Clarity A/C problem (and warranty extension on pg 10)

I bought my 2018 Honda Clarity on 12-7-17. I have 70,000 miles on it and the A/C quit working. It had been a great car so far. I took it to the dealer on 6-22-20 and it is still there. I bought an extended warranty so it is covered, but they can't seem to get the part. They say it is on back order and have no ETA of when it will be here. It is a little frustrating to have a $40,000 car that I am paying for that I am totally upside down on and that I can't drive. I would trade it in if it was worth what I owed on it. I wish there was something we could do about this problem that a lot of people seem to have.

 

What is the part number for the back ordered part? Is it 80110-TRW-A01?

 

If your car has been continuously at the dealer since then, the warranty also will "toll". That is, it will extend beyond the original end date by the same amount of time the dealer has kept the car from you. That applies to factory as well as extended warranty. Doesn't help you right now, but may down the line if something breaks after the warranty would have expired.

 

Trying again... What is the part number for the back ordered part? Is it 80110-TRW-A01?

 

What a pleasure to have KentuckyKen’s “insights” again.

 

I would check the date of that post, there.

 

Oops. Another in an endless series of brain farts in my 74-year-old head.

 

It's still good to hear nuggets of wisdom from @KentuckyKen, even if they're from before his son kidnapped him and subjected him to forced labor as a house remodeler in a house with no WiFi. He's even forced to burn GAS in his Clarity!

 

Sorry for the late reply I have no idea what the part number is. I am not sure if they said it was the compressor or the condenser.

 

I feel your pain. When my 2018 Clarity AC broke down it took FOUR MONTHS to get the part for my Clarity. It was an evaporator core. At least the dealer has sense to insert some refrigerant so the AC would work temporarily. That was only after 2 months of me driving a small civic loaner. Ask your dealer if they could do the same.

 

Hi all, my 2018 Clarity's AC has been sounding weird lately. The AC has been making a wheezing sound and its not cooling as effectively. I haven't been driving the car as much, and I suspect that some refrigerant has leaked out. Its only a 2 year old car with 36k miles. I am going to take it to the dealership and wanted to see you all had any advice in helping me guide them towards solving the main issue, instead of just being given a refrigerant recharge.

 

Here is the trouble you may face...

Oddly, the 'Refrigerant' only has a 24K mile warranty. This is totally absurd because the car has 3Y / 36K miles bumper to bumper. To any sensible person, if you lost your refrigerant at less than 3Y / 36K it has to be because there is a leak in a component (which IS covered).

Don't let them just recharge your system (and possibly charge you because it is beyond the 24K miles.
Insist that they identify and repair the leak (which is covered up to 3Y / 36K). Obviously repairing a leaky component requires replacing the refrigerant and therefore that should be covered too.

You mentioned that you have 36K so get in there quickly so they can't argue you are beyond the bumper-to-bumper warranty.

 

In addition to adding refrigerant after 24,000 mi ...I seen costs from $200 to $350. I paid $300 at the first breakdown which I am now disputing. My 2018 Clarity AC stopped working 3 times. The first was at $36,000 mi. then 42,000 then 48,000. An ongoing problem for almost a year. They finally installed an evaporative cooler and so far it's been OK. Thankfully, I paid extra for an extended warranty. I'm now at 55,000 mi.

 

A perfect illustration of why you should not accept a story from the dealer that they "just need to add some refrigerant". That is a band-aid not a solution and all it does is buy the dealership more time towards the expiration of your warranty. If you lose refrigerant this early, there is a leak that must be repaired.

 

Update

Hi All, I took my 2018 Clarity to Honda service yesterday. I told the service manager that my AC was wheezing and not cooling properly. I mentioned to him that other Clarity owners had experienced condenser failures, so they should check for leaks around the condenser. The service manager said he had never heard of any Clarity having a condenser failure ( I guess this was him going by Honda script). They conducted the inspection and the condenser was found to be leaking. They had the spare part in stock, which was surprising to me, and they were able perform the swap the same day. I am at 36.7k, and all of it was covered by my 36k warranty.

Thank you all for your help and advice.

 

2019 Clarity in Canada and I just noticed the wheezing today. I suppose my time has come as well.

Fairly low mileage, under 25k km. It does certainly seem like the AC is a weak spot in these cars.

 

I have a 2017 Clarity that the AC system has failed multiple times. Last was at 48000 miles and was a $1200 plus part repair (not covered by warranty). Complained to customer service in June 2020 and received a reply today that said I had to go back to the dealer so they can document the problem again. She also said they have had not parts since June and don't expect them till January or February 2021 due to Covid as the lease is up in January 2021 not a reason to push for a fix. With multiple breakdowns of the AC guess the problems are large. Next car will not be a Honda.

 

Do you have a 2018 Clarity? Did you have other persistent problems in addition to your AC problems? What will you get to replace it? The "lethargic" (says Car & Driver) Hyundai Ionic Plug-In Hybrid isn't available in all states and it can go only 29 miles on battery power. It looks like the Kia Optima Plug-In Hybrid is going away. The Prius Prime is more limited at 25 miles EV range. Other than that you can choose only a plug-in hybrid van or a bunch of short-EV-range PHEV crossovers. I'm glad our 2018 Clarity's AC stayed fixed after replacing the leaking condenser two years ago because I really like the car.

 

No, mine is a 2017. Has worked OK kept it ability to travel 70+ miles on a charge, but the AC has been a pain. Next car will be a Rivian or Tesla....

 

Thanks, I didn't realize you had a Clarity Electric, so it makes sense you're looking at BEVs for your next car.