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Honda CR-V AC Compressor Problems

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  • crkyolfrtcrkyolfrt Member Posts: 2,345
    You didn't mention that they replaced the evaporator, which also is the most difficult component to re and re because of its location up under the dash. Usually with these A/C failures in the CRV, it contaminates the entire system and if any one component that carries freon which has the metal debris in it, isn't replaced, then the old part will re contaminate the rest of the system. Flushing attempts rarely work, so even the hoses usually get replaced too. A Honda repair shop knows this, and if you used a Honda dealer shop, then I would insist they screwed up and redo your A/C and this time replace the entire system and you will pay the extra for the evaporator.

    There is some consensus out there that if you live where you must affix a front license plate, that its location is poor in that it restricts some of the much needed air to get thru the condenser, which causes the system to have to work harder than necessary. I suspect that people who spend more time in city stop and go as opposed to highway running, probably have a greater incidence of failures, but a poll like that is hard to get stats on. Too many variables.

    I will say that the temperature of the air in my CRV is the coldest of any car I have ever owned in the past.

    Hondas.. as a rule, are very reliable and do give good expected service life. It is unfortunate that A/C not only happens to be a weak spot with them even in later generations than the majority here posting, but when they do fail, it takes out the entire system. It is the compressor design that is the culprit because it is the component responsible for first creating debris, and then of course circulating that debris throughout the system.

    Using the compressor for a few minutes in the off season is a good idea. Further, if you anticipate a high rpm situation, like an aggressive pass on a two lane, I click my compressor off so that it does not endure revs above 4000 or so rpm. Not sure if that helps or not but makes sense to me.
  • taraytaray Member Posts: 1
    I just got done talking to Honda Motors. They can care less about this issue, they pretend like it does not exist. This is the fourth time my A/C broke! The first time, they fixed it and I was not charged for it. Less than a year later, it broke again, same exact symptoms. They said it was not the compressor that time, but they fixed two fan motors, charged me about $1100, and it worked for a few months. Then compressor broke again, and they wanted to charge me $1500 for it. I had it fixed elsewhere for lower price. Less than a year later, today...compressor blew up again! It was so loud I'm afraid it ruined the drive train. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Honda thanked me for bringing the issue up, but that they can't do anything about it! Poor quality workmanship, poor customer service. I'd say boycott them! I'm done with this car, not spending another dime on A/C that will last a few months. The heck with HONDA!
  • ihatehonda3ihatehonda3 Member Posts: 1
    Took my CRV to the dealer today, and was told the air conditioner system was contaminated due to failed air compressor. The estimation was $3500.
    Called American Honda asked why the extended warranty for clutch turns to whole AC systems failure due to air compressor.
    The answer from American Honda was that they never aware of AC compressor issue. The only thing they are aware of is clutch and coil. Sorry, you are on your own.

    My lesson learned from today's experience are,
    First, if there is any issue, even minor issue, as long as under warranty, check with dealer asap. I waited for two years to finally visit dealership.
    Second, I will never buy a Honda. Actually my wife is looking at new Acura MDX as her TL is getting old. After today's experience, I'd say, Honda, ‚³‚悤‚È‚ç
  • rrubyyrrubyy Member Posts: 19
    Acura's are Honda products ..... AND I have seen the same air conditioning issues in Acura products .... Search the Edmunds site and you will see ........

    don't be fooled by a name change .... It is a Honda ... Never again will there be a Honda product in my garage .......
  • dtstofdtstof Member Posts: 61
    I have a 2007 CRV with over 87,000 miles. The air conditioner has worked great so far. I wonder; my CRV is a Japanese built model and has worked fine;I use it in the recirculation mode whenever I use it. I wonder if that matters or maybe it would be worth it to get a new compressor and clutch and change them out. It might be a lot cheaper, not having to replace the whole system??
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    No soliciting on our site please.
  • dimitriusg36dimitriusg36 Member Posts: 1
    I don't have a CR-V, but I have a 2004 Acura MDX. I've had my car since April of 2013, the time of this post is August 2013, and my air conditioning has gone twice. It is very frustrating knowing that we have to A/C in the car in FLORIDA in AUGUST! I don't feel comfortable anymore. I also need help! :-)
  • rikrikardorikrikardo Member Posts: 23
    Did some of the A/C components fail or are you just having a freon leak (A/C outputs hot air and/or is slow to cool down) that the service department hasn't found yet. If the latter, have them put a dye in the freon when they fix it (reload the Freon) this time so there is a positive indication of where the leak is the next time this happens.

