Thanks hazmat - good info.
Found another one -
HondaSUV.com - Honda Ridgeline, Fit, Acura RDX, Pilot, CR-V, HRV, Element - Information on ownership opinions, accessories reviews and forums has some good info.
I have an 03 CRV w/ 46K miles. Last week compressor detonated , drastic implode failure. Researching on hondasuv.com came across a thread that had about 350 posts about CRV A/C failures.
Seems the 02-03-early04 CRV's had a faulty compressor/clutch. They are imploding just outside of warranty. Evidently by the Hundreds if not Thousands. Honda has redesigned the compressor replacement completely , even a new Part Number. Some have had to replace just the compressor/clutch , some have catastrophic failures where the compressor internally implodes and distributes fine metal particles throughout the lines,dryer, condenser, etc. requiring a COMPLETE system replacement. Price ranges from $1,200 to $3,200 quotes from the various dealers and depending on extent of damage. Mine (so they say) was just the compressor/clutch. They quoted me $1,700 , OUCH.
Reports from the web site / thread above ran the gamut of IN or OUT of warranty. Also ran the gamut of the local dealer doing the right thing and fixing under "Goodwill Warranty" , to those having to contact Honda Corporate and complaining to get relief, to those that went to Honda Corp. and got no relief / help / warranty etc. All kinds of solutions here , Dealer fixed all , 1/2 dealer 1/2 Honda payout/fix , 1/3 Owner 1/3 Dealer 1/3 Honda payout/fix , and any other combination you can come up with.
I assume the outcome with the dealer has a lot to do if you are a longtime Honda customer , Vehicle has been serviced and you can prove it , You are armed with the info that Honda obviously had a problem with a faulty designed system , the replacement compressor has been completely redesigned and carries a new part number.
I have purchased 3 new vehicles from this dealer ( Darrell Waltrip Honda) , which is where I took it to get diagnosed. I had a very strong suspicion that the above failure is what took place with my CRV. Dealers diagnosis was just that the $77 charge for diagnosis of problem to be applied to $1,700 charge to repair. This to replace the compressor , clutch , evacuate and recharge sys. They say no evidence of any further contamination in the system. I told Sevice Advisor / Writer of all the info I had about faulty compressor / new redisgned parts to fix / thousands of failures / etc. , and that i think the Dealer and Honda America should goodwill warranty this repair. I told him that I would contact Honda America/Corporate and lodge a complaint and get a trouble ticket number to escalate to whatever level necessary to get this resolve. He said give me a minute to talk to my service manager and we will see what we can do. He came back and said I pay $200 labor and they will supply all parts and rest of labor to repair. I thought that was vary fair and told him to proceed with repairs. Finished 4 hours later and it's blowing COLD Air with an additional 12 month warranty of AC. I'm happy
I could probably held out and gone to Honda America/Corporate and complained and after 3 or 4 months of frustrating letter writing, meetings with District or Regional Sevice techs I may have gotten them to pay for it all. Not having to deal with all of that "PRICELESS" A good solution in my opinion.
Maybe this will help someone else with the same problem..
Try google search for honda auto air & see what you come up with
