Toyota Corolla 2012 GLi 1.3 AC Compressor issue

[pwuser174411180152]

My Experience.
AC problem 2009 to 2013 corolla users.

I have 2012 Gli (ist owner)
Kept with extreme care.
Almost totally maintained from dealership.
Mileage 130k.

Everything original on car, each component works perfect till now, but now on reaching 130k km Ac stop working.

Ist problem so far.

How it behaves : when car is idle AC works 100% and sometimes also below 50km/h. But as you start moving car and it exceeds 50 60 km speed Ac turned off, it's up to him now if he works or not in majority it won't work.

So I went to atleast 10 mechanics
Almost Each one said change compressor, don't go to original it's so costly and no guarantee

Use compressor of Honda life or duet or 2004 05 model corolla.

One of them said change solenoid valve, might it help on new generation it works 90% but on your generation it mostly won't works. But take a chance it might help and save your rupee.

He said it'll cost 17k. 10k of gas and oil (original denso oil is 18000 per litter, which on compressor I thi k used 7 8 cc) and 7k of solenoid valve.

If it won't work, I'll give you back 7k of solenoid valve but 10k of gas n oil will be lost.

So I go for it. IT WON'T WORK. You can say 5% working better then before but no use.

So, I go to Authorise dealership.
They said not just compressor but whole system will change, why is your condenser and other AC related components are OK, but it will risk to new Compressor if we use old parts with new compressor, the gas and dash dash will circulate on it and with old parts carbon amd dirt can damage new compressor.

April 2025 Authorise dealership cost is

88k compressor (from outside new denso costs 70k) (but company won't accept it)

35k each condenser

30k air valve system etc etc it costs above 150. 150 - 175k

I'm little busy these days and confused whether change it with orignal or 2number, I don't have a mode to sale this car, and I'll keep it as life partner. So temporary solutions won't work for me
Kher, I'll update what I did to it after some experience.

If one faces same problem and can help me please do
And if some needs assistance from me feel free
+447450786970 Muhammad.

And ignore my English, I'm learning it, a student.

[hash4u]

what a rip off
my inlaws GLI is 200,000 + driven
orignal AC system

which city are you from

[pwuser168769465373]

2010 GLI owner here.
I have gone through this whole process. The ac on my car stopped at 135k kms 4 years ago. At first it started tripping randomly. We got the condenser and ac coil cleaned and gas checked but issue persisted. We spent 2 years like this because we don't drive the car that much. Anyways last year we decided to fix this issue once in for all. This is what I learned.

Corolla 10th gen (E140 2009 - 2013) come with a clutchless variable compressor. This type of compressor is always spinning with your engine which causes more wear and tear then normal clutch actuated compressor. This is the reason why these compressor go out. The internal piston walls wear out causing the compressor to not compress gas properly and in desi language (kalak chor Dena). There is no repair or fix to this issue. Solenoid doesn't work if there is kalak . You can check for kalak by checking the filter inside the condenser.

FIX
you can either replace the compressor with new one or you can go for the cheaper route of fitting a clutch actuated compressor.

Cheaper route (clutch compressor)
We went for this route. We bought a denso 200cc clutch compressor kabli for 10k and with fitting and gas It coasted us 18k or 25k I believe no more than that. You need to get the condenser filter replaced and all the ac lines properly cleaned because the kalak can destroy the new compressor. The condenser also needs to be cleaned if kalak went beyond the filter.
There is a relay installed above the new compressor and the solenoid from the oem compressor is tapped up and connected to the oem wiring because it needs to be present for AC to work.

Result + follow up (clutch compressor)
Ac works good. You can control the cooling with the original climate control . Cooling is good but I noticed that in extreme heat ac does boggle down a bit as compared to oem ac but nothing too bad.
problems
Clutch compressor takes a lot of load thus when ac is running the idle rpm fluctuates a bit.
When shifting gear due to extra load the rpm drops instantly from cruise to idle which causes jerk in shifting which affects the ride quality . As the load decreases the rpm drop also get less severe .

common mistakes in this alteration
Kindle check the compressor before buying. Make sure the pully bearing is smooth and soundless .
It's better to get a compressor that is the same cc as the oem compressor.

I took apart the oem compressor for further analysis. These are the picture of the different parts.

Condensor filter :

Compressor insides:

.

Pistons:
See how the compressor has five Pistons. These move up and down under load like a little engine.

Kalak source / wear point:
This is what wears out and causes kalak. The pistons and the main shaft which connects the pully to the insides. Kalak is visible here.

[Xulfiqar]

The filter dryer in the condenser will always be a bit grayish, its there to catch any debris anyway, if you have glittery gray or black oil in the compressor itself and in the discharge line or manifold then the compressor is totalled along with the whole condenser.

When refitting a new variable compressor the oil charge needs to be done from the oil charging plug and not the suction port of the compressor. When refiling gas in it, use a multistage vacuum pump for atleast 50 minutes and charge it with the exact quantity gas as liquid and let it boil and stabilise for a minute or two before starting the system up. If you using tiny cans to charge then the first can will need to be added as liquid till it takes it, heat up the can to push everything out of it. Then refinish with the other cans till you calculate the full weight has been added, dont rely on the gauge set.

The variable solenoid works great if you replace it with a brand new part and not a scrapped one provided your compressor isnt all jacked up. Ive done this repair thousands of times, this “kalatch wali komressor lagao is an issue unique to countries like Pakistan only.

The rest of the world has no issue with the factory variable unit even at half million kms

[pwuser168769465373]

From my analysis clearly the compressor went out. Maybe changing the compressor oil after every lets say 100k kms should prevent this issue because you can clearly see scoring on the piston walls inside the compressor.

[Xulfiqar]

The compressors oil doesnt technically ever wear out as there is no FOD or adulteration going on, its a closed loop.

The reason the compressor dies is usually murder by introducing foreign object damage to it like moisture or debris when working on it.

Btw how did you determine the compressor was duff? Did you do a bench test on it. The outfit I engage to refurbish rare compressors have a sort of self made compressor dyno that loads it up, if the compressor can pump up to 350 psi plus on the discharge then its a good compressor, the internals can seem loose to the naked eye.

Btw

That “kalak” on the pistons is the teflon coating done at the factory, there is also no determined thickness measurement of this due to its workability, this is why the only test to determine if its good is a running test, because a bad set of valves can also render a compressor bad.

[pwuser168769465373]

Well I assumed it by the kalak . We ain't got no dyno testing here in Pakistan. It's all jerryrigging here. You seem very knowledgeful though. Do you mind introducing yourself

[Xulfiqar]

You can do a compressor load test on a dyno you already have, which is your engine.

Stop the cooling fans and start the ac, at full heat load you should see it reach into the 300 psi plus range on the liquid side.

Im a fossil on these forums - mechanic, tech, crazy person all rolled into one.