16 Civic AC Not Working

[Angela1256]

Do yourself a favor and at least try to recharge yourself. It's super easy and all you've got to lose is $50 bucks. A few of us here have gotten 2+ years of cold A/C on a single bottle of 1234yf. Good luck!

I know little about cars, so bare with me lol. I can google how to recharge and search this forum but this should work even if the evaporator is leaking and condenser needs replacement?

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[JasNeo]

I know little about cars, so bare with me lol. I can google how to recharge and search this forum but this should work even if the evaporator is leaking and condenser needs replacement?

I had the AC problem with my sport hatch and tried refilling it before finding out about the condenser issue, and it lasted me about 4 days before it started blowing hot again, and I wasn't even using it the whole 4 days. I ended up replacing the condenser myself because I didn't want to pay the dealership and it lasted for the remainder of the time I had the car. As far as the evaporator goes I dunno anything about that. I always thought it was only the condensers that gave the AC problems

 

[Angela1256]

I had the AC problem with my sport hatch and tried refilling it before finding out about the condenser issue, and it lasted me about 4 days before it started blowing hot again, and I wasn't even using it the whole 4 days. I ended up replacing the condenser myself because I didn't want to pay the dealership and it lasted for the remainder of the time I had the car. As far as the evaporator goes I dunno anything about that. I always thought it was only the condensers that gave the AC problems

So is doing the recharge pointless then? I asked my service rep if they can just replace the condenser since it’s free and I’ll go somewhere more affordable for the evaporator. They said it’s not preferable because I’ll have to pay to recharge it again. I’ve been doing lots of googling today to try to learn cause this is all new to me .

I called a local mechanic for a quote on the evaporator, he said he doesn’t work on this system and that I’m not the only one who has not called about this problem with the civics.

 

[jtrader]

So is doing the recharge pointless then? I asked my service rep if they can just replace the condenser since it’s free and I’ll go somewhere more affordable for the evaporator. They said it’s not preferable because I’ll have to pay to recharge it again. I’ve been doing lots of googling today to try to learn cause this is all new to me .

I called a local mechanic for a quote on the evaporator, he said he doesn’t work on this system and that I’m not the only one who has not called about this problem with the civics.

If they're willing to swap your condenser and recharge your system under warranty, take that deal. Tell them you'll roll the dice on the evaporator. See how long that lasts you. Could be years, who knows.

 

[JasNeo]

So is doing the recharge pointless then? I asked my service rep if they can just replace the condenser since it’s free and I’ll go somewhere more affordable for the evaporator. They said it’s not preferable because I’ll have to pay to recharge it again. I’ve been doing lots of googling today to try to learn cause this is all new to me .

I called a local mechanic for a quote on the evaporator, he said he doesn’t work on this system and that I’m not the only one who has not called about this problem with the civics.

I would do what jtrader said and just get the condenser replaced under warranty and get the free recharge for now. Knowing you may have to replace the evaporator at some point allows you to start saving up for the service should you ever need it

 

[Angela1256]

If they're willing to swap your condenser and recharge your system under warranty, take that deal. Tell them you'll roll the dice on the evaporator. See how long that lasts you. Could be years, who knows.

Okay I’ll go ahead and do that then.

So if my evaporator is indeed leaking, the AC *should* work after replacing the condenser+recharge until the fluid leaks out. Am I understanding the system correctly?

Also thank you for your advice!

 

[Kingpin426]

Has any one had dealership tell them they have to have the compressor changed out before they will do the condenser on your car? My dealership is saying they will not do the condenser if the compressor hasn't been changed before. They want 1500 dollars to change out the compressor for a 400 dollar compressor!

 

[Angela1256]

Has any one had dealership tell them they have to have the compressor changed out before they will do the condenser on your car? My dealership is saying they will not do the condenser if the compressor hasn't been changed before. They want 1500 dollars to change out the compressor for a 400 dollar compressor!

My dealer won’t change my condenser without the evaporator being fixed first. We just recharged the system on our own so I’ll see how far it gets me.

