Rocks have killed my a/c

[mary]

Last week on the interstate the a/c quit working. Checked the fuses and they were all fine. Searched this site for problems with a/c and found the post about problems with the condenser being so exposed to rocks and road debris. Made an appointment to have it looked at and the first words out of the service guys mouth was "It will be covered unless there is some sort of damage like being hit by a rock". Well, I'm not surprised when they showed us rock damage in several places and let me know this isn't under warranty and will cost $800 to repair. I'm livid. I was even stupid enough to have bought the extended warranty. The service manager will talk to honda care and let me know if they will have pity on me and fix it under warranty. I let him know about the class action lawsuit regarding the poor design and let him know I would be jumping in on the lawsuit if they didn't fix my car. Hubby asked about adding something behind the open grill to protect the condenser and they responded with "that would void the warranty if you had any engine issues". Honda is putting me between a rock and a hard place on this. If I fix it for $800, I could very well find it damaged on the way home from the service department. What good is a car if simply driving it can damage it. Lots of construction going on and lots of trucks dropping debris all over the interstate. I got a chip on the windshield from one last week too. What a stupid design to have the condenser so exposed. Thanks for hearing my rant!

I found this forum googling the aux on my base fit radio. Found excellant advice to hooking a jack up to the aux port on the radio. Took about 2 hours to do. Happy to have found this forum. Before last week I loved my fit, even when I read I'll die in it if I get in a front end collision. This week I hate it and vowed to never drive a new car again.

Such a shame too. We have an 98 accord and not one repair on it, not even a light bulb replacement. I seriously thought I would be a honda owner the rest of my life. Perhaps the next car will be a GM since I'm now part owner. Thanks Obama!

[nekret]

I think the general consensus on warranty issues is that they'd have to prove that your aftermarket grill caused the issue for the warranty to be void... so you might lose warranty coverage on some of your frontbumper paint if the grill rubs but the engine should be fine....

[5thstreet]

I also had a rock pierce my A/C condenser. I brought it to the dealership and the service rep suggested I inquire with my auto insurance (the thought never crossed my mind). I contacted my auto insurance co. and they were very helpful and covered it without question.

[Jodele]

Register here...I just did after buying a new condenser and having it installed.

Honda Lawsuit

maybe we'll get something back...

[IBJanky]

Sorry to hear that Mary, I'd be pissed too.

I just picked up a new '09 Fit Sport and one of the first things I'm doing to it is installing a billet grille to protect the condenser.

myke

[kenchan]

wow a lawsuit, huh? dang...

yah, using insurance would be my first approach too. goodluck with your repair. and if you are prone to rocks i suggest getting that grill installed or just drive like me... minimum 3seconds behind the car in front.

[Jodele]

Originally Posted by kenchan

just drive like me... minimum 3seconds behind the car in front.

Let’s see now…posted speed limit in Indiana is 70-mi/hr X 5280-ft/mi = 369600-ft/hr. Since there are 60-min/hr X 60-sec/min = 3600-sec/hr, you get 369600-ft/hr / 3600-sec/hr or 102.67-ft/sec at 70-mph. So, if you give yourself 3 seconds of space, you are leaving 308-ft. A semi trailer is 53-ft long, you are leaving 5 tractor/trailer lengths in between! I know the seats fold down and for a car, the Fit is quite comfortable…but there are much more comfortable places to sleep than in you Fit! Get on the gas, the Fit is a fun car to drive and sleep in your bed! And besides, you’re probably impeding traffic too if you are driving like that!

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by Jodele

Let’s see now…posted speed limit in Indiana is 70-mi/hr X 5280-ft/mi = 369600-ft/hr. Since there are 60-min/hr X 60-sec/min = 3600-sec/hr, you get 369600-ft/hr / 3600-sec/hr or 102.67-ft/sec at 70-mph. So, if you give yourself 3 seconds of space, you are leaving 308-ft. A semi trailer is 53-ft long, you are leaving 5 tractor/trailer lengths in between! I know the seats fold down and for a car, the Fit is quite comfortable…but there are much more comfortable places to sleep than in you Fit! Get on the gas, the Fit is a fun car to drive and sleep in your bed! And besides, you’re probably impeding traffic too if you are driving like that!

ive driven pretty much through IN several times in both my GD and GE. no issues with rockage. so it can't be me doing something wrong.

[Graham]

People start contacting the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) they are an Auto division of the BBB. It will only help the case to get numerous filings with the BBB regarding this issue. The BAR may be able to help get the issue fixed under warranty if the dealerships get scared enough.

[mary]

Thanks Graham, good advice.

It's not just a matter of keeping a safe distance from the car in front of you. If your in the middle lane of 3 lanes of traffic and a truck hits a bump and rocks fall out on the roadway, they don't always go in a straight line. I don't know where you guys are from, but where I live it's busy and they drive fast. I'm an old lady and drive like one.

I'm sitting on the fence with insurance. I have a $500 deduct and hubby will probably do the job. Someone said it was easy and took 1/2 hour. He's done some pretty big repair jobs on other cars we have owned. He is also looking at the DIY options for putting mesh in there for added protection. If the engine has a problem, we'll remove that protection in a hurry...lol. I'm sure the solutions others have found won't hurt your car. I'm just angry that the service guy said it.