    I also have a 2004 MDX (bought mine used in 2008 off an Israeli gynecologist whose wife wanted something bigger) and have not had an A/C problem yet (~120,000 miles on the car).
  • markboettchermarkboettcher Member Posts: 2
    We bought our 2009 Honda CR-V new in 2009. Earlier this summer at about 65,000 miles the air conditioner simply stopped working all at once. Fuses all good and presumably not a coolant leak since it was running cold one minute and hot the next. The thing is that we live in Vermont and use the A/C a lot less than in most places. It should be working after 150,000 miles like my Fords and Chevys and Toyotas and pretty much every other car I've owned over the last 40+ years that I have been driving.

    Somehow we never got the notice that the A/C clutch assembly warranty had been extended. So we put up with it, thinking that since we were over the 50,000 mile warranty, so there was no recourse. It's not so bad living without A/C in Vermont most of the time.

    Last Sunday we started hearing a grinding sound from the engine compartment. I was guessing that it was a water pump bearing or A/C compressor. Leaning toward the A/C compressor since the A/C had died earlier. Just in case it was something really bad, we parked the car.

    On that Sunday I filled out the online contact request form on the website for Gerrish Honda in Lebanon, NH, where we had bought the car. I asked them if there was an extended warranty on the A/C. I stated that our A/C had quit recently. I told them that there was a grinding noise that had me concerned and that I thought might be related. I said that if there was an extended warranty that I wanted to schedule an appointment to get it taken care of right away. Gave them my email address, phone number and VIN. I received an automatic email acknowledgement of my request shortly thereafter.

    On Monday morning, I took time off from work to take the car to my local mechanic to ask about the grinding sound. He said it was almost certainly the A/C compressor. He recommended that I get it in for repair soon, but that I should be OK for a few miles. Parked the car.

    Monday passed, no reply from Gerrish Honda. Car sat in the driveway.

    Tuesday passed, still no reply from Gerrish Honda. On Tuesday evening we had to drive the car about 20 miles. Since Gerrish Honda had not replied for over 48 hours it seemed reasonable to assume that they did not consider it a huge concern. Just as we pulled into the driveway there was a loud SNAP! Blap Blap Blap. Shut the car off and found that the serpentine belt had snapped.

    Wednesday morning called Gerrish Honda and asked about the email I had sent on Sunday. Receptionist (or whatever) said she had forwarded it to service on Monday and that I should have heard from them. Talked to the service department at Gerrish Honda and they didn't seem to know about my email. They did tell me that there was an extended warranty on the A/C clutch. I told them that the serpentine belt had snapped and that I was pretty sure it was a seized A/C compressor. They recommended that I get the car in for them to look at.

    Wednesday afternoon I had the car towed to Gerrish Honda. Progressive Insurance paid for that - I recommend them. Couple of hours later got a call from Gerrish Honda telling me that the compressor had seized. They assured me that it had absolutely nothing to do with the A/C Clutch. Whatever. In any case they said it would be $1130 to replace the compressor, serpentine belt and that the clutch and coil were included with the compressor. I was told that even if I had brought the car in when the A/C failed this summer and they had done the extended warranty work, the compressor would have probably failed anyways.

    So, I have two issues here:

    First, if Gerrish Honda had called back Monday or Tuesday, I would have most likely made an appointment and got the car towed in to look at the grinding sound, and they would have found a problem with the compressor BEFORE a catastrophic failure.

    Second, and the REAL issue is that, why the hell is an A/C compressor failing on a car with 65,000 miles on it? Honda just settled a class action lawsuit last year for earlier model Honda cars with A/C compressor problems. Just a casual web search will show that the problem is still very much unresolved. If anyone knows of a new class action lawsuit or is interested in starting one, just leave a message here or email me. Address is my user name at yahoo dot com.

    And on the off chance that someone at Gerrish Honda happens to monitor this thread and takes offense at my repeated mention of them, when someone calls your phone, there is a message that all calls are recorded for quality purposes (or whatever). Thank you for that. That gave me permission to record as well, which I did, so that there would be no future misunderstanding of who said what and when.