 

[civicmanic]

Had my condenser replaced on my '16 sedan in October 2020. Of course that was leading into winter so the a/c wasn't used until summer 2021. It worked fine. Now that summer 2022 is here, it's not working again. Got 1 summer out of that condenser! LOL

Dealer says condenser needs to be replaced again, and the compressor as well. $1700. No way in hell I am dumping that kind of money into it when the a/c system is unreliable top to bottom. I have zero faith it all won't crap out again next year and then they'll toss in the evaporator issue and slap me with a bigger $3000 bill. It'd be different if they actually FIXED/updated the problematic parts, but all they are doing is just throwing the same crap parts at it which is only a temporary fix.

 

[Shankmeyster]

Always go to an A/C shop, if you are out of warranty, for those repairs as it will save you a ton of money compared to the ripoff the dealer wants. Or just get rid of the car and get something else.

 

[civicmanic]

Always go to an A/C shop, if you are out of warranty, for those repairs as it will save you a ton of money compared to the ripoff the dealer wants. Or just get rid of the car and get something else.

The condenser is under warranty. I figured they'd replace, charge and send me packing. Instead, they refused to complete that warranty work unless I pay them almost $2000 to get the compressor done at the same time. I am not even convinced the compressor is truly leaking.

 

[XgenCivic]

$3,728.02 to replace the Evaporator AND Compressor for 2016 Honda Civic. The service advisor said that the A/C condenser is fine.

I have a 2016 Honda Civic EX sedan. My driver side A/C vents started blowing lukewarm air at 50,000 miles. A Honda dealership in TX charged me $154 evac, dye, and Freon recharge, and had the A/C vents running max. They couldn't find any leaks after having the car for 4 hours. They quoted me about $1,200 to further diagnose it and said they'll probably have to take the dashboard apart.

I called a 2nd Honda dealership in TX and they said that a small leak wouldn't be detected after 4 hours. It would take about another 5,000 miles of driving. Or when the A/C stops blowing cold air occurs, they told me to come back. They told me that taking apart a dashboard is extremely unlikely in their decades of experience.

Now, a year later, the A/C driver vents are blowing warmer air after I moved out of TX.

I try to sell my car at a Honda dealer in a new state and they immediately knew of the air conditioning problem. They let me know that Honda extended the A/C condenser warranty to 10 years/unlimited miles. They low balled me and said the A/C problem decreased the sell value. I left the dealership.

At a 4th Honda dealership, I told them that a diagnostic UV dye and recharge was done and I need the A/C condenser replaced under the extended warranty. The service advisor said that my Civic does qualify for the warranty, but they would need to do a full inspection to see if it's truly the A/C condenser and that they can't just replace it free of charge, otherwise they would lose their job for warranty fraud. They said it would take about 2 hours to find the problem and give a quote if it's not under A/C condenser warranty. Eventually, the advisor said it's the Evaporator and Compressor leaking/failing and sent a quote of $3,728.02.

I've tried contacting Honda America through Twitter and they are no help, besides saying go to a Honda dealership to get it diagnosed.

My family and I have financed an Accord, Fit and Civic and I'll most likely move to Toyota, or KIA (they have problems too since I have a new 2019 Forte that had transmission replaced and engine overheat at 12,000 miles, both covered under warranty and I got 6 months of free vehicle rental).

I'm not paying $3,728.02 for problems that seems to crap out again according to the forums on here.

 

[civicmanic]

I'm not paying $3,728.02 for problems that seems to crap out again according to the forums on here.

Recharge it yourself with a can, the charge won't last long but it will last long enough for you to sell it to a Honda dealer with an apparently working a/c and then it's their problem. We've purchased 6 new Honda's since 2005, but Honda has shown they won't take care of their customers for this widespread major issue, so there won't be another one.

 

[Angela1256]

Recharge it yourself with a can, the charge won't last long but it will last long enough for you to sell it to a Honda dealer with an apparently working a/c and then it's their problem. We've purchased 6 new Honda's since 2005, but Honda has shown they won't take care of their customers for this widespread major issue, so there won't be another one.

Yup I’m in the process of doing this. So far the recharge has lasted me for a month-ish. I’m looking at moving towards a rav4 hybrid

 

[Shankmeyster]

Screw selling it to Honda. Check Carmax and Carvana prices and see what they will give you. Brand dealers are gonna lowball the hell out of you with used prices still being high.

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