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

I got the condenser leak, too. One month beyond my warranty expired.

And even if my warranty hasn't expired, it's not covered anyway because I had an accident years ago which damaged the condenser. The condenser was replaced by an OEM back then. The OEM replacement only carries a 12 month parts-only warranty.

Long story short, I'm probably not covered by anything. The cost to replace the condenser is about $1100-1200 when I quoted around.
 
craze1cars said:
Doubtful aftermarket condenser exists. Honda OEM replacement parts indeed come with 12 month warranties. I’m sure he meant OEM.
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Several parts sources claim labor is included at dealerships, if only the part were still in warranty. Regardless, everywhere I've seen, the condenser and various mounting bits are ~$400 at most. Some other sources say the job should take about an hour to do. $700 for labor seems a bit much.
 
I no longer have resources for flat rate times on new vehicles, but when I did I remember the average car would require about 2.0 hrs to swap the condenser, another 1.8 for evac and recharge, another .5 for epa required refrigerant recovery, plus cost of refrigerant to refill, maybe some o rings, maybe some R&I /access time just to get to the part, maybe some broken clips and non-reusable retainers along the way. At today’s labor rates well exceeding $100/hour, some pushing $140, and today’s high price of refrigerants, and possible differences in Clarity’s electric AC system from the average car...different lubricating oils, possible dedicated recharging systems, etc...see this article:
https://rts.i-car.com/collision-repair-news/ac-on-hybrid-vehicles-what-you-need-to-know.html

I guess I’m personally not too surprised to see $1000+ invoices for a condenser replacement.

I have not looked up part prices for condenser and refrigerant. Just guesstimating out loud. 2nd opinions from other shops by the vehicle owner usually help clarify these questions.
 
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petteyg359 said:
Uh, what? OEM is Honda. Did you mean aftermarket?
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OEM = original equipment = parts made or supplied by Honda.
Even it's OEM, it's not the original part equipped at factory, nor is it covered by factory warranty.
The only warranty is 12month or some miles warranty for parts only.
 
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craze1cars said:
2nd opinions from other shops by the vehicle owner usually help clarify these questions
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Yep, 2nd opinion is what I did. I paid dealer $250 for diagnosis and got my car back.

A local independent mechanic shop with good reviews, which is also on AAA list, quotes me $1400 for a condenser. After 15% Costco discount, it's about the same price of dealer.

The shop who replaced the condenser years ago, gave me a free refill. It has been 5 days and my AC is still working. Finger crossed to see how long it lasts. A refill every 2 years isn't such a bad plan.

Pretty sure within a few years, there will be aftermarket / salvaged parts available.


Clarity uses R1234yf refrigerant, instead of common R134a. R1234yf is more expensive as a meterial, and it's flammable. So all the equipments must be explosion proof. That's why the refill is so expensive.

R1234yf is getting its popularity over time. So we can expect the price of the meterial and equipment will go down someday.
 
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I had a car (2004 BMW 325i) that had a leak in the evaporator several years ago. The mechanic put a can of "stop leak" in it to try that as a repair instead of changing the evaporator (real pain in the neck to change this out, have to remove dash). It worked for a couple of months. I decided that I would try it myself and bought a can from Walmart. Added it and it lasted several years until we sold the car. I just checked and there appear to be several products like the one I used that are adaptable to R1234yf, but you need to check for compatibility to make sure you are satisfied it won't damage your system...

https://www.amazon.com/TSI-Supercoo...p and U/V,, reclamation, or recovery machines.
 
ryd994 said:
OEM = original equipment = parts made or supplied by Honda.
Even it's OEM, it's not the original part equipped at factory, nor is it covered by factory warranty.
The only warranty is 12month or some miles warranty for parts only.
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You've ignored the M bit of the acronym. Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM parts are Honda parts. If you have a warranty on the vehicle, OEM part replacements are granted the same warranty period. If you have the 8 year HondaCare warranty, any OEM replacement part, even if it was install after only one year, carries the remaining 7 years of warranty.
 
petteyg359 said:
You've ignored the M bit of the acronym. Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM parts are Honda parts. If you have a warranty on the vehicle, OEM part replacements are granted the same warranty period. If you have the 8 year HondaCare warranty, any OEM replacement part, even if it was install after only one year, carries the remaining 7 years of warranty.
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Not what the dealer says:

https://automobiles.honda.com/clarity-plug-in-hybrid/clarity-warranty
Honda Genuine replacement parts purchased from a Honda automobile dealer are covered for at least 1 year. Honda Genuine Remanufactured Parts purchased from a Honda automobile dealer are covered up to 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first, depending on place of installation.

