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Best Regards,
Ruth
KP
I have a 2001 Honda CR-V with 135,434 miles. A few weeks ago I noticed a rumbling sound when I turned on the A/C. After taking it to the Honda dealership I learned that the entire A/C system needed to be replaced. Below is the actual text from the receipt given to me by the service representative.
CUSTOMER STATES A/C NOT COLD
CK AND ADVISE --C/S RATTLING NOISE WHEN AC RUNNING
NOISE COMING FROM COMPRESSOR/CLUTCH/COIL. BEARINGS BAD AND DEBREE HAS BEEN DISTRIBUTED IN A/C SYSTEM. WILL NEED REPLACEMENT OF ALL RUBBER LINES, CONDENSOR, DRYER, COMPLETE COMPRESSOR, EVAPORATOR AND FREON. ESTIMATED COST $2,800.00
This has been a very reliable vehicle. I was very shocked to hear that my only option was to replace the entire system or not run the A/C. I live in Georgia and it has been an extremely hot summer. Has anybody ever had this issue? Did you really have to replace the entire A/C system. Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Be sure you refresh the dealer's memory (especially the service dept.) that you're a loyal Honda buyer. Also, be sure to keep a contemporaneous diary of when you called/spoke to someone, what their name and position was, what their words/actions were as well as the bill for the diagnosis. (We had to submit bills to Honda America because the service dept. never did.) Then when you deal with Honda America you have all the dates, names and data accurate and available.
Don't give up hope. We almost had, but Honda stood behind their product. (See my earlier postings...I think they were 667, 668 and 670).
Good luck...and keep us informed of your progress.
KP
Honda did participate, but only 50%. And it was made very clear to me that it was a gift for my extreme loyalty, otherwise they wouldn't have participated at all.
Am very disappointed...sadly they wanted me to sign a form saying this was a satifactory conclusion..when I said I wasn't satisfied, they looked at me like I had grown another head and told me that this was all they would do.
So..I signed (I needed my car) and told them it was a shame because if someone had asked me 2 months ago what my next car purchase was going to be, I would have said "Honda" without hesitation. Now, that's not the case.
I have spent 1000's keeping up to date on ALL maintenance just to avoid these failures. I have a 96 Accord with 270,000 miles that has never had an AC issue and they admitted that there was an AC issue with this model. But because I have 113000 miles on it, they just wouldn't pay more than 50%.
I'm very disappointed and will have to re-think my next purchase...
Thank you for your advice. I felt like I went in with a little knowledge!
After mentioning the issue to the dealer, they were glad I did my homework, and awaited authorization from the honda rep. I will end up paying ~500 on the $3200 quote. Although I don't believe we should have to pay anything on this issue since it seems to be prevalent in CRVs from 2002 - 2004 - it is better than the full amount. The communication was quick and my car will be ready tomorrow. Honda was able to resolve this issue within the week, and I can't complain about that. The dealership has been extremely supportive. Hopefully my repairs will last - there's a long summer ahead, I will keep you posted.
Good luck to everyone w/AC problems!
Good luck and keep us posted.
KP
Jack
I am in the market for a used mid-sized SUV and had just narrowed my decision down to a gen2 CR-V when I found this post. Needless to say I'm quite apprehensive now. From what I'm seeing, this issue appears to be limited to the 2002-2004 models - though I did see a post that stated that some 2005 models could 'possibly' be affected. Does anyone know for sure if this issue does affect the '05 and/or '06 models? Had Honda not addressed this by then?
In any case, should I end up with something in the '02-'04 range is there any preventive maintenance that could be performed to avoid or at least delay this apparently inevitable failure? Are the replacements that Honda provides re-engineered to address this? I've seen many posts of individuals going through this 2 and 3 times! Are there any 3rd party aftermarket compressors that could be used to replace the Honda OEM that won't have this problem? I found a site on-line that sells "SPECTRA PREMIUM" compressors for the CR-V. Does anyone have any experience with these? Do they have the same faulty design?
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated - otherwise it looks like I might be getting a RAV4. Thanks!
Jack
I don't checking VIN numbers pays any dividends. Regardless where vehicles were assembled, England, Japan, etc., the problem exists.
Why is it that the original a/c was guaranteed for 3 yrs./36,000 miles, but replacement is only guaranteed for 12 months/approx. 10K miles????
I agree w/killorhome who suggests having anamoly checked ASAP by Honda.
What I meant by preventive maintenance in my original question was something specific to the AC itself - not simply the scheduled routine maintenance for the car. I have to try and dig it up now again but I had found a post earlier somewhere on the net from an individual that claimed the problem could be avoided by having the system flushed and installing a filter of some sort in the line that could be changed/cleaned regularly. The theory was that something in the line is clogging causing excessive pressure to build resulting in the compressor blowing up. I'm not sure how that affects the issue of the cases where the clutch seizes. I'm still wondering if an aftermarket 3rd party replacement unit would eliminate these design flaws.
Thanks for the info.
