My only complaint: weak A/C

jcp227 · Jul 6, 2019

SCOPESYS said:
Would be nice if you went with her and helped her to get it sorted, and then told us 1st hand what the Dealer said & did.

I plan on doing that. It's difficult for us to do things like that since our work schedules are completely different. She has different days off than I do and her hours are very unpredictable and can range from 7 hrs to 12 hrs on any given day. Reading my previous post I kind of sound like and A-hole and don't do anything to help her out which is far from the truth. With our schedules being so far off when we do get together we just like to chill out and spend time doing fun things .

Her clear shift cover that shows the gear position also is severely hazed over and has a small crack in it and we need to address that as well. She has never used any chemicals in the car nor has she dropped anything on it so I want to be there to see what kind of answer they give us. It is a defect for sure but I'm afraid there going to blame it on her .
I will keep you posted.

Dragnet · Jul 6, 2019

23Red said:
Not too bad. Tinted windows helps a TON.

Guess I'm going to look into it because I've quit driving my Civic because it's too damn hot. My 2016 Accord keeps me really cool. I guess the AC in Accords are a lot better than in Civics.

SCOPESYS · Jul 6, 2019

Are the same A/C systems fitted to ALL the GenX civics ?

If they are all the same, I can imagine that those with bigger volume, and more outside surface areas would probably not get as cold, as say a SI Coupe ?

willskiGT · Jul 9, 2019

SCOPESYS said:
Right side vents (passenger side) seemingly blow colder.

This is a classic symptom of low Refrigerant.
You might consider getting your Dealer, or better still, a good A/C service facility check out the Refrigerant charge.

Even if you are under warranty, there is nothing to stop you having an independent garage at least check out and diagnose the issue, and then decide if you want them to fix it, or just pay for the diagnostic (which will be far less costly than the Dealer doing the Diagnostic), and then, if there is an Issue, you have the option to to show the Dealer the Diagnostic you got.

Be prepared for the Dealer to give you grief, about having someone else diagnose the A/C, but there is nothing wrong in doing so, and provided the Service facility you took it to initially, does not change anything in the A/C system, the Dealer has not grounds to call it non-warranty because someone else diagnosed the problem.

Personally, what I would do is to get the A/C diagnose at two independent competent A/C service Facilities, and then, without telling the Dearer, get the Dealer to diagnose it and tell you want is wrong and what it will cost to fix.

Chance are, Dealer will give you a different diagnosis, and find some excuse about Road Debris damaging your Condenser, which is not covered under warranty.

BTW: Make sure the two service facilitates thoroughly inspect your condenser for Road Debris damage, and state their finding along with their diagnosis.

Should be an interesting and informative visit to your Dealer, when your already know exactly what is wrong.

If dealer gives you the same Diagnosis, then maybe your Dealer is not that bad, and you don't mention that you have done some research beforehand.

Whoever fixes the A/C, they will have to put in Refrigerant, so you might want to INSIST that they also put some U/V dye in, so that if there is a leak, or future leak, it will be obvious where that leak is.
You can get a cheap UV Flashlight yourself, from most Auto Stores (Or Harbor Freight), and then you can check for leaks yourself in the future, should (when) the A/C start to fail again.

Finally, if the Dealer tell you that it the Condenser, PLEASE insist that you see that damaged condenser. Before you take the Car to the Dealer, mark the Condenser with a Felt Tip pen (attach it to a small rod, and you can poke it in the front to put a ref mark on the Condenser, (Not the Front Intercooler, but the Condenser, you can see, behind and up higher over top edge of the Condenser.
If it is YOUR Condenser they show you, take some pictures of the Damage I think many on this Forum will be interested to see those "Damage" pictures !!

BTW: With a Google search, I could not find even ONE 10th Gen Condenser Image, showing Road damage. !!!

Great info, the car is going to the dealership tomorrow morning to be looked over.

I bought the Civic to be a lower cost but still high performance alternative to my previous car (Audi RS4). One of the main reasons I bought the car (aside from performance) is that it is covered by a warranty. Taking it to an outside shop kinda defeats the purpose of the warranty safety blanket. I am leaning towards the car being underfilled from the factory, not leaking from a damaged condenser, as the car had bad A/C from the moment I drove it off the lot with 11 miles on it. I also haven't encountered any road debris in the ~750 miles I've driven that would have damaged the car.

willskiGT · Jul 11, 2019

Update for those interested.

Dropped the car off, got a call about 5 hours later from the SA. The tech had checked pressures and refrigerant amount and found low refrigerant. He filled to the proper level, added UV dye, and took the car for a test drive (this despite me saying no test drives, as it's an A/C problem, not a driveability one, but whatever). Upon returning from the test drive, the tech found a crack where the A/C lines meet the A/C compressor housing, causing a loss of refrigerant.

New A/C compressor is being overnighted and the car will be ready tomorrow.

All this to say, that it is not normal for these cars to have weak A/C. If your A/C isn't good, there is an issue - get it checked out if you are still under warranty.

SCOPESYS · Jul 11, 2019

willskiGT said:
Update for those interested.

Dropped the car off, got a call about 5 hours later from the SA. The tech had checked pressures and refrigerant amount and found low refrigerant. He filled to the proper level, added UV dye, and took the car for a test drive (this despite me saying no test drives, as it's an A/C problem, not a driveability one, but whatever). Upon returning from the test drive, the tech found a crack where the A/C lines meet the A/C compressor housing, causing a loss of refrigerant.

New A/C compressor is being overnighted and the car will be ready tomorrow.

All this to say, that it is not normal for these cars to have weak A/C. If your A/C isn't good, there is an issue - get it checked out if you are still under warranty.

