Clarity AC Poll- Please vote on the state of your AC with the Clarity
- Thread starter Geor99
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Good Point. I added it to the poll. You can change your vote if you would like to.
Daniel M W
Member
I got my condenser replaced on my 2021 clarity. I took the car for regular maintenance, and they reviewed and indicated there was a leak on the condenser but that was replaced as part of the warranty. They took pictures to document the claim to honda, and it was evident.
My condenser finally gave out in late May and, naturally, they discovered that the evaporator core was also leaking. Condenser on Honda's dime, evaporator on mine (just under $3K 
). Dealer was going to charge me for refrigerant until I reminded them that refrigerant was part of the extended condenser warranty.
I had Honda Care that expired in March. Since it was so soon after that, and seeing others with evaporator failures coincident with condenser failures, I reached out to Honda to see if they would extend some consideration toward the evaporator replacement. I didn't really expect success but they gave me $1K as a goodwill gesture. Better than nothing.
). Dealer was going to charge me for refrigerant until I reminded them that refrigerant was part of the extended condenser warranty.I had Honda Care that expired in March. Since it was so soon after that, and seeing others with evaporator failures coincident with condenser failures, I reached out to Honda to see if they would extend some consideration toward the evaporator replacement. I didn't really expect success but they gave me $1K as a goodwill gesture. Better than nothing.
Holy Mackerel!!!! Almost 3 grand ( minus a grand less but you had ask) for just the evaporator??? I wonder how much you would have had to pay to also fix the condenser without the warranty extension??? It would probably be approaching a decent percentage of the value of the car at that point .My condenser finally gave out in late May and, naturally, they discovered that the evaporator core was also leaking. Condenser on Honda's dime, evaporator on mine (just under $3K
I had Honda Care that expired in March. Since it was so soon after that, and seeing others with evaporator failures coincident with condenser failures, I reached out to Honda to see if they would extend some consideration toward the evaporator replacement. I didn't really expect success but they gave me $1K as a goodwill gesture. Better than nothing.
Honda really screwed up the ac design on our cars here. This is terrible design work. They really need to put a warranty on everything ac related for at least a decade at this point. This is ridiculous!!!!
Bay Area
New Member
Every figure out what would cause so many to fail? Road salt, usage, rock?
I'll admit that I have slammed the very low profile car into uneven ground on occasion, but nothing crazy that wouldn't be considered normal use. Definitely not so abusive that it should break the AC or cause small leaks. I wonder if anyone who has only traveled with kid gloves and never hit a big bumb has had the ac issues.
The evaporator is up inside the dash as in most (or all) cars. It takes almost a complete disassembly of the dash to get to it.
But 3 grand worth of difficulty??? Well, let's call the parts $500, which is probably stratastrophically high, but let's call it $500. So, almost $2500 of difficulty?
They have the absolute best possible tools for the job, and people supposedly well trained in this kind of labor on Honda cars. It can't be another $500 in labor, but let's call it $500.
They*d be making 4x the actual labor costs in profit, no? And nearly 2x the parts + labor in profit.
I have no earthly clue about the economics of car repair from a dealer perspective, but this seems outrageous. I'd wager that Honda pays them a small fraction of this amount, when they pick up the tab.
Well, good thing that none of us need to pay when it's the condenser. Although it looks like we practically have to beg when it's the evaporator. Like I said before, Honda could turn all of our negativity about this and Honda in general with a 10 year warranty on ALL AC issues.
This good grace would turn this situation, in my mind, from a negative to a positive, as it would reinforce that Honda stands by their brand, when it's the most important which is when they screw up
It's really easy for me to tell others how they should spend their money
They have the absolute best possible tools for the job, and people supposedly well trained in this kind of labor on Honda cars. It can't be another $500 in labor, but let's call it $500.
They*d be making 4x the actual labor costs in profit, no? And nearly 2x the parts + labor in profit.
I have no earthly clue about the economics of car repair from a dealer perspective, but this seems outrageous. I'd wager that Honda pays them a small fraction of this amount, when they pick up the tab.
Well, good thing that none of us need to pay when it's the condenser. Although it looks like we practically have to beg when it's the evaporator. Like I said before, Honda could turn all of our negativity about this and Honda in general with a 10 year warranty on ALL AC issues.
