|
Daimler has already announced they will be going back to R-134a for new auto air conditioners rather than the planned (and agreed upon) change to HFO-1234yf due to safety risks. Toyota has now joined the ranks of companies refusing to convert to 1234yf for safety reasons. German manufacturers Volkswagen and BMW have also previously announced rejection of HFO-1234yf for new autos much to the dismay of DuPont and Honeywell, developers of this low GWP refrigerant for autos.
R134a has been banned from new vehicles built in the EU since the start of the year due to its high Global Warming Potential, GWP.
Toyota has ceased producing any vehicles for Europe with R1234yf. Toyota can refill these models with the previously used R134a, because the relevant approvals to use the old refrigerant in those models are still valid.
Daimler tests found the refrigerant combined with the air-conditioning compressor oil spraying across the engine block, produced a hot composition of toxic gas, easily resulting in flames. The gas mixture included hydrogen fluoride, a corrosive compound known to cause blindness and skin deformity when humans are exposed. The explosion also resulted in hydrofluoric acid, a deadly substance that is so corrosive that exposure to a a body part the size of one's palm can result in death.
(Read more)
The introduction of new refrigerants continues to be an increasingly hot issue.
Editor's Note: CR4 would like to thank Larry Butz of GEA Consulting for contributing this blog entry, which originally appeared at the GEA Consulting HVAC Blog.
| 
Re: Totota Joins Daimler In Opposing " Dangerous" New Refigerant
