AC Whistle Noise - 2000-2700 rpm - The Answer ?

Felix2017

Member
First Name
Connie
Joined
Mar 30, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
37
Reaction score
18
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Coupe EX-T 6MT
Country flag
Thanks for the followup post!



This is not impossible. Mistakes have happened enough that the service manager actually admitted to me that other models and generations of Hondas, and recently, have come with low refrigerant and that they also made the noise I described. Mistakes can certainly happen. I remember that the 2016 Civics with the 2.0 NA were coming with improper assembly on some section of the engine and there was a recall only weeks after the cars were being shipped to the dealerships.



That will be well timed for me at least. I do hope that this is a one and done solution for you.
Thanks! Look for another post at the beginning of May.
Sponsored

 

lexro

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2019
Threads
10
Messages
281
Reaction score
274
Location
Montreal
Vehicle(s)
Civic LX 2006, Civic Sedan Sport 2019, Type R 2021
Country flag
When you guys brought your car in for unusual AC sounds/noise, did the dealership charge you a diagnostic fee? I called to book an appointment and was told there will be an $120 diagnostic fee for the HVAC system. I was like...the car is new with 1500km on it...you're kidding right?

I'm worried that my dealership is gonna pull a fast one on me...
 
OP
OP
SCOPESYS

SCOPESYS

Senior Member
First Name
Geoff
Joined
Aug 27, 2018
Threads
68
Messages
2,505
Reaction score
1,550
Location
MD
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic SI Coupe. . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Maxima Wagon. . . . . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Pulsar NX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Maxima Wagon (2nd Donor Wagon for parts)
Country flag
When you guys brought your car in for unusual AC sounds/noise, did the dealership charge you a diagnostic fee? I called to book an appointment and was told there will be an $120 diagnostic fee for the HVAC system. I was like...the car is new with 1500km on it...you're kidding right?

I'm worried that my dealership is gonna pull a fast one on me...

AMAZING !!! :doh:
 

Felix2017

Member
First Name
Connie
Joined
Mar 30, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
37
Reaction score
18
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Coupe EX-T 6MT
Country flag
There should not be any fee whatsoever but I guess you need to convince one of their techs that there is an abnormal noise that needs to be investigated. So start by telling them that you are hearing a noise that is abnormal, and, for me, it was easiest to demonstrate the noise by taking the tech with me on a short drive. But there are ways of producing the noise with the car stationary and toggling the AC on and off while revving the engine.
 


lexro

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2019
Threads
10
Messages
281
Reaction score
274
Location
Montreal
Vehicle(s)
Civic LX 2006, Civic Sedan Sport 2019, Type R 2021
Country flag
There should not be any fee whatsoever but I guess you need to convince one of their techs that there is an abnormal noise that needs to be investigated. So start by telling them that you are hearing a noise that is abnormal, and, for me, it was easiest to demonstrate the noise by taking the tech with me on a short drive. But there are ways of producing the noise with the car stationary and toggling the AC on and off while revving the engine.
Yeah I actually have it on video too, even played with the fan speed to show that the noise is independent to the fan speed. My sales rep is very attentive though, I texted him about the noise and he actually invited me to drop by the dealership to show him. (Dealership is on the my home from work, partially why I chose to get the car there in the first place). Guess we will take it from there. The service rep I spoken to over the phone is just clueless af...guess I can't blame her as she pretty much just going by the book.

P.S. I truly miss the time when my friend worked as a certified tech at honda though. He moved away, along with my privilege to bypass the system lol.
 

Felix2017

Member
First Name
Connie
Joined
Mar 30, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
37
Reaction score
18
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Coupe EX-T 6MT
Country flag
They have checked for leaks after putting in dye 2-3 weeks ago and there were no leaks found. I haven’t heard the noise since they replaced the refrigerant. It looks like it was just low refrigerant as a result of factory error.
 
OP
OP
SCOPESYS

SCOPESYS

Senior Member
First Name
Geoff
Joined
Aug 27, 2018
Threads
68
Messages
2,505
Reaction score
1,550
Location
MD
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic SI Coupe. . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Maxima Wagon. . . . . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Pulsar NX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Maxima Wagon (2nd Donor Wagon for parts)
Country flag
They have checked for leaks after putting in dye 2-3 weeks ago and there were no leaks found. I haven’t heard the noise since they replaced the refrigerant. It looks like it was just low refrigerant as a result of factory error.
Factory error ? More likely, leakage over time, when car was not being used, and the compressor shaft seals dried out.

Seems to be a pattern developing of the noise occurring when refrigerant is low.

Ironically, one could cal, this a FEATURE rather than a PROBLEM... effectively an Audio Alarm that informs you when the refrigerant is low !! :dunno:
 

Felix2017

Member
First Name
Connie
Joined
Mar 30, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
37
Reaction score
18
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Coupe EX-T 6MT
Country flag
Factory error ? More likely, leakage over time, when car was not being used, and the compressor shaft seals dried out.

Seems to be a pattern developing of the noise occurring when refrigerant is low.