    We used to love the CR-V and were seriously thinking about doing a trade-in for a newer model, but suddenly this car that seemed perfect when we bought it is starting to look like a delayed-reaction lemon. There seems to be a lot of evidence that even if we pay the $1130 to get it 'fixed', it's going to turn out that the compressor internals disintegrated, requiring a lot of other peripheral repairs in the near future.
  • markboettchermarkboettcher Member Posts: 2
    edited September 2013
    There was a bit more I should have added in the last post, but it was getting pretty long-winded. Gerrish Honda quoted a price of $1130 to replace the A/C Compressor and serpentine belt. This is actually a pretty reasonable price by Honda dealer standards. Just be aware that this is a lot more than it will cost if you go elsewhere. A lot of people have it fixed in their head that since they bought their car at a Honda dealer, and had all the scheduled services done at the Honda dealer, then anything that breaks should be fixed at the Honda dealer.

    If something breaks after the warranty, please do not go back to the dealer. Go to a local mechanic that you trust. If you don't have one, then ask friends. My $1130 job will cost somewhere around $500. Maybe less. The job will be done with after-market parts that will outlast the original Honda parts. The workmanship will be better and if they make a mistake, they will fix it without charging a ton of money, because they want me to keep coming back.

    The thing about local mechanics is that if they don't treat their customers well it bites then in the butt real quick. A lot of their customers know each other or know someone who knows someone who were really happy or really unhappy about the work. When you buy a car at a big dealership, you may know one person out of 5,000 who can tell you anything about the service.
  • fogrollininfogrollinin Member Posts: 5
    hi Mark:

    I am reposting something I posted a few weeks ago, regarding an extended warranty. I was able to use this to get the AC clutch assembly and compressor replaced for free in Pennsylvania.

    My 2007 CRV was out of warranty as well. I also found out last summer that I missed the class action lawsuit deadline. Honestly I had given up and then received the warranty extension letter in Nov2012. No idea why I received the letter in the first place??

    Let me give you some basics from the letter I received. It specifies Honda Reference Svc Bulletin #12-072 at the bottom of the letter. Also to direct any questions to Honda Customer Service 800.999.1009, and select option 4. I would recommend calling before going to the dealer.

    This letter is to notify you of a warranty extension on your CR-V. What is the reason for this notice? The A/C clutch wears out causing one or more of the following symptions:
    The A/C performance is poor and it's blowing air that isn't very cold.
    The A/C doesn't work and blows warm air.
    The A/C makes noise that seems to come from the compressor area.

    To increase confidence in your vehicle, American Honda is extending the warranty of the A/C clutch to 7 years from the original date of purchase or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. (I had 96,000 miles on my car when I got the letter!)

    This warranty extension provides coverage for the original owner and any subsequent owners.

    What should you do?
    If your vehicle is experiencing any of the listed symptoms, call any authorized Honda dealer and make an appointment to have your vehicle inspected. If the symptom is caused by a worn A/C clutch, the A/C clutch and, if needed, the field coil will be replaced at no cost.

    Lastly, it says "we apologize for any inconvenience this warranty extension may cause you"

    I would go back into the dealership with this info (after first calling American Honda) and force them to address the issue. If you have already had this fixed elsewhere, possibly you can get them to reimburse you for the costs?

    Hope this helps!

    Frank
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited September 2013
    I think you really should be posting on Honda's Facebook page.

    How to Effectively Complain about your Car Problem
  • crvsbadcrvsbad Member Posts: 1
    Loud noise coming from AC compressor area. Noise abated somewhat when AC was engaged. Paid $100 for dealer to tell me it wasn't the clutch (which has an extended warranty due to a know issues). It was a bearing inside the compressor which was not covered.

    Found a new compressor on line through ebay ($157 free shipping from Texas). Could have done the work myself but didn't have the right vacuum pump and freon gauges. Paid mechanic $300 to install it.

    Dealer wanted $950 to do the same job.

