2016-2019 Evaporator failures/leaks

[DRUSA]

And small update on the 2021 CTR, another tech in the shop mis-diagnosed the car. It came back to me and it turned out to be a pin-hole leak in one of the welds on the high-side a/c service port.

I've rarely seen any 2019 and up model year failures, especially 2020 or 2021 model years.

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[firstblud]

After having compressors replaced twice and a condenser replaced once, it looks like my A/C system is not working again thanks to an evaporator that needs to be replaced.

 

[Landdon]

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.

 

[Landdon]

My son's 2017 civic sedan is just reporting to have the evaporator replaced by the dealer. Unbelievable. He already had an ac recall and now this? I thought these Hondas were supposed to be decent. It's 4 years old and now I have to pay $1500 for an evaporator?

 

[otter_]

Looks like Honda never bothered finding a solutinon. Leased a 2020 last september. Got my warranty extension letter for the evaporator today.

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.

 

[DRUSA]

Looks like Honda never bothered finding a solutinon. Leased a 2020 last september. Got my warranty extension letter for the evaporator today.

*condenser warranty extension. I haven't seen any TSB releases or campaigns for the evaporator yet.

 

[otter_]

*condenser warranty extension. I haven't seen any TSB releases or campaigns for the evaporator yet.

Whoops. Yes. Condenser. Got my equipment mixed up.

I guess it was too far into the model run for them to update the part? Cheaper for them to deal with failures instead?

 

[lykaon78]

Anyone had any success getting Honda to cover the evaporator too?
Had my condenser replaced 2 months now they are saying it’s the evaporator too.

 

[dick w]

Anyone had any success getting Honda to cover the evaporator too?

Ditto the question and situation. They replaced the condenser a year ago on Honda's nickel and it didn't fix the issue we were complaining about. (It may have had that problem as well, but it wasn't THE problem. I think last year they heard "A/C problem" and thought "I bet I know what it is and Honda will pay" and never did a proper diagnostic job.) Now we took another swing at getting them to fix it and this time they are saying it's an evaporator leak and an expansion valve.

$1,700+ estimate and that's not the worst of it. The worst of it is that this is the most intrusive repair there is, and this dealer has a history of demonstrated incompetence at putting vehicles back together correctly. Sigh.

Our '18 CR-V had a compressor and clutch replaced while it was still under warranty.

So many Honda AC problems with the 1234YF conversion.

Edit to add: car has 27k miles. So, between our 5th gen CR-V and our 10th gen Civic, *every* functional AC component has failed at least once. The CR-V had <9k miles on it when it needed compressor/clutch/discharge hose.

 

[DRUSA]

$1,700+ estimate and that's not the worst of it. The worst of it is that this is the most intrusive repair there is, and this dealer has a history of demonstrated incompetence at putting vehicles back together correctly. Sigh.

Our '18 CR-V had a compressor and clutch replaced while it was still under warranty.

So many Honda AC problems with the 1234YF conversion.

I have yet to see an expansion valve failure on any 10th gen civic, that may be like $70 in savings if you tell them you don't want that, I really don't know why they are recommending it. It's essential a pressure control valve, if you don't have a pressure differential issue and it's not leaking...???

Reach out to the DPSM, district manager, for assistance. If the a/c on the civic has been an ongoing issue they should help financially with the repair, we have seen this in our district so it has been done before.

Honda historically has had issues with every refrigerant conversion, it takes them at least one vehicle generation to get it right. I saw the same thing when they went from R12 to R134a. The 1.5T civic and crv share the same compressor, so same issues, I've seen a few of those leaking that Honda claims is "normal leakage". OkAy HoNdA lol.

 

[dick w]

"normal leakage" from a closed-loop refrigeration system -- that's rich. So it's normal that Honda AC systems leak? Well, for this generation, apparently so.