Well, Honda America didn't call back within 1 day (as promised), so I called them on Jun 24th (original failure on the 7th, local dealer worked on car on the 18-19th). They said they left a voice mail (I didn't get it), but they did say that they worked out with the dealer that they would pay for 1/2 of parts (total was $822), and reduce the labor to the 'warranty' billing rate. They advised me to call and confirm with the local service manager, but I didn't get around to it for a few days, and he finally called and confirmed what my HA case manager told me. I have yet to get my refund check, but it hasn't been a week since we spoke. So I'm hoping to get out of this situation with an outlay of around $500 to 600.
The funny thing was that when the dealer fixed the car, they told me the best they could do was a 10% (off labor & parts), and the next day in the mail I got one of the dealer's mailings that offers special pricing on oil change and 10% off of servicing. So the 10% they offered was nothing at all...
None of this info solves anyone's a/c problems, but it might be a good question to pose to Honda America!
Stay cool.....KP
Your point about carjackers is also well taken, too.
Any suggestions as to how to affect a recall????
We have CAA to tow it back to the Honda dealership where we have been doing all services according to the book. They told us the compressor was damaged inside, and recommends us to replace the clutch and coil set at the same time. They also found out there is a leakage in the condenser, To replace all of them, parts and labor, the bill added up to $2995+tax!! I ask the dealer if there is manufacturing warranty left, whatever Honda can do to help, the answer is NO.
This morning, I searched the internet and I found you guys. I called Honda Canada Customer Relations, the call agent insisted there is nothing Honda can/will do to help with my situation. He said the vehicle has past it's 3 years/60,000 Km warranty. Any Canadian CR-V owners had similar experience?
NHTSA Consumer Complaint form
Your AC is also running during winter because is on by default everytime a defroster mode is used.
So I am wondering if it's worth it to put all this money down for a compressor, belt, receiver, expansion valve, flush and freon, or will I be paying for all this again sometime too soon?
I bought the car used so I am not sure if the ac was replaced before, but I don't think so, so the fact that it lasted this long is reassuring.
Also, my guy friend is saying that he doesn't believe this whole metal contaminate story and is telling me I am being taken. But if I am not the only one having this issue, I have a hard time believing it is such a big conspiracy. Has anyone ever checked the parts for the contaminates? Or is this all just taking the word of the dealer?
It is most likely NOT the same issue; A/C compressors do die occasionally on all vehicles. If the car is mechanically sound, replacing the A/C is a viable option, IMHO.
I pulled over at the nearest gas station and checked under the hood but couldn't find anything. I took the vehicle to my uncle's shop. He has over 30 years of experience and owns/operates a large engine/transmission/AC/brake shop.
He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary at first. He suspected the high pressure line might have ruptured. He injected dye into the system and found all of the dye was coming from the compressor. The compressor had actually ruptured. He said that in all of his years in the business, he had never seen a compressor blow up. He has seen cracks, but nothing like this. His entire crew came over to take a look because they could not believe it either.
I haven't contacted Honda yet. My uncle is going to try his contact at the dealership he usually deals with. I'm going to try the same with the service manager at my dealer. I've always had all of my maintenance done at the dealer and taken good care of my car. This is my 4th Honda and my 2nd CRV.
The worst part about all of this is that 2 hours before all of this occurred, I had contacted American Honda Finance to extend my lease. If I cannot get the results I want from the dealer or American Honda, then I think I'll pitch my case to American Honda Finance as a condition of renewing my lease.
Your model is a GEN 2, and my post referred to GEN 1.
Did you read the post to which I was replying?
I think one failure at 120K miles is probably not indicative of a bad compressor, which is what happened to the person writing the post, and to whom I was writing.
I said that there have been very few problems with the GEN 1 CR-V. The original post had had a failed compressor on his 2000 CR-V. While there have been a couple of VERY late GEN 1 model compressor failures (including my father-in-law's 2001 Gen 1), there has not been a large number reported. Therefore my opinion was that it was OK to get his compressor repaired.
You have a GEN 2, which had some defective compressors.
And today, while running errands in a hot texas day, the A/C started to make noises, and blow warmer air. I began to use it sparingly, yet checking it from time to time. Then, at one point I turned it on, and "boom!", someting exploded in the engine compartment. I immediately pulled over, and saw large pieces of metal under the hood, with greenish liquid all over. I soon dicovered that HALF of the Compressor was gone! I am suspecting that it damaged some other parts, since that green liquid looked and smelled like coolant.. What else could this be?
I called the dealer, and they tried to hide behind "AS IS" document they had made me sign. I have not even received a new title and plates, so was hoping that being this new, the dealer may still help me. Would they? Is there any state or federal law you know of that may cover me in this situation?
I will call Honda, but this car is 2001 and has 102K miles on it, so I am not very optimistic.. Any additional advise will be appreciated. Thanks.
I called the service manager at the dealership. He was very helpful and understanding. He said to bring it in for a free inspection. I mentioned about the numerous issues listed here. He agreed that there may be something wrong, but that sometimes the message boards get a little carried away. He said that his service team needs to see how bad it is, then they would plead my case to American Honda based on my loyalty to the brand, dealership, service center, etc. From our conversation, my faith was restored in Honda (for now). I'll update after my appointment.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Honda Automobile Customer Service
1919 Torrance Boulevard
Mail Stop: 500 - 2N - 7D
Torrance, CA 90501-2746
Don't forget to include the VIN for reference