    Only mistake the mechanic made was not to replace the belt while he was in there. Guess I'l;l do that in a few months as it is the original and we are at 95K miles.
  • crkyolfrtcrkyolfrt Member Posts: 2,345
    I hope you replaced the receiver/drier? It is quite affordable when you are already breaking the system and ensures new filtering and humidity collection within the system. Also, the ratio (and correct quantity) of refrigerant to oil is also often overlooked, by dealers too. These 3 details are the most common causes for shortlived A/C repairs once the system has been broken in to. Assuming that the failure did not create black death debris of course...in those cases, attempting to fix without replacing every single component (including the lines) will also render a short fix considering the costs involved. Honda really dropped the ball on so many of their A/C longevity/cost issues, IMO. Shame on them. Thank goodness they usually deliver not too bad value overall, but the A/C woes pulls their averages of owner contentment down.
  • anpanp Member Posts: 7
    I am planning to buy CR-V 2013/2014. But now I am also considering RAV4 (its safety is a notch below CR-V - this is very important to me and I would think for most people) since Honda seems to have A/C problems. In fact, I used own 1990 Acura and the only major part that broke in the car (besides the main relay) was A/C.

    Any thoughts on CR-V vs. RAV4 (reliability, safety ...).

    Thanks
  • pompompompom Member Posts: 4
    Definitely test drive the Honda CRV at night. I have experienced (along with a lot of others) terrible exterior lighting on this car. I would have never thought to test drive at night since I have never had a problem with any of my other cars exterior lighting. It has only been 6 month's and we plan to get rid of our 2013 Honda CRV as it is not safe to drive at night,
  • anpanp Member Posts: 7
    Anyone else experienced similar exterior lighting problems with this car? This is quite serious! If it has been a problem with 2013, was it fixed in the 2014 model? Please let me know if you have any info.

    Thanks.
  • pompompompom Member Posts: 4
    Is anyone having a problem with the interior display including the back up camera going dark. I was driving today and at 3,600 miles the display is on and then it is off and then it is on again. Does anyone know what controls (other than a computer) the displays. Is it a fuse that I can check? I just was at the dealer the other day for problems with the exterior lighting and really do not want to go back again twice in a week. I should have kept my ten year old car!
  • amherstrockguyamherstrockguy Member Posts: 1
    :) My 2007 CRV had been making noise from the serpentine belt / lower engine area for ~12 months; sort of a whuppa - whuppa sound.... intermittently usually under 1000 RPM. Not having received the clutch TSB notice (or thinking it was junk mail tossed it ) I went to my indy garage . They couldn't hear it the first time ~9 months ago. Hesitant to take it to dealer, because I didn't want to empty our bank acc't.

    Last month took it back to the independent garage, They replaced the serp belt 'cuz it was @ 90 K miles and needed it. They warned me it could be the AC. The wuppa - wuppa started the next day so I took it to the dealer where I bought it.

    They identified it as a bad clutch and oil leaking from the compressor.... ~ $1150 total . Clutch was covered under TSB, leaving me with ~ $863 to pay.

    I asked them nicely what they could do to help out with the cost. Fortunately the regional service rep was coming the next day. My service rep explained we are a 5 Honda family yadda ,yadda.

    Bottom line they charged me $100 bucks total. So far so good no noise and I got a 12 month 12K miles on the parts repair. Happy camper here.
  • whitelinerrwhitelinerr Member Posts: 1
    pompom, is this model an EX with "auto headlights" option? If so, try going to manual headlight mode. Review owners manual on "auto-headlights".
  • andy189andy189 Member Posts: 1

    they could not find the problem on my2008 cr-v with 99250 miles so i tinkered and found if i revved the engine to 1500 rpm and then turned the a c on sparks would fly from the clutch after i showed the service manager this they put in a new coil, clutch and compressor for fifty dollars [they called it a deductible]
    good luck andy

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342

    Just a word to the wise here...

    The A/C compressor on our 2003 CRV that has 78,000 miles started making some funny sounds and blowing hot air off and on. I had it looked at and it was confirmed the compressor was failing. From that point forward I have NOT turned on my A/C! A new compressor is on it's way to me.

    If the A/C compressor TOTALLY fails, it CAN throw metal throughout the entire system and you will have to replace every component at great expense.

    So, if you hear the signs of impending doom, shut it down until you can get the compressor replaced!

    Naturally it picked the hottest week of the year to do this!