This good grace would turn this situation, in my mind, from a negative to a positive, as it would reinforce that Honda stands by their brand, when it's the most important which is when they screw up
It's really easy for me to tell others how they should spend their money
It appears Honda believes their only plug-in hybrid for the US market was a failed experiment. The company would be happy if we, the guinea pigs for their experiment, would just fade away. Then they wouldn't have to deal with poorly designed air-conditioner condensers.But 3 grand worth of difficulty??? Well, let's call the parts $500, which is probably stratastrophically high, but let's call it $500. So, almost $2500 of difficulty?
They have the absolute best possible tools for the job, and people supposedly well trained in this kind of labor on Honda cars. It can't be another $500 in labor, but let's call it $500.
They*d be making 4x the actual labor costs in profit, no? And nearly 2x the parts + labor in profit.
I have no earthly clue about the economics of car repair from a dealer perspective, but this seems outrageous. I'd wager that Honda pays them a small fraction of this amount, when they pick up the tab.
Well, good thing that none of us need to pay when it's the condenser. Although it looks like we practically have to beg when it's the evaporator. Like I said before, Honda could turn all of our negativity about this and Honda in general with a 10 year warranty on ALL AC issues.
This good grace would turn this situation, in my mind, from a negative to a positive, as it would reinforce that Honda stands by their brand, when it's the most important which is when they screw up
It's really easy for me to tell others how they should spend their money
Now I'm going to rant about Honda and their limited-production PHEVs:
I guess we who love our Clarity PHEVs are lucky Honda allowed us to buy them. Honda's Clarity Electric and Clarity Fuel Cell cars were lease-only, making it easy for the company to decide when those experiments--and the bothersome support for those experiments--would end.
I'm hoping to drive our Clarity as long as Honda's support continues. I placed my order for our Clarity nearly a year before it arrived in early November, 2017. I consider Honda's experiment a success, but all these years later, no comparable car has come to market. No other manufacturer felt the need to compete with the Clarity PHEV.
Honda dumped the Insight and stuck with a Civic hybrid. So I expected the expensive-to-build Clarity to be replaced by an Accord PHEV, but that didn't happen. I shouldn't be surprised because cars in general aren't happening anymore.
Why Honda didn't bring their 2020 Pilot PHEV prototype to market baffles me.
Toyota's RAV4 Prime PHEV is very popular in the US, but Honda never offered a CR-V PHEV here (of course, China got one).
Honda must believe their US experiment, the Clarity PHEV, went so badly they're never going to try again.
When I first got my Clarity, I was explaining to a coworker who had a 40 mile commute each way. We had free charging at work, and he had been with the company for 20 years and planned for another 15 years. With the $5.45 per gallon gas in Ca and his truck getting 15 mpg; I showed him how he could buy the Clarity with $0 down and 0.9% interest for 60 months and $7500 from the Feds and $2500 from Ca and he could save time with the HOV sticker and no oil changes nor constant repairs for his 20 year old truck; and he would actually spend a lot less per month over commuting with his truck and be able to drive a new car in the HOV lane. (He also averaged 2 to 3 $450 tickets per year for abusing the HOV lane when late to work on important days when the traffic backed up.)
He wouldn't buy it. It was totally irrational, but the man just wouldn't do it. IF it couldn't sell with all of those things helping it, Americans just didn't/dont like it.
He wouldn't buy it. It was totally irrational, but the man just wouldn't do it. IF it couldn't sell with all of those things helping it, Americans just didn't/dont like it.
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David Towle
Well-Known Member
We are a group of people with decent common sense, which allows us to see the advantages of the Clarity. But that is a rare characteristic nowadays, and maybe it always was. Several years ago I tried to talk an acquaintance out of buying a Hyundai, with their horrible reputation plastered all over the internet. He said Consumer Reports rates them high and bought anyway. He's starting to burn too much oil already.
Rav
Member
though covered by the warranty, I'm very disappointed how Honda handled this. Instead of doing a recall, they are waiting for folks to go in with the issue and if you're under warranty, they'll cover it, otherwise you have to pay. for this and other reasons, this was my first and last Honda.
Claire Green
Member
my condenser kept failing and the dealer keeps repairing it under warranty until the warranty ran out. after the third time I filed for a lemon law case and got $5k from Honda. sold the car immediately before the condenser breaks again out of warranty. The dealer also charged me for the refrigerant each time. reached out to honda for help but apparently it is written in the warranty terms that refrigerant is not covered. my last honda
My 2018 Clarity has had condenser replaced twice in 2021 and 2024. Now the evaporator needs to be replaced. I am expecting another replacement of the condenser in 2027 based on the 3-year life-span cycle. I have only owned Honda vehicles in my life, I hate to see giving it up because it fails to make a properly working AC system.