Broken Air Conditioner - Super Long Repair Time

[nguyer]

Hello fellow Civic owners,

I have a 2016 Civic EX-T sedan, and I really, really like this car. I took it in to my local dealer on April 29th to have them look at the air conditioner, because it wasn't cooling anymore. After about an hour or two of waiting, they said it hardly had any coolant in the system, and they would recharge it and look for a leak. A couple hours later, they didn't find any leaks, but they said it still wasn't cooling properly, so they let me have a "Courtesy Vehicle" for the weekend while they continued to look at it. Fast forward two weeks and my car is still at the dealership being worked on, 16 days later. They have replaced nearly every single part in the AC system, and the last update I got was that they were replacing the evaporator (the only part they hadn't yet replaced), which is apparently the most difficult part to replace. This past Thursday, they told me this repair might be done by Saturday (yesterday) and they would let me know. I didn't get any update from them Saturday, and I'm guessing no news is not good news at this point. This is by far the longest car repair I have ever dealt with in my life and it's starting to wear on me. In my state (NC) a new car can be declared a lemon if it's out of service being repaired for 20 business days (cumulative over the first 24 months of ownership) and I'm already at 10 days. Actually, 12 if you count Saturdays, which this service center is open for business on.

What do I do? Any suggestions? I really like my car. The only thing I would change (besides the AC of course) is having it with a manual transmission, and I've heard that's coming this/next year. I'm seriously considering just asking them to give me a different/new car because it's been so long. Do dealerships even do that sort of thing? Am I overreacting?

Your thoughts are appreciated! Thanks!

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[djasonw]

Well, the good thing is that they gave you a loaner. I know it sucks driving a loaner when in actuality you want your own car. If the repair goes beyond the days permitted per the lemon laws of your state, I would initiate a lawsuit. Perhaps just the threat of that will induce them to work a bit more diligently.

 

[nguyer]

Yeah I am very thankful to have a car in the meantime. I just heard back today and they have finished replaced the evaporator but it's still not cooling properly. They now have the "shop manager" working on it, and he is going to talk to the "tech line" (again) to try to figure out what to do next. Oh boy... Just glad this is all under warranty!

 

[nguyer]

Zooropa, I hope you get your car back soon! I just got mine back yesterday, and it's good as new! I am so glad it was covered under warranty, because they ended up replacing about $1.3k worth of parts in it, not counting labor!

 

[Boz]

Zooropa, I hope you get your car back soon! I just got mine back yesterday, and it's good as new! I am so glad it was covered under warranty, because they ended up replacing about $1.3k worth of parts in it, not counting labor!

What was the final say on why it didn't work?

Yeah, nguyer...don't leave us hanging like that!

 

[brianwenz]

Yes its true evaporator is the toughest part to get properly replaced. My friend was facing the same problem after 2 days of inspection dealers were unable to fix the repair. But with the help of following web link https://plus.google.com/103587002729772197042/about my friend found contact of air specialist team and got his air conditioning repaired.

 

[Ben&Jen]

I wonder if a stone hit it in the lower grille. I know on the Honda Element, it was a common occurrence. I got gutter guard on mine in the Element.

 

[dick w]

I wonder if a stone hit it in the lower grille.

If leaking condenser, maybe. If leaking evaporator, no way. It's buried in the dash--in the cabin--behind the engine bay firewall.

 

[pablidito]

Zooropa, I hope you get your car back soon! I just got mine back yesterday, and it's good as new! I am so glad it was covered under warranty, because they ended up replacing about $1.3k worth of parts in it, not counting labor!

Did you ever find out what part(s) were replaced to fix your A/C issue? I've been back and forth with the Service Manager at my dealer and he has no clue what the issue is. They have already replaced two of the A/C lines. If you can share what was the fix for your vehicle, I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[nguyer]

Quick update: I got my car back on May 17th (it was fixed very late in the day on the 17th). AC worked great as I drove it away from the dealership. To be honest, I don't know what was actually wrong with it. They literally just replaced every single part of the AC system, part by part, until they got it working again. I don't think they even really knew what was wrong with it. The "theory" was that there was a "blockage" inside the evaporator.

A week and a half later, on the 28th, I turned on my AC and it just blew hot air for the entire drive. I took it back to the dealership on the 30th. After talking with Honda again, they were advised to replace the evaporator a second time, again thinking that there was now a "blockage" in the new evaporator. Another week of waiting, and I am told it's now fixed and ready to pick up.

