2016 Civic EX-T A/C Issue

pablidito

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Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. Just bought my new 2016 EX-T on Memorial Day. Got a great deal and love the car. Strange thing is happening though and wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing this issue. I was driving home in bumper to bumper traffic Tuesday evening. The car was in econ mode and I was sitting in stopped traffic. Outside temp was around 90 and the A/C stopped blowing cold air. I thought that was odd so I tried turning off econ mode and still the same issue. No matter what temperature setting I set it to or how fast or slow I set the fan speed there was no cold air at all. Felt like the compressor wasn't kicking on. Then it would intermittently blow cold and hot air, regardless of whether I was moving or sitting still. I immediately took it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong. Got the car back on Wednesday evening and it did the exact same thing on my drive home Thursday evening. Took it to the dealer again last night. This time the service rep said that it's because I started the vehicle with econ mode on and that it stays in that mode until I park the car, turn off eco mode and then restart the vehicle. I said to the service advisor "so essentially what you're telling me is I can't switch the mode on or off on the fly?" And he said yes, that's what the Honda Tech Line told him. We continued discussing it and eventually he was just as confused about the issue as I was. Does this sound right you guys? Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm driving a 2015 Civic as a loaner and am not experiencing any issues with the econ mode on it. I love my new Civic but I'm perplexed about this issue.
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thepixelsedge

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I don't buy that excuse. When I turn Eco mode on/off I can immediately hear and feel the difference between engine RPM and climate stuff. The moment you turn on Eco mode you can hear the fan slow down and feel that there isn't as much air coming out.
 

Billy4202

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Sounds like it could be a detective or disconnected/loose hose from the factory, that is definitely not normal operation for the Econ button.
 
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pablidito

pablidito

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I don't buy that excuse. When I turn Eco mode on/off I can immediately hear and feel the difference between engine RPM and climate stuff. The moment you turn on Eco mode you can hear the fan slow down and feel that there isn't as much air coming out.
Yeah, I don't buy it either. They kept my car again so they can "run more tests with the Honda Tech Line" today. I'm waiting to hear what the results are. So, you're able to switch your Eco mode on and off while the car is running and you can hear the system switch on/off?
 

corbygray528

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Yeah, that's not how eco mode works. You can totally switch it as you're driving. It has been that way since they started putting eco modes into their cars, why would they change it so drastically in their newest model?
 


thepixelsedge

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Yeah, I don't buy it either. They kept my car again so they can "run more tests with the Honda Tech Line" today. I'm waiting to hear what the results are. So, you're able to switch your Eco mode on and off while the car is running and you can hear the system switch on/off?
Exactly. I can hear/feel Eco mode turning on/off because when it's on it's as if it takes everything down a notch to save fuel.

For example, take your car on the highway, turn on your adaptive cruise and get behind a car that is speeding up so that your cruise control is also making you accelerate. Now while the car is accelerating, toggle Eco mode on/off. If you do this you can very easily see the way Eco mode affects your engine performance because with Eco mode off the car will accelerate more aggressively than if Eco mode was on.

Another test is to turn your climate system on and set your fan to its strongest setting. Now toggle Eco on/off and you should be able to notice your fan going from stronger to weaker.
 
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pablidito

pablidito

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Exactly. I can hear/feel Eco mode turning on/off because when it's on it's as if it takes everything down a notch to save fuel.

For example, take your car on the highway, turn on your adaptive cruise and get behind a car that is speeding up so that your cruise control is also making you accelerate. Now while the car is accelerating, toggle Eco mode on/off. If you do this you can very easily see the way Eco mode affects your engine performance because with Eco mode off the car will accelerate more aggressively than if Eco mode was on.

Another test is to turn your climate system on and set your fan to its strongest setting. Now toggle Eco on/off and you should be able to notice your fan going from stronger to weaker.
I tried setting the fan on the strongest setting as I was driving to the dealership to drop it off. I didn't notice any difference in fan speed or anything. I'll test the cruise control test when I get the car back. Thanks for those suggestions. When it happens it's like the compressor completely turns off and all it's blowing is air from the outside. And there's no rhyme or reason to it either. It either blows hot or blows air like an ice box.

Definitely seeing a trend here that the response of "that's how econ mode works" is a bunch of nonsense, as suspected. I'll continue to update the thread just in case anyone out there is running into the same issue. Stay tuned!
 
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pablidito

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I'm seeing a definite trend here
Sounds like it could be a detective or disconnected/loose hose from the factory, that is definitely not normal operation for the Econ button.
Hey Billy, looks like you nailed the issue square on the head. Just got off the phone with the service manager and he said it was a defective A/C hose. They are replacing it this afternoon and the vehicle should be ready for pickup this evening. Of course, they have to pull the part from another new vehicle on their lot, but hey that ain't my problem! Service manager also confirmed that eco mode CAN be switched on the fly and he'll speak with the service advisor that gave me that info to make sure he doesn't share that kind of nonsense with any other customers downstream. Appreciate the input from everyone on this thread...fingers crossed that it's fixed!
 