  • bichonwagonbichonwagon Member Posts: 1

    My 2008 CR-V started blowing warm air, intermittently, this summer. I remembered getting a letter from Honda USA so I pulled it out of the file and found the warranty extension. Since my extended warranty was close to lapsing, I scheduled an inspection at my local Honda Dealer, Borman Honda in Las Cruces, NM. No problems with them, inspection revealed signs of failure on the clutch and coil. Parts replaced promptly, My system had lost about 3 oz of refrigerant so I paid $120 for a recharge. I have 92000 miles and have owned the car since Dec 2007.

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342

    After buying a new compressor and having it installed, I learned it was NOT bad. It was the expansion valve that was bad which caused the compressor to cycle on and off quickly.

    The guy who did the work said the old compressor was just fine!

    Oh well...

  • grendelhawkegrendelhawke Member Posts: 1
    I'm new to this discussion and have a very basic question... I have a 2004 Honda CRV which was purchased new. Up until a couple days ago my AC was working ok (still fairly cool for an 11 year old vehicle). Now with all this talk of AC compressor issues, I am worried that I may be looking at a rather sizeable repair bill that I cannot afford. I have an appointment to take it into my local repair shop (specializing in AC) and am not sure what to expect. I never heard to "bang" sound of an exploding compressor. The only symptoms I have witnessed are warm air from the vents and a compressor that doesn't seem to engage every time I press the AC button. For all I know, this could simply be a bad compressor without the grenade action. Is it possible that I am one of the lucky ones? Thanx in advance for any guidance. Hopefully I'll know more once the diagnostics are run tomorrow.
  • vkgarryvkgarry Member Posts: 7
    It's been a few years since I last posted here. My fifth A/C compressor failure happened 6 years ago, and my request for some relief was denied. With five failures in five years it was pretty obvious to me that there was a design problem. It's still not fixed. Just out of curiosity, I posted my story about A/C compressor failures on Honda's Facebook page. I got a note from them today saying they'd like to follow up on this, and asked for my VIN. Let's keep our fingers crossed!
  • tegantegan Member Posts: 2
    The AC compressor on my 2010 CRV just died at 118,000.
  • sweatinitoutsweatinitout Member Posts: 1
    My 2008 with 92,000 miles just went yesterday. I had a local mechanic replace it today but it still doesn't work. Reportedly the compressor is only getting 4.8 volts??? Off to a dealer tomorrow. Bought it new and this has been the only problem.. Hope it can be fixed.
  • gregmyersgregmyers Member Posts: 1
    My 1998 CRV compressor just died @199,500 moles. In to the mechanic tomorrow.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    In response to some earlier posts---no, the AC cannot continue to operate once the compressor seizes, nor can the car for that matter unless you disconnect the serpentine belt---which on most cars, also drives other accessories.

    It is imperative that if you hear any kind of compressor grinding, that you stop driving the car. Replacing the AC clutch is not too expensive, but if the compressor seizes, it will spread debris through the AC system, and you'll have a very large bill on your hands.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    gregmyers said:

    My 1998 CRV compressor just died @199,500 moles. In to the mechanic tomorrow.

    Wow.. after 18 years and 200K miles, hard to say it has anything to do with a defect.

    Sorry to hear about it. I loved my '98 EX AWD with stick-shift! Unfortunately, it met with a premature death.

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  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729

    In response to some earlier posts---no, the AC cannot continue to operate once the compressor seizes, nor can the car for that matter unless you disconnect the serpentine belt---which on most cars, also drives other accessories.

    It is imperative that if you hear any kind of compressor grinding, that you stop driving the car. Replacing the AC clutch is not too expensive, but if the compressor seizes, it will spread debris through the AC system, and you'll have a very large bill on your hands.

    I've had two complete AC failures. The one in the NEON did make a loud squeal and when I started moving smoke came out from the hood (probably from the belt seizing?)? I was able to "fix" the problem by turning the AC off (took me a bit to figure it out). With the AC off, no noise and no smoke. It was expensive to fix.

