NEW AC CONDENSER LEAKING TSB 19-091

[nickname]

My 2018 Si just went fully warm, and I'm not sure what to do. I'm out of warranty and I don't have the money for a repair. The recharge sounds like a good idea, but I'd prefer to have it permanently fixed. I don't understand how they can charge over $100 to just go look for 5 min with a blacklight. The compressor is also clearly a well known issue. Why isn't there a recall or class action lawsuit or something?

Buy a black light (and yellow glasses, if you want) and check yourself. The system comes with dye from factory.

Technically, a true diag would use gages, a scan tool (to see if the computer is allowing the clutch to engage), and possibly voltage testing if your system has pressure.

You can check to see if the clutch is engaging yourself. YouTube at home AC diagnosis... relatively simple procedure

Ditto they post about AC not being a safety issue. As far as a class action lawsuit, I believe Honda circumvented that by extending the warranty on the condenser. They likely did a cost analysis and extending the warranty would cost less than fighting a class action lawsuit.

Edit: turns out there was a law suit
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit.../honda-class-action-alleges-civic-a-c-defect/

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[bluehatch17]

They held my car overnight and they put dye in the car for it to leak overnight.

 

[nickname]

They held my car overnight and they put dye in the car for it to leak overnight.

Strange... if there is a leak the dye would already be visible. I've never heard of a tech having to keep the car overnight for a leak test. Plus, dye is already in the system... not sure why they told you they'd have to put dye in

Seems sus

 

[Friendofsonic]

Does anyone know if replacing the blower motor on 10th gen is as straight forward as it seems? I checked YouTube for a video but could only find 9th gen. It seems REAL simple though... remove the cover under the glovebox via one screen which I did and then three screws for the blower motor

 

[zroger73]

Plus, dye is already in the system... not sure why they told you they'd have to put dye in

Seems sus

There's no dye in the system from the factory.

 

[nickname]

There's no dye in the system from the factory.

Idk man. When I first took the car to Honda the Service Manager and Parts Manager said leak detection dye was put in from factory.

I've done a fair share AC diags, rarely would I have to add dye.

 

[zroger73]

I can't speak for other brands, but Honda doesn't add dye. Here's their latest TSB on the subject which specifies which dye to add, if necessary.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10181077-0001.pdf

 

[nickname]

Does anyone know if replacing the blower motor on 10th gen is as straight forward as it seems? I checked YouTube for a video but could only find 9th gen. It seems REAL simple though... remove the cover under the glovebox via one screen which I did and then three screws for the blower motor

Straight forward? Probably.
I haven't replaced a blower motor on a 10th gen Civic, but all the ones I have replaced are similar procedurally.

Have you verified the motor is defective?
I learned that lesson the hard way, wasted time assuming and not verifying.

Always verify.

 

[IndyMark007]

Just wanted to make a quick post that I had a great experience at my local dealership dealing with the A/C condenser issue last week. I've felt for a long time (several years?) that my A/C was not functioning at 100%, but it wasn't until I got my letter from Honda last month that I put it together that the condenser was the likely cause of my problems. I took my 2017 hatch into the dealer last week and stated that my A/C had been struggling for awhile to keep the car cool and that I was aware of the warranty extension since I had gotten a letter, so I wanted them to look at that. After reading several posts about problems getting the repair covered, I was holding my breath that they weren't going to give me the runaround, and thankfully they did not. About 3 hours after dropping the car off, they called me back and confirmed that the condenser was faulty and let me know that they had already replaced it and everything would be covered under warranty. Luckily they had the condenser in stock and I had my car back the same day and the A/C performance is thankfully MUCH improved.

 

[Los1391]

Just dropped my '18 Si sedan off to the dealer this morning because of it no longer blowing cold air.
The rep did tell me that if the condenser was fine and a recharge was needed it would be $150.
Just called up about 20 minutes ago and a new condenser is being installed.
Will be picking it up later today. Any changes will update the post!

 

[Djcaprise]

Dropped my car off at the stealership for the ac condenser recall and they said “there’s no freon in the car to tell if there’s a leak. We’ll fill it up. Come in, pick up the car, drive it 1000 miles, and if the ac stops working bring it in and they’ll look for the leak.” But the diag fee is $499 smh.

Gas is 6.19 a gallon. 1000 miles is close to $200 worth of gas. I told them to keep the car, let the ac run a few cycles, then test it to see if there’s a leak. Wtf is up w Honda smh.

 

[bluehatch17]

You have 1 post which basically means you have an issue, googled it and came to rant. Which is fine.

But this isn’t a hidden issue. This isn’t an unknown problem. This is a known issue with an open Honda recall and any average dealer would know you don’t need 1000 miles to check for it.

A dye test can be done overnight. You don’t need to come and rant. You need to find a better dealer to work on your car.

 

[zroger73]

Wtf is up w Honda smh.

Honda doesn't service vehicles nor do they receive any portion of any labor charges including diagnostic fees - that's all your independently-owned dealer. Honda has no control over what dealers charge for automobiles, parts, or service.

 

[MrWaYne]

my condenser is failing again now.
it was replaced in June 2020 already.

are there several revisions of the condenser? is it possible that they replaced it with the faulty version in 2020?

pretty frustrating.

 

[frontlinegeek]

my condenser is failing again now.
it was replaced in June 2020 already.

are there several revisions of the condenser? is it possible that they replaced it with the faulty version in 2020?

pretty frustrating.

Ya, this is definitely possible. This actually happened to my 2017 Civic (RIP poor car). They replaced it, then the actual TSB and extended warranty for that came out and back in again as it leaked once more.

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