Please read! Verified A/C issue with 1.5L

I leased my 2016 Civic EX-L in May 2016 from El Cajon Honda and by October 2017 my driver side A/C stopped blowing cold air completely. I took my car in to get it fixed at El Cajon Honda and they said that the "repair" would cost $800 but I did not have to pay for it since I was still under warranty. They "repaired" my A/C and it was working great for until about one year later in September 2018 my A/C on the driver side stopped working again.

I called the dealer and they informed me that I no longer had warranty since I drove over 45,000 miles. I was at about 47,000 miles at this point. I informed the dealer that my car had this same issue last year and that it seems it was not fixed permanently when I brought it in to their dealership. The person I was on the phone with was able to pull up records of what was done to my car last year so that I could know what repair needs to be done to fix this issue again. The records she pulled up only stated that my car was charged with refrigerant and that was it... that was the "$800 repair" they performed on my car the first time it ran out of refrigerant.

I ended up speaking with a service tech and I explained to him how if my car has a leak, it is most likely the same leak it had the first time I brought it in when I was under warranty and that the leak should have been repaired the first time. The tech basically sounded like he had no interest in helping me out, all he said was that maybe they did repair my leak the first time and now you have a new leak...

I continued to drive the car with no A/C on the driver side for a little over a week until the passenger side A/C also stopped blowing cold air. After meeting with a couple mechanics, no one could find a leak and no one carries the damn R1234YF refrigerant. I was debating on ordering Honeywell R1234YF off Amazon, but after coming along this thread I am beginning to think that maybe its not a leak causing my A/C to stop working, maybe it is the same issue everyone else is having.

I am returning my civic in April 2019, so hopefully Honda has a recall before then or else they're getting back a broken civic.

martin said:

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The person I was on the phone with was able to pull up records of what was done to my car last year so that I could know what repair needs to be done to fix this issue again. The records she pulled up only stated that my car was charged with refrigerant and that was it... that was the "$800 repair" they performed on my car the first time it ran out of refrigerant.
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So that $800 repair was under warranty .. so it's what they charged Honda ?

If the car is now out of warranty, why not just get a decent (non Dealer) mechanic to check the refrigerant level, and top it up if it is low. Good for another year, after which, it's no longer your problem.
It's something you can do yourself for $150-$200, (Amazon) and still have some refrigerant left over for a another top-up next spring.

But... leasee will have to pay, again, to fix "damage" to the AC when he turns the car in.

Sucks that everyone (including myself) is having this issue. Mine will be going back to the dealership on Thursday for the second time so I'm hoping they can provide a fix that will last at least through summer.

Does anyone know if the new Accords are suffering the same issue?

I've seen a leaking ac condenser on the new accords. Nothing much like civics. Compressors, ac lines, condensers and evaporator leaks all day long since start of summer

Rc1989 said:

I've seen a leaking ac condenser on the new accords. Nothing much like civics. Compressors, ac lines, condensers and evaporator leaks all day long since start of summer

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And leaking receiver-driers on Pilots and Ridgelines. :|

Yeah lol all kinds of leaks

So glad I’m not the only with this A/C problem. My ‘18 Civic Hatch 1.5L with only 12K miles definitely has the issue as well and has had it for a while.. had noticed it before and wasn’t sure it was an issue, but really noticed it when we drove 200+ miles on our recent road trip. No matter how cold we set the temperature and no matter how high the fan was, it felt hot inside the car and there was insufficient air coming out of the vents.. the only “temporary” solution that seemed to work was turning the A/C on/off and the blower would be felt again, but definitely remained hot inside the car.. Ughh! So frustrating, specially living in South FL where it gets so hot. Taking my car to the dealership tomorrow.

Btw.. is there a Service Bulletin or repair created for this problem already? Has Honda acknowledge or found out what the issue was?

My AC has been blowing warm on the driver side. I’m currently at 37 months and 17,000 miles. I called Honda corporate and they stated they will not cover it. I'm waiting for my dealer service manager to call back. I think Honda is being very petty and I have lost confidence in the brand.

