lines that go back to the 3rd zone evaporator & heater core (if equipped)

poonkodiv

Hi

I have owned a GX 460 since 2015 - 4.6l gasoline .
In the last 6 months, I have 2 issues with AC where they had to replace the blower and once the entire unit .
I am worried as the car just ran out of warranty,

Anything i need to check for or is this any common issue elsewhere
I live in UAE , where the AC is used almost constantly

Acrad

AC issues aren't common but here was a member who replaced the AC compressor

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...placement.html

I've heard of a few blower motors and a few low charge scenarios elsewhere but nothing else.

There is a built in diagnostics if you ever need it as well

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...eshooting.html

tecman

Just for the record, another compressor here.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...g-hot-air.html

JamesF

Thought I was going crazy with my new to me 2012. new blower now on the way. Thanks for the info!

cb1111

One thing to check is the cabin air filter first before you swap out the fan.

A dealer swapped out the filter on my moms RX years ago and it made a buzzing noise. I pulled out the filter, reseated it and the noise went away. I'm not sure exactly what the problem was (filter in wrong, cover not snapped in correctly, or what, but it fixed it. The dealer initially opined that the fan was bad.

Acrad

Are you noticing obvious changes in temperature adjustment as well as all vent modes?

Need to rule out you don't have a HVAC servo that needs to be replaced as well.