A/C problems

[Valente]

I've had my 2018 Clarity for 2 1/2 years. In Sept of 2019, the A/C failed. It has about 45,000 mi. I purchased an extended warranty for $1800 but oddly, the warranty does not cover A/C refrigerant. I was charged $350 to have refrigerant put in. A week ago (4/15/2020) the A/C failed again. Took it back to dealership and they determined "evaporative core" was leaking. They will replace it under the extended warranty but said because of COVID 19 it might take several weeks to get a new evaporative core. Sheesh! When the shuttle person drove me home he said there's been a lot of issues with Honda A/C. OMG! Had no idea. Meanwhile they gave me a clonker Civic to use. Has anyone else had AC issues?

 

[insightman]

There's a thread for that (with a very similar name). You're not the only owner who had to pay for refrigerant.

 

[PHEV Newbie]

I had the same problem but my dealer would not repair it under warranty because they claimed the condenser was damaged. I asked for the old part and there was no damage. They refused to refund my cost because they said it must be damage because they've never seen these fail without damage (which a lie because there was a service bulletin to repair recent out of warranty Civic condensers for free because of manufacturing defects). I even pointed out that the radiator is in front of the A/C condenser so how could it have been damaged. I took this issue up with American Honda and provided all the evidence (photos of an undamaged condenser). Their response is that they depend on the dealer technicians judgement so that's final. So basically American Honda's resolution mechanism is a scam. Thus, I like the car but I'm furious at my dealer and at American Honda. I vowed never to buy another Honda and I've already caused Honda many lost sales because of my network of associates and friends. I can deal with a terrible dealer, there are many but I can't support a corporate structure that claims a mechanism for conflict resolution but has designed it so it is always against the consumer. I really don't even understand the stance of the dealer. After all, it was a legitimate warranty claim and they would get paid by Honda for the work.

 

[craze1cars]

I even pointed out that the radiator is in front of the A/C condenser so how could it have been damaged.

Just FYI this is false. Condenser is always in front of the radiator, on Clarity and all cars. Very common for it to be impacted by rocks and damaged. I agree this damage should be visible in the form of an impact mark surrounded by a dirty oil stain usually.

Also based on your Honda documentation of damaged condenser and denied warranty you now have a legitimate and common comprehensive insurance claim you could make thru your insurance company. Depending on cost you paid and your deductible, filing a claim is worth considering.

 

[JustAnotherPoorDriver]

Just FYI this is false. Condenser is always in front of the radiator, on Clarity and all cars. Very common for it to be impacted by rocks and damaged. I agree this damage should be visible in the form of an impact mark surrounded by a dirty oil stain usually.
.

This is why I bought a "Clarity screen"which sits in front of the radiator in that lower panel by the license plate. I do what she would come out with something for that side panel near the wheel well which is totally open.

 

[PHEV Newbie]

Just FYI this is false. Condenser is always in front of the radiator, on Clarity and all cars. Very common for it to be impacted by rocks and damaged. I agree this damage should be visible in the form of an impact mark surrounded by a dirty oil stain usually.

Also based on your Honda documentation of damaged condenser and denied warranty you now have a legitimate and common comprehensive insurance claim you could make thru your insurance company. Depending on cost you paid and your deductible, filing a claim is worth considering.

Actually, I am correct but I should have clarified. The A/C condenser is sandwiched between the cooling radiator for the traction battery (in front) and the ICE radiator (behind). If you examine your car, you'll see this. I have the old condenser. There is no visible damage at all, which is not surprising given it is protected by the battery radiator. When I brought the condenser back to the dealer (they returned the condenser and car to me after the service department was closed). They could not deny that there was no visible damage but they said the dye test showed leakage so that it must have been caused by damage, because he's (service manager) never seen a failure not caused by damage. I explained that Honda had a bulletin about poorly manufactured Civic condensers. The guy then said that the Civic condenser has a different part number (my point was that the argument that Honda condensers can't fail without damage was absurd but he deflected that). I also mentioned that others in this forum had condenser failures fixed via warranty. He had no response to that but probably assumed I was lying. All he kept saying was that he has to go by the opinion of the tech, even when faced with an undamaged failed condenser and other information.

I haven't had an at fault accident in over 40 years of driving so I chose a high deductible and I don't want to go that route. Besides, I can easily afford the cost but it's the principle that irks me. I have a warranty and provided clear evidence that this should have been covered by warranty. Although the dealer experience was infuriating, I know there are many dishonest Honda dealers out there. What was particularly frustrating was all the time spent trying to get a response from American Honda's conflict resolution department, which was just a form letter. Then I spent a great deal of time trying to actually speak with someone. When that finally happened, the rep just kept saying that she didn't know anything about vehicle mechanics (I provided all the information and photos) so the decision is to rely on the dealer technician judgment, which she said is American Honda's policy. What's the point of having a conflict resolution department if they will always side with the dealer? I've owned many Hondas over the years (bought through other dealerships). They've been pretty reliable so I've never had to invoke conflict resolution with American Honda. After this experience, I won't be buying another Honda and I've swayed others to buy other brands after hearing my story. It's sad to realize how many thousands of dollars in profit that my dealer and Honda have lost simply by saving a few dollars by denying a legitimate warranty claim.

