2016-2019 Evaporator failures/leaks

Donkeyhotay123

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Here’s hoping Honda listens and announces a fix for all of us. I would love to have AC in SoCal. :(
Oh heck yea we can't lose the AC! Especially with all the heatwaves that have been spankin' us.
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DRUSA

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So basically sooner or later ALL A/C components will fail in all 10th gen civics right?
It's hit or miss on all 2016-2019ish civics right now, 2020+ I haven't seen failures yet.

Isnt taketa supposed to pay for Honda for the damage they’ve done? Or they are out of buisness now(bankrupt)?
Takata Declared bankruptcy years ago once this all started, Honda has been eating the damages ever since.
 

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I've found it usually takes a few years for manufacturers to get a refrigerant change down. Saw the same thing R12 to R134, R134 to YF now. Performance depends on the ambient conditions. Humidity bogs the system down. Helps to remember the A/C system doesn't make cold air, it just transfers hot air from the inside to the outside of the vehicle. Rolling down the windows for 30 seconds first getting into the vehicle, setting it to recirc and not fresh air, all cuts down on cool down times.
I have question on this. Just got out of my 2018 Lease and swapped for a 2020, late year production. Has Honda addressed the teething problems with the new refrigerant or should I be expecting a failure down the road?
 
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CastorX

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It's hit or miss on all 2016-2019ish civics right now, 2020+ I haven't seen failures yet.

Takata Declared bankruptcy years ago once this all started, Honda has been eating the damages ever since.
I see. Thanks.
I think first we thought it’s just a problem in the 2016-2018 models. You say 2019 models can also have problems with the a/c?
What do you say, in a randomly choosen 2018 civic what is the probability that some component in the the a/c breaks in the first 5 years? 20%? 50%?
 
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DRUSA

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I have question on this. Just got out of my 2018 Lease and swapped for a 2020, late year production. Has Honda addressed the teething problems with the new refrigerant or should I be expecting a failure down the road?
I haven't seen any 2020 failure yet, but having said that the vehicle is so new that these failures really don't start appearing until minimum 15k miles from the cars I've seen in my bay. Most failures are like 25-50k miles and 3-4yrs old. Any 2020 model will have revised, updated parts already installed from the factory. I would say this is a good move to make of trading in a 2018 for a 2020 in the long run. You always want to buy the last years of a generation, never the first 2yrs. So buy the last 10th gen you can before the 11th gens drop.
 


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I see. Thanks.
I think first we thought it’s just a problem in the 2016-2018 models. You say 2019 models can also have problems with the a/c?
What do you say, in a randomly choosen 2018 civic what is the probability that some component in the the a/c breaks in the first 5 years? 20%? 50%?
I would say based on my sample size, roughly 2-300 cars a month, probably 10-15 vehicles will have a/c related failures right now, either compressor or evaporator failure. So rough guess, I would say around 5% failure rate based on my sample size and climate. We are extreme heat climate, about half of the year is 40C in my location, it makes the system work at very high pressures.
 

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I see. Thanks.
I think first we thought it’s just a problem in the 2016-2018 models. You say 2019 models can also have problems with the a/c?
What do you say, in a randomly choosen 2018 civic what is the probability that some component in the the a/c breaks in the first 5 years? 20%? 50%?
I would say the probability is 100%. Mine failed about a month ago. Was hoping it was the condenser that would be covered but I had to pay 445 for a diagnostic fee since it’s the evaporator that failed. Another common issue but Honda won’t acknowledge that it’s their shitty system. Honestly will never buy a Honda again. I had issues with my 18 Civic Si already. When I got the car the shifting was just awful. It feels like I’m grinding gears every 1-2 gear change. I thought it’d get better in time. Obviously should have lemoned the car. Now I know my lesson. Drive a 2018 car but cannot get A/C because it will cost 2000 dollars and it won’t even be good in 3 years most likely. They’re not acknowledging the problem with their AC system so why would they change any part of that system? The evaporator will be replaced with another evaporator that will go out in 3 years of normal use. Fucking A.
 

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I would say the probability is 100%. Mine failed about a month ago. Was hoping it was the condenser that would be covered but I had to pay 445 for a diagnostic fee since it’s the evaporator that failed. Another common issue but Honda won’t acknowledge that it’s their shitty system. Honestly will never buy a Honda again. I had issues with my 18 Civic Si already. When I got the car the shifting was just awful. It feels like I’m grinding gears every 1-2 gear change. I thought it’d get better in time. Obviously should have lemoned the car. Now I know my lesson. Drive a 2018 car but cannot get A/C because it will cost 2000 dollars and it won’t even be good in 3 years most likely. They’re not acknowledging the problem with their AC system so why would they change any part of that system? The evaporator will be replaced with another evaporator that will go out in 3 years of normal use. Fucking A.
I agree. Mine started blow hot air this weekend. Leased it in may 2017 and now it's around 76700 miles. I will bring it to a dealer this week and hopefully it's just the condenser.
 