Sounds like you lucked out with a GOOD Tech, that correctly diagnose the problem, without wasting days of your time.

So in this case, it was a COMPRESSOR or Compressor LINE issue, and not the "Condenser", that so many dealers seem to be blaming for the issue, because of Road Debris hitting the Condenser ( a Convent explanation to avoid the repair being under warranty -- warranty does NOT cover damage by Road debris !! )

kevv_FK8 · Jul 11, 2019

I need to get mines checked out then. anything over 85 degree's out I get mediocre a/c...

willskiGT · Jul 11, 2019

SCOPESYS said:
So in this case, it was a COMPRESSOR or Compressor LINE issue, and not the "Condenser", that so many dealers seem to be blaming for the issue, because of Road Debris hitting the Condenser ( a Convent explanation to avoid the repair being under warranty -- warranry does NOT cover damage by Road debris !! )

Right, not the condenser.

The SA didn't articulate exactly what was cracked, just that it was in the region where the A/C lines meet the compressor, but I am getting a new A/C compressor. I'll try to get a more detailed explanation from the tech when I pick the car up.

Excited to have A/C again - it's been 90F and humid here every day this week. Nothing like starting the work day in a pool of your own sweat.

SCOPESYS · Jul 11, 2019

willskiGT said:
Right, not the condenser.

The SA didn't articulate exactly what was cracked, just that it was in the region where the A/C lines meet the compressor, but I am getting a new A/C compressor. I'll try to get a more detailed explanation from the tech when I pick the car up.

Excited to have A/C again - it's been 90F and humid here every day this week. Nothing like starting the work day in a pool of your own sweat.

Its such a time wasting PITA to have to take your car into the Dealership for these type of problems, especially if they cannot diagnose the cause of the issue, or find the leak, the 1st time,
So far, I have been lucky .. my A.C is working very well, from day 1, and is still working that well after 9 months, but I fully suspect I am on borrowed time.

I am seriously thinking about have some dye put into the system, so when it does start to leak, it will be obvious immediately where it is leaking, and thus the initial visit to the Dealer will be a quick one, and I can continue to use the car while they get in the required replacement parts.

For $10, I would like to also be able to have a Harbor Freight UV Flashlight, and be able to see for myself if and where the Refrigerant is leaking BEFORE I take my car into the dealer and it disappears out the back for them to do "who knows what", and then just have to rely on what they tell me "whatever BS they feel like telling me" after they have looked for the leak themselves.

Whatever happened to the "REFRIGERANT Sight Glass" that cars use to have in the A/C line, so you could actually "SEE" the refrigerant, and if it was present, or just bubbles, or completely absent.
I assume removing it was a Cost saving exercise, and something to make the car owner even more reliant on the Dealer or Garage mechanic. -- but cost saving for who .. certainly not the car owner !!

Rowwwel_808 · Jul 13, 2019

The refrigerant in these Type R’s are definitely low! My AC was feeling mehhh at best, even with the temp on the lowest setting, at the highest speed. So I had my friend, who’s works at a Nissan dealer check my R out for me and he told me that the AC system only had .363kg of refrigerant. Which is even below the “minimum” factory spec, which is .375kg. I had him charge it up to the max spec which is .425kg and all I can say is WOW. The AC actually feels cold. My hands/ face actually get cold now. If you feel like your AC is lacking, I’d definitely take it to the dealer to have it checked out. Running the system below the minimum could damage the system also.

jcp227 · Jul 14, 2019

SCOPESYS said:
Would be nice if you went with her and helped her to get it sorted, and then told us 1st hand what the Dealer said & did.

My girlfriend has a appointment with Honda to have her AC looked at on the 24th. It is one of her days off and they only take appointments until 3PM as I have to work. I am going to prep her the best I can and I will post what I find out at that time.
Not Type R related but she also got a recall on her 1.5T that the motor might be running rich so they are extending her power train warranty another year.

frtorres87 · Jul 14, 2019

I’ve been testing my Type R’s AC lately and I’ve found that my results are pretty damn good. My windows are tinted but it’s been hot in Jersey and my Type R has been working fine.

willskiGT · Jul 14, 2019

Final update: dealer overfilled the A/C (0.560 kg when the max is something like 0.425kg) so I will have to bring it to someone competent in the coming weeks (unlike the dealer) to fix it. Another day without the car and this time some money out of my pocket, but the dealer is grossly incompetent. Went to pick the car up and it was dead from being left in accessory mode all day.

On the bright side, the A/C is actually quite cold now. 93F and sunny out today and I was getting cold when the system was set to 71F/Auto.

CincyTypeR · Jul 25, 2019

Only skimmed through this thread. After having my car for a couple years I finally broke down and brought it to the dealership to have the A/C checked. Just got the call that it was overcharged.

jcp227 · Jul 25, 2019

We took my girlfriends 1.5T hatch in to have the AC looked at along with her shift trim bubbling up and hazed over at the dealer today.
They instantly blamed her trim issue due to her using lotion,spraying perfume and wearing an Apple watch. The guy was extremely rude to both of us and blamed everything on her. He is last comment was, "what does it matter because your only leasing the car". I purposely stood behind her and pretended I wasn't with her because I wanted to hear how they talk to a woman that doesn't know much about cars. I was blown away how he attempted to throw all of the blame on her and actually talked down to get. I then got involved and the guy walked away and came back and immediately apologized that he was out of line. They are fixing her trim under warranty.
As for the AC, all they did was open and close the vents and then said that this is the way the air is supposed to be and you can't judge it on the hot days we have had lately. I knew it was going nowhere at this point in time so we left and we plan on making an appointment with another dealership in the coming weeks.
I will fill everyone in on the next adventure to the dealership.

My only complaint: weak A/C

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