Given the fact that it's now been well over 20 days being repaired, the fact that they really don't know why it keeps breaking (or so it seems), and the fact that a few other owners here have seen similar problems, I'm very strongly considering asking for my money back. It's tough though. I really like the Civic. This has just been a very frustrating experience.

 

[pablidito]

Quick update: I got my car back on May 17th (it was fixed very late in the day on the 17th). AC worked great as I drove it away from the dealership. To be honest, I don't know what was actually wrong with it. They literally just replaced every single part of the AC system, part by part, until they got it working again. I don't think they even really knew what was wrong with it. The "theory" was that there was a "blockage" inside the evaporator.

A week and a half later, on the 28th, I turned on my AC and it just blew hot air for the entire drive. I took it back to the dealership on the 30th. After talking with Honda again, they were advised to replace the evaporator a second time, again thinking that there was now a "blockage" in the new evaporator. Another week of waiting, and I am told it's now fixed and ready to pick up.

Given the fact that it's now been well over 20 days being repaired, the fact that they really don't know why it keeps breaking (or so it seems), and the fact that a few other owners here have seen similar problems, I'm very strongly considering asking for my money back. It's tough though. I really like the Civic. This has just been a very frustrating experience.

Thanks for sharing this update, nguyer. I'm sorry to hear that your issue is still rearing its ugly head even after the entire A/C system was replaced. I'm not convinced it's an issue with the A/C system. I'm starting to think it's more of a computer/programming issue. With my Civic, when the A/C is working to blows very cold, but when it's not it's basically pulling air from the outside into the cabin. I'm, of course, not an A/C expert by any stretch of the imagination, but if they've replaced the entire A/C system and it's still coming back for you, the excuse of another blocked/plugged evaporator just sounds like Honda is kicking the can further down the road until they actually figure out what the root cause is.

Mine is still at the shop with no updates and this is the third attempt to fix the issue. I'm teetering on the edge of the lemon law requirement here in Virginia, so I might explore that option if it still isn't fixed. I love my new Civic, but I didn't sign up to be a beta tester for Honda for this new generation model when I purchased the vehicle last week. I'll continue to share my updates as they come in.

 

[Ben&Jen]

Thanks for sharing this update, nguyer. I'm sorry to hear that your issue is still rearing its ugly head even after the entire A/C system was replaced. I'm not convinced it's an issue with the A/C system. I'm starting to think it's more of a computer/programming issue. With my Civic, when the A/C is working to blows very cold, but when it's not it's basically pulling air from the outside into the cabin. I'm, of course, not an A/C expert by any stretch of the imagination, but if they've replaced the entire A/C system and it's still coming back for you, the excuse of another blocked/plugged evaporator just sounds like Honda is kicking the can further down the road until they actually figure out what the root cause is.

Mine is still at the shop with no updates and this is the third attempt to fix the issue. I'm teetering on the edge of the lemon law requirement here in Virginia, so I might explore that option if it still isn't fixed. I love my new Civic, but I didn't sign up to be a beta tester for Honda for this new generation model when I purchased the vehicle last week. I'll continue to share my updates as they come in.

Well said... I feel the same with the audio, as I am an audiophile person. Today my system crashed all day. I feel like a Beta tester too.

 

[pablidito]

UPDATE - now they are replacing the compressor on my EX-T, but the service manager can't confirm if that is the root cause. Also they have a regional Honda rep working with them onsite on the issue. I asked him if they are replacing the compressor because that's the issue or are they replacing it as a process of elimination. He skirted the question and said that the Honda rep we're working with will make sure my vehicle is fixed properly. Won't have the vehicle back until next week. The saga continues...

 

[Ben&Jen]

UPDATE - now they are replacing the compressor on my EX-T, but the service manager can't confirm if that is the root cause. Also they have a regional Honda rep working with them onsite on the issue. I asked him if they are replacing the compressor because that's the issue or are they replacing it as a process of elimination. He skirted the question and said that the Honda rep we're working with will make sure my vehicle is fixed properly. Won't have the vehicle back until next week. The saga continues...

I would go to another dealer...

 

[pablidito]

I would go to another dealer...

That's my next course of action.

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