The shop bought the replacement parts from a dealer.
 
Key words: "at least". If you have no warranty (or it's expired), you get a 1-year warranty on that specific part. That "up to 3 years or 36,000 miles" is the factory warranty time/mileage on a new car. Any warranty on the whole car (i.e. "Powertrain warranty") supercedes any warranties on individual parts.
 
petteyg359 said:
Key words: "at least". If you have no warranty (or it's expired), you get a 1-year warranty on that specific part. That "up to 3 years or 36,000 miles" is the factory warranty time/mileage on a new car. Any warranty on the whole car (i.e. "Powertrain warranty") supercedes any warranties on individual parts.
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Makes sense. I will push dealer to escalate to Honda America and hope for the same discount for this 1 month out of warranty repair.
 
petteyg359 said:
Key words: "at least". If you have no warranty (or it's expired), you get a 1-year warranty on that specific part. That "up to 3 years or 36,000 miles" is the factory warranty time/mileage on a new car. Any warranty on the whole car (i.e. "Powertrain warranty") supercedes any warranties on individual parts.
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Complained with Honda America customer experience and got the big NoNo.
Someone called me back from Honda America and we discussed it.
Once the part is replaced by a 3rd party, due to collision, the warranty is gone. Even if it's OEM, it's called "OEM replacement parts". 12month/12kmi warranty is all I have.
 
Another data point - the first warm day in Ontario - A/C blowing warm :( Just outside warranty which ended in March 2021 - still under the 60,000 km limit but warranty ends whichever is earlier. Not impressed. Has anyone in Canada had any luck with getting the repair done on Honda's nickel?
 
I think there is a lesson to be had here...

If you live in a 'colder' climate, you will go for many months through the Fall / Winter without ever turning on the A/C.
In @Fidzio 's case, the A/C was undoubtedly already dead while the warranty was still good in March...
But If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

This is a recurring theme where some poor soul discovers that the A/C is dead at the start of summer and it is just beyond the warranty period. Ideally Honda should offer some latitude in the event that the warranty expires in the dead of winter because there is no reasonable way to know whether it is still working. It seems they don't however.

A suggestion:
This keeps happening to people... Before your warranty expires, it makes a lot of sense to somehow test the A/C to see if it is still alive. If you have some indication that the system died, then you could take it to the dealer and inform them there is a problem (while still under warranty). They may elect to defer a repair until the start of the A/C season, but it will be on record, and should be covered retroactively.

How could you test the A/C during the winter? Look at this thread:
https://www.insideevsforum.com/comm...port-adapter-to-check-air-conditioning.10941/

It is possible to read the A/C pressure through the OBD2 connector. This is not a comprehensive diagnostic, but it WILL tell you if you are essentially out of Freon. If you are out of Freon, you are guaranteed that the system will not work. You are also guaranteed that there is a leak which must be repaired.

This is just one thought as to how you might protect yourself from falling into this "tree in the forest" trap.
 
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Some ac data from the Autel scanner:

Outside Air Temp: approx 10 deg C (approx 50 deg F)
A/C Pressure sensor voltage: 0.86 V
A/C Pressure Sensor: 328 kPa (approx 47.5 psig)

This seems to match the expected A/C pressure when the car is sitting quietly on the driveway.

I'll try tomorrow when the car is running.

Thanks for the info on the A/C issue but I wish it was boring and just worked!!!
 
Fidzio said:
This seems to match the expected A/C pressure when the car is sitting quietly on the driveway.
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Agreed... Well, it was worth a try, Here is the static data I have collected so far from a few others:
@sabase is completely dead, and @vicw is questionable.

If you get the opportunity, it would be worth checking the static pressure again at a higher ambient temperature. If the Freon is low, it will fall off of the curve at some point as the temperature increases. Perhaps that is what is happening with @vicw although his seems to be working.

Operational data may be useful, but all I have so far is a single data point... I had 140 psi with an outside temperature of 88 F and an inside set point of 75 F.
AC Plots.webp
 
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britanyweel said:
Thanks for the topic, the links from here came in handy in repairing my air conditioner!
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Please elaborate !!!
What are the particulars of your vehicle, when did it fail, what was it that failed, was it covered under warranty?
Inquiring minds want to know !
 
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