Looked at the new fits while we were there and not liking the changes to the headlights and hood. I do like that purple color though. I'm not taking this very well this week, it's not my only crisis over the last few days.

[kenchan]

mary- keeping safe distance is just a suggestion so take it for wat it's worth. i am sure you know nebraska hell of a lot better than me (ive only droven through there a few times during my trip to LA) hope your hubby can fix it and also add that
grill on for you.

[Texas Coyote]

I am another that stays way behind anything in front of me, but there isn't a thing you can do when a truck hauling crushed rock or gravel going in the opposite direction on a 2 lane highway drops a piece or 2 over the side... I lost my whole front end from the radiator forward and all of the plastic underneath to a tire tread slung off of an 18 wheeler with damage totalling $2000.00 when my car was brand new.

[Koi]

In my previous car I once had a rock the size of my fist fly right at me and ended up hitting my driver side mirror. It came out of nowhere and I was going 75 mph, talk about bad/good luck. This was when I was nowhere near any car around me.

All Fit owners should look into getting either aftermarket grill or a DIY screen to keep rocks out of the gaping hole that our cars have. I personally have 2 smaller cooling units in front of the condenser (transmission cooler, KWSC cooler) that take a beating much better - but even then I'm considering getting something to block the area from further damage.

[grtpumpkin]

And I hate to say it but some of the trouble is just plain old rotten luck. I have put 40,000 miles on my Fit in the one year and fifteen days that i have owned it. About half of that mileage came after I lowered the car 1.5-2 inches in the front. I drive on all types of roads daily (including gravel!) and my AC still blows nice and chilly. The exposed portion (yes portion, the whole thing isn't out there in the breeze) looks terrible, damn near every fin is bent, wrinkled, or crushed. This hasn't affected the ability of the AC to work one little bit. Is my time coming? Could be. Will it stop me from enjoying every second behind the wheel of one of the best cars i have ever owned? Hell no. Good luck Mary, I hope your situation sorts itself out well, and remember you bought the car for many good reasons, don't let one incident sour you on it forever.

[wdb]

There are tons of cars on the road with openings as large as if not larger than the Fit opening. Suing Honda seems to me to be a fool's game.

Sounds like you drive in an area where rocks being flung at your car may be a common occurence. You should take the appropriate steps to protect not only the Fit but any other car you have from similar damage.

As for the current problem, contact your insurance company. Damages from falling tree branches, hail storms, and rampaging deer have been covered by the comprehensive portion of my policy so far; I would expect rock damage to fall under that category as well.

[TurboManGT]

Originally Posted by wdb

There are tons of cars on the road with openings as large as if not larger than the Fit opening.

Exactly spending minimal $$ rock protection with some hidden mesh or material is what I did. I never noticed how many cars have giant openings in front of the radiator until my radiator was busted by a rock in my civic.

[Fit4Pits]

those of you who make comprehensive claims to your insurance, how does this affect your renewal rate, if at all?
I just assume once I have a claim for anything, they're going to hate me forever and charge me accordingly.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Fit4Pits

those of you who make comprehensive claims to your insurance, how does this affect your renewal rate, if at all?
I just assume once I have a claim for anything, they're going to hate me forever and charge me accordingly.

My comprehensive claims have done nothing at all to my insurance costs. Unlike accident claims, they do not count towards your overall risk assessment. Also, check your deductibles again. You may have a different deductible amount for comprehensive claims, and it may be lower. For example, my accident deductible is $500 and my comp is only $100.

People need to stop treating their insurance companies like they are doing them a favor -- they're not! You're giving them business and paying dearly for it. Get your money's worth, people.
</rant>

[Fit4Pits]

Originally Posted by wdb

My comprehensive claims have done nothing at all to my insurance costs. Unlike accident claims, they do not count towards your overall risk assessment.

That is amazing news! My deductibles are pretty low; it was only a couple dollars more.

[mary]

I heard back from the dealership this am. They denied my request for a goodwill gesture on their part. I was calm and nice but let them know I was very disappointed and was going to follow though with the class action lawsuit, contact the BBB, local news program called 7 can help that helps consumers with problems and that I planned to put lemon stickers on my car with a bumper sticker inviting people to ask about my car problem. Also, asked them to search my very unique last name as every single relative buys their cars at this dealership and they are now concerned about their cars and can't believe this isn't a warranty issue. About 1 hour later I got a call back from the service manager. He offered to fix for $266. He also told me he felt this was a design flaw and said the difference between our older accord with the same type of opening in the grill and my car was the accord has a heavier condenser and it sits farther back. He also recommended the gutter guard solution and said he would be upset if this happened to him. I'm happy now to have this fixed with a more reasonable price tag and the opportunity to protect the a/c in the future. Sqyueeky wheel gets the grease! Heres a pic of what the a/c condensser looks like with only 11,000 miles, most of those miles made on trips of 1 mile or less..lol

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...y/Birds010.jpg

thanks. Mary