As part of the interview, TurboTax (TT) asks you how many times, in the past, you have claimed the American Opportunity Credit (AOC). The short coming, in TT, is that it will allow you to continue if you don't answer that question.
You may be able to claim the smaller Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) for 2022 and not have to pay back the full $2500. The LLC is 20% of qualified expenses (tuition and fees only, no books or computers). Unlike the AOC, no part of the LLC is refundable (it can only reduce your tax liability).
You say "it only allows the credit to be filed 4 times for a given student, no matter how small the credit in each year". If your credit was less than $2500 in either 2020 or 2021, consider filing an amended return for that year, so that you can get the full AOC for 2022.
