Leaking ac condenser

Dirtychonies

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Are they going to give me any hassle about road damage or some crap like that?
Depends where you go. Most places know our condensors take a shit. The dealership told me there was outside influence for failure. I felt they said it to avoid paying for it.

I hit up a local AC specialist and they did me a solid by writing a statememt stating there was no outside influence.

Btw...dealer also told me my compressor was broken. Specialist said it was fine and has been working since.
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jtrader

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We have so many DIY guys try to do this on their own with the Autozone freon cans, morons pump R134a into the new civic's R1234yf system cross-contaminating the whole system and costing even more to repair.
I wouldn't be so quick to give us DIY'ers a bad name, as there are many of us on this board who successfully rejuvenated our a/c systems using the proper r1234yf refrigerant. Essentially, a $35 can got us through the summer- and then some. Further, I followed all the a/c threads and didn't see anyone who did the r134a swap, nor saw posts where it actually cost someone more $$$ than what Honda was charging for a new system.
 

DRUSA

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Further, I followed all the a/c threads and didn't see anyone who did the r134a swap,
You can't convert to R134A. What I've seen is uneducated DIYer's just grabbing any can of refrigerant off the local autoparts shelf. They then cross-contaminate the whole system. We have to use a special procedure to recover mixed freon like this, it contaminates our machines, mixed freon is pretty much hazmat material after that. Not to mention R1234yf is a flammable refrigerant as well.

You can use the R1234yf in a can for a top off, but it's totally a band-aid repair. The system uses 0.425kg, over charging the system causes just as many problems as a low charge system. Your pressure will be way too high, there's the potential for popping off the emergency pressure relief valve on the compressor, the list goes on. You really need to properly evacuate, apply vacuum to rid the system of air and moisture that can ruin the whole system and add the correct amount of refrigerant.
 
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Idkmang

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You can't convert to R134A. What I've seen is uneducated DIYer's just grabbing any can of refrigerant off the local autoparts shelf. They then cross-contaminate the whole system. We have to use a special procedure to recover mixed freon like this, it contaminates our machines, mixed freon is pretty much hazmat material after that. Not to mention R1234yf is a flammable refrigerant as well.

You can use the R1234yf in a can for a top off, but it's totally a band-aid repair. The system uses 0.425kg, over charging the system causes just as many problems as a low charge system. Your pressure will be way too high, there's the potential for popping off the emergency pressure relief valve on the compressor, the list goes on. You really need to properly evacuate, apply vacuum to rid the system of air and moisture that can ruin the whole system and add the correct amount of refrigerant.

Well yeah, the same applies to any system containing refrigerant. With a set of manifold gauges and a vacuum pump it's not too bad. Especially when the system is empty. The only place could find 1234yf leak finding dye and injector was napa for a cool 200$ which seems a bit unreasonable. The fittings alone for the service port run about 60$ most places. Considering Honda's price tag it might be a better deal. If I find the evaporator is leaking i'll probably trade it in.
 
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Idkmang

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Update for anyone interested: I endded up doing it myself. Replaced the condenser put oil in got some manifold gauges and vacuumed it for about an hour and a half with a harbor freight pump. I found the refrigerant at advanced auto parts for about 45 a can. Wasn't too bad under 400 to do it all and It blows colder than brand new.
 


heroyu28

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Update for anyone interested: I endded up doing it myself. Replaced the condenser put oil in got some manifold gauges and vacuumed it for about an hour and a half with a harbor freight pump. I found the refrigerant at advanced auto parts for about 45 a can. Wasn't too bad under 400 to do it all and It blows colder than brand new.
$400 is definitely not too bad for the repair. I almost got charge $350 just to diagnose with dye at the dealership. Luckily the advisor said they were able to figure out both condenser and compressor were leaking before using the dye freon, cost me $120 at the end. Now pending reply from Honda Corp for a goodwill repair approval.
 
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Idkmang

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It's pretty foul that they said all of the 2016-2018 were covered and then say that some vin numbers were supposedly not included because the issue was fixed. I hear that the newer ones have the same issue still.
 
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Idkmang

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I saw this video and thats when I decided to just smdi it myself
 

lhughes21

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It's pretty foul that they said all of the 2016-2018 were covered and then say that some vin numbers were supposedly not included because the issue was fixed. I hear that the newer ones have the same issue still.
So is it only those years they supposedly cover? My 2019 is making the squealing sound that stops only if I turn off the AC compressor, read many threads that say that's the start of the failure.

Also, I've had it to the dealer and they can't replicate the problem since it's so intermittent. But I've sent them the threads, I will be floored if I have to pay for an AC repair on a car with less than 30k miles!
 

Mightyming

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I suggest you go to another dealer. I went for a fix today. The dealer was pretty familiar with the issue. Left the car for about 2hr and it got fixed. I hope it will last for another 4yr.
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