High pitch noise/rattle when A/C is on

NCMattJ

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My brand new 2019 Civic Sport did it from day one. I took it in and the dealer said it was normal. (Big surprise). I can’t believe Honda engineers thought this noice in the cabin was acceptable. Here’s a video I took with the sound.
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What I find interesting is that even though the source of the sound is the same (A/C system) it sounds different in each car.
 

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Yup. I’ve had my civic sport for a year now and the harmonic drives me crazy. I literally either have to turn the music up or turn the AC off. I’ve complained at the dealership and they just kind of shrugged their shoulders. I did find something online a while back that said it’s associated with a poorly designed compressor. I doubt very highly that Honda will address this. It has literally become the single worst feature in the car.
 

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I have an annoying unpleasant howling screaming type noise that occurs when ac is engaged. Started last May/June when I started using AC and gradually has got worse and louder. And it has been shrugged off too as a “normal characteristic” , however it is NOT normal and I wont accept it. I opened a case with customer relations last October, not gone anywhere yet, but lucky for them I am rather persistent. I have found 3 Honda service centres in Ontario (4 cases so far) that have replaced some or all AC components under warranty to fix the issue, so it is recognized as a concern. Not all 1.5L Civics have the issue, but finding the root cause, or origin should not be difficult for Honda. Its obvious, not all parts or components installed on these cars are the same, not same quality, not same supplier, not from same “batch”. But the 1.5L MT models are manufactured at HUM in the UK. They should begin their investigation there, if they did they might find that they, and along with their parts suppliers, have a severe problem with quality control. Just a thought ...
 

fitz318is

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So what dealerships have replaced parts to correct the issue and how did you discover this?

I'm interested because I would like mine corrected before the summer. Very annoying.
 


lexro

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My brand new 2019 Civic Sport did it from day one. I took it in and the dealer said it was normal. (Big surprise). I can’t believe Honda engineers thought this noice in the cabin was acceptable. Here’s a video I took with the sound.
Omg this is exactly what i am hearing sometimes. New 2019 Honda civic sedan sport. Sounds like a cheap compressor to me. Can you please tell me if you had it resolved?
 

yetanotherowner

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I had same problem (Civic 5D 1.5 sport from 2017, Poland), and finally Honda solved this. After 1,5 year, here in Poland, Honda is making warranty repairs fixing that whistling - but only for people who reported this (I had to ask about repair myself anyway).

What was the problem - some pipe in A/C system was too long. After replacement noise disappeared. Repair required about a week to wait for the part to arrive.

Hope this helps - Honda has solution but for some reason is not calling all owners for repairs.

Btw. I had 2 other small warranty fixes during 2 years - rattling left A pillar, and loose hood which oscillated at higher speeds.

Link to Polish forum: https://www.civicforum.pl/showthrea...przy-włączonej-klimatyzacji-brzęczenie/page19
 

Gruber

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I had same problem (Civic 5D 1.5 sport from 2017, Poland), and finally Honda solved this. After 1,5 year, here in Poland, Honda is making warranty repairs fixing that whistling - but only for people who reported this (I had to ask about repair myself anyway).

What was the problem - some pipe in A/C system was too long. After replacement noise disappeared. Repair required about a week to wait for the part to arrive.

Hope this helps - Honda has solution but for some reason is not calling all owners for repairs.

Btw. I had 2 other small warranty fixes during 2 years - rattling left A pillar, and loose hood which oscillated at higher speeds.

Link to Polish forum: https://www.civicforum.pl/showthread.php/53155-Dziwny-dzwięk-przy-włączonej-klimatyzacji-brzęczenie/page19
But some people there apparently say that the replacement did not completely fix the noise. Of course to replace this pipe the system needs to be evacuated and refilled with likely pressure change.
I don't hear any AC noises in my car.
 

lexro

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I had same problem (Civic 5D 1.5 sport from 2017, Poland), and finally Honda solved this. After 1,5 year, here in Poland, Honda is making warranty repairs fixing that whistling - but only for people who reported this (I had to ask about repair myself anyway).

What was the problem - some pipe in A/C system was too long. After replacement noise disappeared. Repair required about a week to wait for the part to arrive.

Hope this helps - Honda has solution but for some reason is not calling all owners for repairs.

Btw. I had 2 other small warranty fixes during 2 years - rattling left A pillar, and loose hood which oscillated at higher speeds.

Link to Polish forum: https://www.civicforum.pl/showthread.php/53155-Dziwny-dzwięk-przy-włączonej-klimatyzacji-brzęczenie/page19
Thanks for sharing your experience! yeah the sound is very faint for me, but it's the kind of noise once you heard it, you can never unhear it. Whistle, gargling, harmonic frequency sound, whatever you want to call it. it's noticeable but sort of bearable? (knock on woods)

it's extra frustrating knowing my sedan sport is not even 2 months old yet and less than 1700KM. Guess this summer I will find out if it gets worse, but i'm booking an appointment with the dealer nonetheless.

Question: you're saying it's because some pipe is too long, so the replacement pipe is re-designed to be shorter?
 

GermanCivic

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..yeah the sound is very faint for me, but it's the kind of noise once you heard it, you can never unhear it. Whistle, gargling, harmonic frequency sound, whatever you want to call it. it's noticeable but sort of bearable? (knock on woods)

it's extra frustrating knowing my sedan sport is not even 2 months old yet and less than 1700KM. Guess this summer I will find out if it gets worse, but i'm booking an appointment with the dealer nonetheless.
Could the dealer do anything to kill or reduce the ratteling noise from your AC?
 


GermanCivic

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Hi! Did they fix the A/C noise in your civic?
Unfortnuately not, I told the dealer when I brought the car in for maintenance service but they somehow ignored that.

So my A/C still has the ratteling noise but as long it works I will not go to the shop just for that. When I bring the car for inspection next time, I'll tell them again.

I definitely want them to get this fixed before warranty is going to end.
 

CastorX

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Unfortnuately not, I told the dealer when I brought the car in for maintenance service but they somehow ignored that.

So my A/C still has the ratteling noise but as long it works I will not go to the shop just for that. When I bring the car for inspection next time, I'll tell them again.

I definitely want them to get this fixed before warranty is going to end.
I called them today (Stuttgart dealer) but they told me that I have to let the car there for a few days, otherwise I have to show them what the car does. It did it in the morning (colder weather), but when I wanted to drive to Stuttgart this afternoon I could barely hear it. It does this kind of noise btw.:

or this

Not my videos, but mine does the same sound. In the US and UK they replace a hose, but in Germany... I have no idea. When I called them I also asked if they had customers with similar complains, but OF COURSE they never heard about this issue. Just like they never heard about the "Front parking sensor goes mad when it is/was raining before", but they fixed that by replacing the sensors.
Would you please inform me about your progress? I will also report it to the dealer where I bought the car when I go to the next inspection.
 

CastorX

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It's been getting worse and more frequent. I feel like the dealership will just write it off as 'Normal'.
Shit... I hope my compressor or A/C dies completely before the end of the warranty.
 


 


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