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My 2017 Civic Hatchback EX w/ Sensing is having similar issues. Every couple of months last year my AC went out. I was barely even driving due to the pandemic. First the dealership said it was the compressor, then the condenser. Both times I got a "good will" discount, with about $800 out of pocket so far. Even though "all models" of civics are covered by the condenser extended warranty, hatchbacks are conveniently left out.

This time I took it to a local shop. Their tests couldn't find a leak. They filled it with refrigerant, had me drive around over the weekend, and measured it again today. It confirmed a leak, so next step is for them to tear the dash apart and check the evaporator.

This is my first Honda and despite the fact that I LOVE everything else about this car I'm really upset with the way this issue has been handled. The timing between the AC no longer heating again makes me suspicious whether they even tried to diagnose the issue or if they just went down a checklist of what to replace first.
 

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I just had my AC go out about a month ago. I plugged my VIN into the TSB and didn't qualify despite falling into the affected year (2018). Lucky, had 4 months remaining on my warranty so the dealership covered the diagnostic and condenser replacement.

Tech did a sloppy job reinstalling the bumper kinking all the air diversion panels near the intercooler. Had to pull the bumper to re-seat the lower panel correctly into the bumper.

I am still in love with the car but it pains me to know that this issue could haunt me again in the future. It would be especially heartbreaking if leaks arise from the evap core in the hvac unit. My heart goes out to those that have to pay for these repairs out of pocket.

I'm praying Honda will someday own up to these issues; not holding my breath though...

Thank you @DRUSA for sharing this inside perspective with us.
 


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Just wanted to share with some of you what I have been seeing in my area on a daily basis on the 10th gens (excluding Type R at this time). My area has not see the flood of condenser failures, it may be due to our climate (110F summers), but we have seen many compressor and now evaporator failures. From the compressors, it has been my personal experience that the front seal behind the a/c clutch is leaking. The compressor clutch will often appear oil soaked on the really bad ones, others will fail vacuum leak testing. The vacuum leak testing will keep failing until the compressor is replaced, I've had several whistle loudly when trying to evacuate them, usually a tell tale sign of failures.

I don't know what is going on with these evaporators but they appear to be deteriorating. When UV dye is added to the system, the evaporator looks to be very lightly peppered with the dye. I'm just letting this known in hopes that some of you that are having reoccurring issues can have this information. These chassis are having numerous A/C issues at once. Compressors, condensers, evaporators, etc. This repair is often much harder for techs to diagnose, requires very sensitive leak test equipment and is not visible without removing the part. Hopefully this helps out some of you and the techs fix your cars the first visit so you can get back to having fun again.

Repair requires removal of entire dash assembly down to the firewall. Failures have been on 2016-2019 so far, 15k-60k miles. The failures are very hit or miss, the cars vary greatly, no real pattern yet. The dark spots are oil/refrigerant from the system leaking.
evap1.jpg
dash1.jpeg
Do you have a real life picture of the evaporator unit and it's location?
 
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Do you have a real life picture of the evaporator unit and it's location?
I could probably take one once I do another repair. But it's mounted in the HVAC unit box against the firewall, inside the cabin. The whole dash needs to be removed as a complete unit, not something that is like "remove the glovebox and there it is". Lots of stuff has to come out, there is a reason the job pays 6-8hrs of labor time.
 

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I could probably take one once I do another repair. But it's mounted in the HVAC unit box against the firewall, inside the cabin. The whole dash needs to be removed as a complete unit, not something that is like "remove the glovebox and there it is". Lots of stuff has to come out, there is a reason the job pays 6-8hrs of labor time.
Oh okay no need then. 6-8 hours isn’t bad for a dash removal. Sometimes I spend 6-8 hours remove a trim piece (like the seat belt top pillar) trying not to break anything. Have you seen anyone come in with the noise from the compressor? I have this noise and my AC won’t turn on but I still have pressure in the coolant lines. They are telling me since there is low refrigerant, the clutch isn’t engaging and creating a noise. Can that be true? Also do you know if it’s possible to aim the radar by trial and error? I installed an aftermarket front bumper from ABS Dynamics and it’s not for Honda Sensing so I cut a piece hole in it but it still rubs against the radar. Sometimes the radar works but lately the lights have come on and won’t go away unless I cycle the PCM by disconnecting the battery.
 
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Oh okay no need then. 6-8 hours isn’t bad for a dash removal.
Took a photo for you, this was a 2021 CTR with only 400 miles on it.

Honda Civic 10th gen 2016-2019 Evaporator failures/leaks ctr dash
 


 


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