QuestionI have a '92 Celica, 120,000 miles. About a month ago I brought it in for an oil change (free lifetime oil change), minor tune-up, replace brakes and to have the A/C checked because it wasn't getting cold.
I was told that the compressor needed to be replaced and it would cost $850. They also said my timing belt, drive belts, dist. cap and rotor wires needed to be replaced. All told with labor and Tax $1678.
This was a lot for a 12 year old car. We opted to fix it, although we were on the fence about it. We got the car back and everything worked. It normally goes 1-3 miles a day, with the occasionl 70 mile round trip to the city (NY), which was why we had so much work done on it.
Two weeks after it was fixed my husband was driving it to work in Brooklyn and the A/C shuts down, then the tacomter quit and the power windows. Not knowing what was wrong we drove it right back to Toyota. They looked at it and said that a fuse had blown, that all the things that had shut down were on the same fuse. They said that the new compressor must draw more power than the old one, so they put a higher volt fuse in. They ran the car for 6 hours in the shop, with the A/C and the lights and all was well.
We brought the car home, it made it's usual short trips and one full round trip to NYC (from Long Island). Yesterday (thursday) my husband took it into NYC again, everything fine. As he was driving from NYC to Brooklyn the exact same thing happened. The A/C quit, then the guages, then the windows.
After under two hours, Toyota is now telling me that the problem is the magnetic clutch, and heavily discounted for my troubles will cost me $358 plus tax to fix. This puts my repair total at $2000, something we wouldn't have done had they told us this from the start. They did a full check on the car as shown by the additional items that needed to be fixed, this they didn't check? I was specifically having the A/C checked.
I question the validity of this new diagnosis. Could it be that the new, different compressor caused this piece to malfunction? In questioning whether the $850 compressor was ever at fault, they contend that the coil was working prior because the A/C worked when the new compressor was installed. If the coil were bad, the new compressor would not have worked. Now everything does work for a while, so it isn't really that the coil doesn't work.
I need help! I'm really frustrated and never would have but $2000 into a car whose book value is $1600.
AnswerI don't buy the part about the new compressor drawing more current and blowing the fuse, first of all, you never put in a fuse that is rated higher than the stated amperage rating, there was another problem, I can't comment on whether the compressor was the original problem but I can tell by what you are telling me that the problem now is the compressor clutch, it is probably starting to seize up and draw an excessive amount of current and blowing the fuse, I agree that it needs to be replaced but it should have been replaced along with the compressor, I recommend that you contact the service manager of the dealership, do not talk to an "ASM" but directly to the service manager and tell him/her that you are willing to pay for the part and they should do the labor at no charge to you, this seems a fair settlement in this situation and I'm sure this is agreeable to both parties.