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I had an issue where mine wasn't blowing cold air, it was a loose connection on the compressor they told me.
 
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pablidito

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Update - got my civic back last Friday after they replaced two of the A/C lines. On my commute into work this morning it started doing it again. Same scenario while sitting in bumper to bumper stopped/slow speed traffic. Just called the service manager and left him a message. The saga continues...
 


davidgostbo

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Update - got my civic back last Friday after they replaced two of the A/C lines. On my commute into work this morning it started doing it again. Same scenario while sitting in bumper to bumper stopped/slow speed traffic. Just called the service manager and left him a message. The saga continues...
Was eco mode off?
 
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pablidito

pablidito

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Was eco mode off?
Yep happening with Eco enabled and disabled. Same thing. Seems like the lower I set the temp the less the compressor engages. Have messages in with both the service manager and the general manager. Waiting to hear back from someone.
 

danjhan55

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Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. Just bought my new 2016 EX-T on Memorial Day. Got a great deal and love the car. Strange thing is happening though and wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing this issue. I was driving home in bumper to bumper traffic Tuesday evening. The car was in econ mode and I was sitting in stopped traffic. Outside temp was around 90 and the A/C stopped blowing cold air. I thought that was odd so I tried turning off econ mode and still the same issue. No matter what temperature setting I set it to or how fast or slow I set the fan speed there was no cold air at all. Felt like the compressor wasn't kicking on. Then it would intermittently blow cold and hot air, regardless of whether I was moving or sitting still. I immediately took it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong. Got the car back on Wednesday evening and it did the exact same thing on my drive home Thursday evening. Took it to the dealer again last night. This time the service rep said that it's because I started the vehicle with econ mode on and that it stays in that mode until I park the car, turn off eco mode and then restart the vehicle. I said to the service advisor "so essentially what you're telling me is I can't switch the mode on or off on the fly?" And he said yes, that's what the Honda Tech Line told him. We continued discussing it and eventually he was just as confused about the issue as I was. Does this sound right you guys? Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm driving a 2015 Civic as a loaner and am not experiencing any issues with the econ mode on it. I love my new Civic but I'm perplexed about this issue.
I have the 2016 Civic Touring. I purchased 45 days ago. It has spent 5 days for a total of 7 hours thus far in service for several problems. First was a defective passenger door handle that should have been detected at the factory. Then came the "emission system problem" warning and two trips to Honda and still not fixed. They are replacing the fuel filler assembly next week on the advice of a service tech they spoke to on phone. I am not confident about this, but I'll see what happens. Then Saturday, it was 90 degrees and I went for a drive and soon bailed on that idea when the A/C was blowing hot air. ECON on or off, it does matter. Today I go back to service and spend another two hours and then of course they'll want me to come back so they can hope to fix it. I have now started to document all the issues, knowing that I may soon make a claim under the Lemon Law. Not happy. Not what I'd ever expect from Honda.
 
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pablidito

pablidito

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I have the 2016 Civic Touring. I purchased 45 days ago. It has spent 5 days for a total of 7 hours thus far in service for several problems. First was a defective passenger door handle that should have been detected at the factory. Then came the "emission system problem" warning and two trips to Honda and still not fixed. They are replacing the fuel filler assembly next week on the advice of a service tech they spoke to on phone. I am not confident about this, but I'll see what happens. Then Saturday, it was 90 degrees and I went for a drive and soon bailed on that idea when the A/C was blowing hot air. ECON on or off, it does matter. Today I go back to service and spend another two hours and then of course they'll want me to come back so they can hope to fix it. I have now started to document all the issues, knowing that I may soon make a claim under the Lemon Law. Not happy. Not what I'd ever expect from Honda.
Sorry to hear about all the problems you're having with your touring edition. Sounds to me like the A/C issue you're having is very similar to mine. I'm hoping this isn't the first of more issues to come with mine. If I find a resolution about the A/C issue I'll make sure to post it here. At least I know now that I'm not crazy since someone else is experiencing the same thing.
 

danjhan55

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Sorry to hear about all the problems you're having with your touring edition. Sounds to me like the A/C issue you're having is very similar to mine. I'm hoping this isn't the first of more issues to come with mine. If I find a resolution about the A/C issue I'll make sure to post it here. At least I know now that I'm not crazy since someone else is experiencing the same thing.

I failed to mention my Civic is scheduled a week from today to have service look at rain sensing wipers. Also, a common problem with this model. My wipers go crazy like there's a monsoon when it's only a sprinkle and swipe ever so slowly when it's a steady rain. So disappointing... so very disappointing.
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