I don't know why they think there is an expansion valve issue. I'm totally guessing that it is replaceable from the engine bay, so not like it's just insurance against having to take the interior out a second time. But it does sound like they finally did the diagnostic work they should have done a year ago, so maybe they are on to something. We live in a warm and humid place so the AC is cooling 99% of the trips we take and fighting to dehumidify the entire North Pacific, so probably a worst-case for AC stress. (Phoenix hotter but no water. Here RH is typically >50% 24x7.)

 

[DRUSA]

"normal leakage" from a closed-loop refrigeration system -- that's rich. So it's normal that Honda AC systems leak? Well, for this generation, apparently so.

Honda issued out an internal memo a little while back because so many 10th gen civic compressor were being replaced due to leaks from behind the a/c clutch, there is a little shaft seal there. Honda stated that oil leakage from this seal was "normal operation" and that many compressors were being returned to warranty/engineering dept with no problem found. That's Honda's side of the story. Myself on the other hand, have seen dozens of these compressors on civics and crv's puking oil and dye from the compressor to the point it is slinging oil within the engine bay. If I do a vacuum leak test on the system it will fail UNTIL I replace the compressor. If I see it leaking REALLY bad, I replace it. Kind of a "don't p!ss on my back and tell me it's raining" scenario where I would personally rather take care of the customer to keep the brand loyalty and trust in the service department. Not trying to lose lifetime customers over a 99 cent oil seal.

 

[engineering]

Honda issued out an internal memo a little while back because so many 10th gen civic compressor were being replaced due to leaks from behind the a/c clutch, there is a little shaft seal there. Honda stated that oil leakage from this seal was "normal operation" and that many compressors were being returned to warranty/engineering dept with no problem found. That's Honda's side of the story. Myself on the other hand, have seen dozens of these compressors on civics and crv's puking oil and dye from the compressor to the point it is slinging oil within the engine bay. If I do a vacuum leak test on the system it will fail UNTIL I replace the compressor. If it see it leaking REALLY bad, I replace it. Kind of a "don't p!ss on my back and tell me it's raining" scenario where I would personally rather take care of the customer to keep the brand loyalty and trust in the service department. Not trying to lose lifetime customers over a 99 cent oil seal.

I noticed that the new compressor that mine was replaced with had an A03 part number associated with it. Are the new replacement compressors with the new part number still leaking? and does the new part number indicate that they fixed it? I haven't had any issues since it was replaced.

 

[DRUSA]

I noticed that the new compressor that mine was replaced with had an A03 part number associated with it. Are the new replacement compressors with the new part number still leaking? and does the new part number indicate that they fixed it? I haven't had any issues since it was replaced.

Not sure about the part numbers, but once replaced I rarely, if ever, see them come back for a third compressor now. I think in the first few months we were replacing them we saw a couple come back again.

 

[XgenCivic]

I’ve been having A/C problems since 2020 for my 2016 Civic that I financed brand new. The 1st Honda dealership couldn’t find the leak after 4 hours, and said since it’s not the condenser, they charged me $154 diagnosis fee, UV due, eval and Freon recharge after I negotiated it down. They quoted $1,200 for further diagnosis without a guarantee of a fix and that the dashboard may need to be taken apart. I left since it didn’t sound right.

A 2nd Honda dealership nearby said that a small leak would require the Civic to drive another 5,000 miles. They instructed me to return to them instead once the A/C stops blowing cold air.

A 3rd Honda dealership in my new home immediately knew of the A/C problem and told me of Honda’s extended Condenser warranty 10 year/unlimited miles when so wanted to sell it. They lowballed me the resale value when they checked it.

I went to a 4th Honda dealership and told them that I already had the UV dye and Freon recharged, and I wanted the Condenser replaced under warranty. The service advisor said the technician would still need to perform a full inspection and couldn’t replace it or it would be warranty fraud and he would lose his job. After 1.5 hours, he gave a quote of $3,728.02 to replace Evaporator ($1,674.03) and Compressor ($1,889.37), because it wasn’t the Condenser. Thankfully, I didn’t have to pay for another diagnostic.

I’ll probably sell it or trade it in.

I’m amazed at Honda’s lack of care to keep their loyal customers. My family and I financed an Accord, Fit and now this Civic.

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