Ironically, one could cal, this a FEATURE rather than a PROBLEM... effectively an Audio Alarm that informs you when the refrigerant is low !! :dunno:
If the noise comes back then I’ll know that it was a leak that caused the low refrigerant - it may be that an insufficient amount of time has passed for the leak to be visible with their system.
 
Last edited:

Felix2017

Member
First Name
Connie
Joined
Mar 30, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
37
Reaction score
18
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Coupe EX-T 6MT
Country flag
They tested the pressures before and after putting in the new refrigerant and there were definitely differences - low side 38 PSI and high side 70 PSI BEFORE recovering gas - and after recharging with gas, low side was 33 PSI and high side 110 PSI. The latter pressures were maintained between April 15 and April 30. They used Robinair leak detection dye and no leak was found. The refrigerant was likely low when the car came from the factory. They also checked the grill temperature at idle (1.8 C before and -1.2 C after). I’ll post a picture of the work order if anyone wants to see it.
 


frontlinegeek

Senior Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Threads
6
Messages
765
Reaction score
313
Location
New Brunswick, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2020 CRV Touring, 2017 Civic EX Sedan Honda Sensing
Country flag
They tested the pressures before and after putting in the new refrigerant and there were definitely differences - low side 38 PSI and high side 70 PSI BEFORE recovering gas - and after recharging with gas, low side was 33 PSI and high side 110 PSI. The latter pressures were maintained between April 15 and April 30.
This is great to hear! I will be getting mine done in about 2 weeks so I will be back with my results then.
 

former_bb6_owner

New Member
Joined
May 11, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Atlanta, GA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Civic HB Sport 6MT, 2014 MDX FWD Tech
Country flag
New member here. I drive a 2018 HB Sport 6MT. Just wanted to share my (good) dealer experience getting this problem fixed. I wouldn't say they were familiar with the issue, but I gave them the service bulletin info from this thread plus the parts listing showing that the suction hose had been updated. They replaced the suction hose and recharged the system under warranty. No more noise! Hopefully this will help someone else get this annoying issue resolved once and for all. It would be nice to see American Honda educate their dealers on this problem.

Honda Civic 10th gen AC Whistle Noise -  2000-2700 rpm - The Answer ? IMG_0596


Honda Civic 10th gen AC Whistle Noise -  2000-2700 rpm - The Answer ? Screen Shot 2019-05-08 at 10.51.18 AM
 
OP
OP
SCOPESYS

SCOPESYS

Senior Member
First Name
Geoff
Joined
Aug 27, 2018
Threads
68
Messages
2,505
Reaction score
1,550
Location
MD
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic SI Coupe. . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Maxima Wagon. . . . . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Pulsar NX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1987 Nissan Maxima Wagon (2nd Donor Wagon for parts)
Country flag
New member here. I drive a 2018 HB Sport 6MT. Just wanted to share my (good) dealer experience getting this problem fixed. I wouldn't say they were familiar with the issue, but I gave them the service bulletin info from this thread plus the parts listing showing that the suction hose had been updated. They replaced the suction hose and recharged the system under warranty. No more noise! Hopefully this will help someone else get this annoying issue resolved once and for all. It would be nice to see American Honda educate their dealers on this problem.

IMG_0596.jpg


Screen Shot 2019-05-08 at 10.51.18 AM.png
This is good news .. well done.

Were they able to find the SB on their system, or did they just accept the photo image of the 1st part of the SB you showed them.
It would be nice to get a full copy of the SB available for all those in the USA that have this problem.
 

frontlinegeek

Senior Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Threads
6
Messages
765
Reaction score
313
Location
New Brunswick, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2020 CRV Touring, 2017 Civic EX Sedan Honda Sensing
Country flag
They replaced the suction hose and recharged the system under warranty.
It would be nice to know if just a recharge or pressure/charge level check would fix it. As I noted either in this thread or another, TSB or not, replacing a part in the system also means you are doing two things and picking arbitrarily which one really fixed it. Everyone so far (And hopefully soon me) with the sedans who have only had a recharge, have had no return of the noise. Some reporting that the coolant levels were low. And again, I was told by my service manager that earlier/other generations/models of Honda have made these noises because of low coolant from the factory. (I took ownership of my GenX in late Oct of 2017 so I never got to really use the AC till May of 2018 and not fully till the summer, which is why it took so long to start hearing it.)
 

former_bb6_owner

New Member
Joined
May 11, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Atlanta, GA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Civic HB Sport 6MT, 2014 MDX FWD Tech
Country flag
This is good news .. well done.

Were they able to find the SB on their system, or did they just accept the photo image of the 1st part of the SB you showed them.
It would be nice to get a full copy of the SB available for all those in the USA that have this problem.
They couldn't find anything in their system. I just gave them a printout of the SB page, and told them it was from the UK. We had a brief and pointless discussion about differences between US and Euro Hondas. I'll have to admit the evidence I presented to them was somewhat circumstantial but to their credit they were willing to do it. For me there wasn't much downside to replacing the hose. I don't like others working on my car, so getting this knocked out in one trip was more important to me than knowing the exact cause. There could be other variables like ambient temperature making a complete understanding of the issue more difficult.
Sponsored

 


 


Top