    In the A3 there were no noises, warnings, sensors, or smoke. It just decided to cool less and less over about an hour until there was just no more cooling or conditioning going on during a hot day and long drive. Turning the AC on or off didn't seem to make any difference that was noticeable. I was told the compressor did seize, that debris did spread throughout the system when it self destructed, and that it was going to be very expensive to fix. Fortunately I was close enough to warranty at 53,000 miles that Audi stepped up to do the job at zero expense to me. I also got to drive around an A4 2.0T loaner for 2 weeks while they gathered parts, and worked on it.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    My coworker took his old CRV in for AC service, was just a bad relay; quick and cheap fix.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    Had the AC go out years back on a Mercury and it did the same gradual loss thing. Worst car for AC I ever owned was a Plymouth. Repairs never held up. Ironically, back in those days Chrysler was supposed to be known for it's Airtemp. Actually, the neighborhood I lived in back when I was based in Orlando had mostly Chrysler Aitemp central air units (Didn't know they were in that business) and I seemed to see a lot of HVAC contractor trucks there in the summer.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    The BEST and coldest A/C were the GM cars from the 60's and 70's that used the large Fridgidare compressors and the R-12 freon! They would almost throw snowballs out the vents!
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    You could hang meat in there.. B)

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  • lbowyerlbowyer Member Posts: 1
    So, my 2008 Honda CR-V abruptly stopped working a couple of days ago. From the diagnosis, I need to replace the clutch/coil at an estimated $773. This DOES NOT include a new compressor. My concern is that down the line I will have wanted to make this replacement now - prior to incident (although the mechanic stated it is currently in good shape). The only option is a re-manufactured Sanden compressor (with clutch/coil) included at $980. Thoughts?
  • sendmikemailsendmikemail Member Posts: 2
    edited August 2016
    Just wanted to let people know of my situation. I have a 2013 Honda CRV. Bought it from a Honda dealer as a certified used car (comes with a 1 year warranty) 4 months ago. Had 36,800 miles when I bought it and now it has 42,400. Since I bought it I've been only driving it around town.
    This weekend I drove on a long distance trip (6 hours each way). While on the highway doing 65-70 (on the way up) I heard a loud ping sound. About 15 minutes later I realized the A/C was blowing warm air. My previous car was a Prius which made the trip dozens of times without a problem. That car had 170k but was totaled in a rear end collision 4 months ago. Never had a problem with the A/C or any other component on that car. I have an appointment tomorrow with the Honda dealer to get the car fixed so I'll find out exactly what happened. I think this is totally unacceptable on a vehicle this new. Never again will I buy a Honda. Especially after reading all the problems other people are having.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    If the AC is the only problem you ever have on the car it would be considered excellent reliability by most. A/C's seem to be problematic not just in Honda's but all manufacturers. Maybe it's the new refrigerants.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • sendmikemailsendmikemail Member Posts: 2
    andres3 said:

    If the AC is the only problem you ever have on the car it would be considered excellent reliability by most. A/C's seem to be problematic not just in Honda's but all manufacturers. Maybe it's the new refrigerants.

    Not trying to sound like a Toyota salesman (I'm not just an engineer) but an AC breaking at 40k is a big deal. After 170k my Prius needed nothing. And I mean nothing not even brakes. And I delivered newspapers with the car for 4 years. Talk about tough on brakes. I was hoping to go at least 150k before something broke on the CRV.
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    Personally, 40K is too early. Did you try to get some assistance from Honda. They seem to stand behind their product better than many makes. We've owned Honda and Toyota. My take, Toyota has better long term reliability. IIRC, Honda can be weak in A/C and automatic tranny on some models, although so far I've been lucky enough not to experience either.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    berri said:

    Personally, 40K is too early. Did you try to get some assistance from Honda. They seem to stand behind their product better than many makes. We've owned Honda and Toyota. My take, Toyota has better long term reliability. IIRC, Honda can be weak in A/C and automatic tranny on some models, although so far I've been lucky enough not to experience either.

    I'd put a Japanese built and assembled Civic up against any Toyota. But by and large, Toyota is hard to beat when it comes to being bulletproof.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • bartchpbartchp Member Posts: 1
    You can pull the A/C relay to prevent any further damage if you think a problem exists.
  • jikjik Member Posts: 144
    sold my lemon of a 09 crv lx

    latest issue was the compressor dying.

    Car had only 59 K miles
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    jik said:

    sold my lemon of a 09 crv lx

    latest issue was the compressor dying.