I really like the car so Honda Japan did a good job designing and building it but my issues are with my dealer (which I can change) and American Honda (which I can't change). I wonder if corporate Honda knows how their local affiliates could be hurting their sales. This might explain why their sales (other than the CR-V) have been disappointing given the excellent ratings they get from the car mags, blogs, and vlogs.

 

[craze1cars]

I’d have to study the car...I could be incorrect that AC condenser is first in line to take a rock like most cars. Did not consider traction battery cooler being in front of AC, this is a possibility. My apologies for any confusion.

Honda has a long history of treating customers like turds. One of the reasons I do my own repairs and don’t pay extra for warranties, especially from Honda. It’s also one of the reasons I rarely buy Honda. Clarity is a unique car and their quality is at least average overall, so I tried them again. Two of my past 30 cars or so have been Honda’s. So I am certainly not one of that company’s cheerleaders. Hasn’t hit me personally but in my career I’ve seen your type of experience take place many times for others...and with Honda more so than with most other mfrs.

 

[Sandroad]

I had the same problem but my dealer would not repair it under warranty because they claimed the condenser was damaged. I asked for the old part and there was no damage. They refused to refund my cost because they said it must be damage because they've never seen these fail without damage (which a lie because there was a service bulletin to repair recent out of warranty Civic condensers for free because of manufacturing defects). I even pointed out that the radiator is in front of the A/C condenser so how could it have been damaged. I took this issue up with American Honda and provided all the evidence (photos of an undamaged condenser). Their response is that they depend on the dealer technicians judgement so that's final. So basically American Honda's resolution mechanism is a scam. Thus, I like the car but I'm furious at my dealer and at American Honda. I vowed never to buy another Honda and I've already caused Honda many lost sales because of my network of associates and friends. I can deal with a terrible dealer, there are many but I can't support a corporate structure that claims a mechanism for conflict resolution but has designed it so it is always against the consumer. I really don't even understand the stance of the dealer. After all, it was a legitimate warranty claim and they would get paid by Honda for the work.

I hear ya. I had a similar situation but with a more extensive problem at my local Toyota dealer and was ignored by corporate, despite my being nice and helping as much as I could. I didn’t give up buying Toyota entirely, but because of my extensive vehicle knowledge and influence with friends, family and co-workers, I estimate I’ve cause a loss of over $200k in sales and service for that dealership. It’s the one thing I enjoy being passive-aggressive about.

 

[leop]

At the bottom of the combined inverter/battery cooling radiators, about 3 cm the AC condenser shows and is vulnerable to direct impacts from road debris. The combined inverter/battery cooling radiators are actually protected by a molded plastic mesh type shield. It is too bad that this shield does not extend 3 cm lower so that the AC condenser could also have some protection from road debris.

Please note that Valente's problem was with the "evaporative core" which is in the cabin area and normally not vulnerable to getting hit by a rock.

LeoP

 

[craze1cars]

Please note that Valente's problem was with the "evaporative core" which is in the cabin area and normally not vulnerable to getting hit by a rock.

LeoP

Ya. The evaporator is 100% invisible and inaccessible without substantial disassembly, likely by removing a good portion of the interior instrument panel. I’d absolutely love to know how the dealer has determined this is where the leak is, when the part can’t be seen...maybe tech used a sniffer in the vents. I’d love to ask the tech if he has one, or how the leak was ID’d.

Here I’m suspecting we have 2 dealers throwing parts at a problem in hopes of fixing it, and not one mention of dye tests being performed. Typical dealers. Not a fan.

Like many dealer techs, I believe They’re guessing, and doing it on the warranty’s dime.

Maybe I’m wrong. I’d have to be in the shop to know for sure.

I’ll believe this evaporator replacement solves the problem only after it actually solves the problem. Why do I suspect this won’t be the end of this story?

 

[PHEV Newbie]

Please note that Valente's problem was with the "evaporative core" which is in the cabin area and normally not vulnerable to getting hit by a rock.

LeoP[/QUOTE]

That's correct. Although the condenser is a bit lower, the grill opening doesn't extend down that far and the bottom of the car in that area is sealed from the road (hence the need to remove a panel to change the oil). It would be difficult for debris to hit the condenser. It would have to come in at angle from above and ricochet off the bottom panel. Anyway, the important point for folks here is that the Clarity condenser is probably the best protected of any vehicle out there from debris damage. Few of you should ever need a repair due to a rock strike. Condenser defects are another matter.

 

[David Towle]

I had a problem with a 2009 Chevy with 15,000 miles where the suspension bent but the wheel and tire were fine. Chevy wouldn't cover saying I must have hit something despite the perfect wheel and tire. Took them to small claims court and got the $2100 cost paid easily.

 

[Austsome]

My 2019 Honda Clarity started making hissing noise when I turn on the A/C since few weeks ago. After few days it started doing that, the A/C won't blow cold air any more. Over the weekend, a local Honda dealership quoted me $2600 to replace A/C evaporator on top of $200 diagnostic fee.



Although Honda has extended the warranty on the Clarity's A/C condenser due to manufacturing defect, it seems that many owners are having problems with the A/C evaporators as well. I'd like to gather fellow Clarity owners who has already gone through this problem or are currently going through it, so that we can collectively ask Honda to recognize A/C evaporator as another manufacture defect in hopes of getting reimbursed for the repair/replacement cost of faulty A/C evaporators in Honda Clarity. Please fill out this form if you were affected!