Captain Falcon said:

My AC has been blowing warm on the driver side. I’m currently at 37 months and 17,000 miles. I called Honda corporate and they stated they will not cover it. I'm waiting for my dealer service manager to call back. I think Honda is being very petty and I have lost confidence in the brand.

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Thankfully, there are many other brands and models to choose from. Some are worse than Honda, so choose your poison carefully.

Captain Falcon said:

My AC has been blowing warm on the driver side. I’m currently at 37 months and 17,000 miles. I called Honda corporate and they stated they will not cover it. I'm waiting for my dealer service manager to call back. I think Honda is being very petty and I have lost confidence in the brand.

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I dont understand this. Some have had luck with Honda Corporate paying for the entire repair, 80% of the repair and others denied. I plan on calling corporate but not sure what I should and shouldn't say.

Voltron said:

I dont understand this. Some have had luck with Honda Corporate paying for the entire repair, 80% of the repair and others denied. I plan on calling corporate but not sure what I should and shouldn't say.

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Fair or unfair, it's solely at Honda's discretion how much, if any of a repair will be covered under goodwill. Factors include:

• How many Hondas you have owned. The more the better.
• The number and expense of warranty claims has Honda paid in the past. The lower the better.
• How much you have spent in maintenance and out-of-pocket repairs at the dealer. The more the better.
• When the issue occurred. The sooner after warranty expiration the better.
• The cost of the repair.
• The mood of the person making the decision.

If you've only owned three Hondas in the last 30 years - each with a few warranty claims, always perform your own maintenance and repairs, and the issue occurred 10,000 miles after the warranty expired, Honda will probably tell you go to pound sand.

If you've owned several Hondas and trade every few years, rarely have any warranty claims, regularly pay for maintenance and out-of-warranty repair at a Honda dealer, and the issue occurred a few thousand miles out of warranty, Honda is much more likely to cover at least some of the cost under goodwill.

zroger73 said:

Fair or unfair, it's solely at Honda's discretion how much, if any of a repair will be covered under goodwill. Factors include:

• How many Hondas you have owned. The more the better.
• The number and expense of warranty claims has Honda paid in the past. The lower the better.
• How much you have spent in maintenance and out-of-pocket repairs at the dealer. The more the better.
• When the issue occurred. The sooner after warranty expiration the better.
• The cost of the repair.
• The mood of the person making the decision.

If you've only owned three Hondas in the last 30 years - each with a few warranty claims, always perform your own maintenance and repairs, and the issue occurred 10,000 miles after the warranty expired, Honda will probably tell you go to pound sand.

If you've owned several Hondas and trade every few years, rarely have any warranty claims, regularly pay for maintenance and out-of-warranty repair at a Honda dealer, and the issue occurred a few thousand miles out of warranty, Honda is much more likely to cover at least some of the cost under goodwill.

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Turns out you were 100%. I called Honda corporate and told them my issue. Car is just outside the warranty by 2k miles, its a know A/C issue, etc. The person on the phone told me they can not help. I asked what then qualifies for a goodwill repair? She responded exactly with what you wrote above.

I asked them to reconsider and was assigned a case number and was told someone will be in touch. So now I have to wait and see what happens. I'm not holding my breath tho because this is my first Honda and I never have taken my car to the stealership. So I probably wont qualify. They could care less if you are a current owner still financing the vehicle with an A/C system that has gone out 3 years and 38k miles after purchase.

On Aug 9th I traded my 2017 Sedan in with 44k on it for a 2019 Hatch Turbo. The 17 had a decent A/C and this 19 does not. I put it in the shop today :/ Immediately the service adviser started in on me, "You know it's really hot right now".
I said "you know I just traded in a 17 and I drove a long way to bring this car in for service..." At least they gave me a loaner and it's actually a car off the lot with the sticker on the Window.

I am bracing myself for a tough time but a week old car and I can get very upset if I have to.

I am having the driver side warm and passenger side ice cold. My 2017 LX 2.0 NA is currently in the shop at Destination Honda in Burnaby, B.C Canada, and they need more time to find out.

They don't seem to find issues with the condenser, and did a dye test, no leak or whatsoever? but a parasitic leak wouldn't know it right away......

They suspect it's the electronic control module which it controls the air vent motor.