    Car had only 59 K miles

    That's a 9 to 10 year old compressor.... not bad actually.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    I've never had an air compressor in a vehicle fail.

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  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,729
    kyfdx said:

    I've never had an air compressor in a vehicle fail.

    buy a '95 Neon. Unless it's been recently replaced, you won't have cold air. You'll have a failed compressor, or an about to fail compressor. :angry:
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    Probably also depends on what climate you live in. 10 years in Texas is a different environment than 10 in the Northeast or Pacific Northwest. I believe Honda did have some AC issues back in those days though that were discussed in forums like this back then.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    Yeah.. 2100 posts. I'd guess there was an issue. ;)

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  • CRVsACsSuckCRVsACsSuck Member Posts: 1
    So to all of the CRV owners, and apologists for the car industry and dealerships, here are the facts that I've been able to confirm from my own personal experience, and research:

    1) 2nd generation CRV's have much higher than normal AC compressor failure rates for modern cars. I'm talking 35-45,000 miles or less is super common for 1st AC failure!!! Apologists are gonna make excuses, but at the end of the day, my 17 year old Accord still has the original AC compressor, nearly 300K miles, and is still blowing ice cold air. I've never so much as serviced the AC in the vehicle.

    2) Despite all your talk about people not changing out every part of the refrigerant circuit as the reason for the failures, they still fail even if all possible lines, condenser, dryer, etc. are replaced. I know, I've experienced this issue three different times before I finally sold my CRV in frustration. Black death is real, and nearly complete replacement of AC system is necessary to properly ensure no contaminants still exist inside.

    3) Honda of America eventually came around and started doing good will repairs in certain situations, but clearly not for every situation. I should know, they initially denied any help, then finally made a ridiculous offer to me to split the parts and labor (@ 43K on odometer), though they still continued to deny that there was a problem. Their "split" appeared to be against an artificial priceline, as with the split I was offered, I was still looking at $2300-2800.00 for my "half".

    4) It was only after I became friends with a Honda mechanic at the local Honda dealer that I found out the real straight scoop on this issue, which is is that Honda has known about this issue, continued to try to bury it for years, before a looming class action lawsuit forced them to finally start covering some level of repairs. My new friend told me they literally couldn't keep enough CRV AC compressors in stock at this dealership because of this issue, and they had multiple full-replacement repairs scheduled every single week he worked there.

    5) Honda mechanic friend acknowledged that Honda has known for some time that the reason these units suffer premature failure is because of the compressor orientation in 2nd gen CRVs, which makes it hydro-lock when first starting up. AC compressors aren't designed to function as hydraulic pumps, so premature failures in 2nd gen CRVs occur regardless of whether compressor is OEM, or aftermarket. OEM unit does in some cases tend to last a little longer.

    6) Honda came up with a "fix" for this issue, which involved reflashing the ECU. After the ECU was reflashed, the compressor would "pulse" for a few seconds on start up, which effectively pushes the oil safely out of the of the unit, without the compressor being forced to function as a hydraulic pump. If you go to Honda and ask to have the ECU reflash, and you cite because of AC issues, Honda will deny that any such ECU fix exists for AC issues. If you have another issue for which the ECU flash is a fix, they will do the reflash. This is once again right in line with how Honda has tried to suppress, confuse, and obfuscate this issue to mitigate their liability with consumers.

    7) I'm still amazed to this day that it is almost impossible to find good, accurate information about this issue without all of the apologists diluting the discussions around this with their gaslighting. Honda has done an amazing job for years suppressing information on this particular issue, which in the age of the Internet, is no small feat.

    8) After owning two brand new Hondas and being treated like a leper by both my local dealer, and American Honda, when I had premature AC compressor failure issues, I'm happy to report that I'll never own another Honda again. My next new vehicle purchase was a Toyota, which still has it's AC ice cold at 100K, and six years in.

    9) I'm sorry, but Honda finally accepting some level of responsibility for replacing these units doesn't make them amazing, it makes them barely tolerable. My belief and faith in Honda is why I used to buy their vehicles; I'll never make this mistake again. They had to get caught with their pants down, and their finger in the cookie jar before they started paying anything to anyone for replacements outside of warranty.
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