I bought my 2012 FIT brand new, then 2013 started making long trips. After about 70 miles notice the AC quit cooling. Turning OFF and ON the AC button works for a short distance, but goes back to ambient air. What is everyone figuring out, simply low on freon???

 

I think that you need to get your A/C coolant (134a) evacuated and then recharged with the correct amount. The A/C tech can put a dye in the system to check for leaks.

 

Wow. All the parts listed for replacing is almost the entire a/c system .

I brought my Fit in to the shop today and they just did a recharge for about $80 and said that should last about 4-5 years. Also did a performance check and put in dye. I asked if the dye showed anything and he said no, at at this time, which I guess is a good thing. I won't know for sure how well the recharge worked until I take my car out for a long trip in the summer, which I don't have any planned at the moment.

 

I called my "Mom & Pop" mechanic to get the coolant recharged, but he couldn't get me in until next Thursday. So, against my better judgement, off I went to my local Honda Dealer, "Nalley", in Union City GA. After receiving and checking out the FIT, the Service Rep informed me that it was.......wait for it........wait for it....."MUCH MORE THAN JUST A RECHARGE OF COOLANT"! Really??? Who didn't know that. He said the "TECH" had determined the "DRYER" was bad, AND, the Expansion Valve was bad. He said the final bill would be....wait for it.....wait for it....."900.00, and change"! When I checked out these parts on the internet, I found out they are both worth around 50 bucks. When I asked him about this, his reply was....wait for it..........wait for it......"IT'S VERY LABOR INTENSIVE". They have to remove the dash board, AND the front bumper. Labor is Approx 650.00! Really??? Does anybody know...should the labor be 650.00 dollars to replace the "DRYER" and the "EXPANSION VALVE"?? Should I demand to see the old parts??? HELP!!!!!!

 

What did you end up doing? I would have said "Whoa!" to the local Honda Dealer then waited until next Thursday to see what your "Mom and Pop" mechanic says. Of course, that's easier said than done if you really need the car before then and don't want to sweat like crazy.

 

If the dryer and expansion valves need replacing, the dash will need to be removed to access the expansion valve. Replacing the dryer could require the bumper be removed to access it for replacement.


After the parts are replaced the system will need to have all the air evacuated with a vacuum pump before adding refrigerant. It is a labor intensive job.


CLifton

 

And now..............the REST of the Story:
"Yes", I did need my car right away, so "No", I wasn't at liberty to shop around for a second opinion or price. I've always tried to stay away from "dealer" shops, cuz I was raised of the opinion, that the service rep gets a "kick-back" for running up a bill, over and above what you originally went into the shop for. I have no proof of this, and likely I'm "out-of-line" to even suggest this happens. I leave tomorrow for a week long trip of driving my Dad thru New Orleans, Mississippi, and Tennessee, for his 83rd birthday. I was already at Nalley Dealership, for what I "thought" would be a simple freon job, maybe 200 bucks or so. The SVC REP came into the waiting room and explained to me that the Expansion Valve would need to be replaced, AND that the "Dryer" (on the invoice referred to as a "Receiver"), had collapsed on itself, and would need to be replaced. It was very labor intensive (700.00 labor), they would need to keep it overnight waiting on one of the parts, and they would send me home in a "Nalley Paid for" rental. Once again, I was in no position to try to shop around for a second opinion, so I agreed. In hind-site, this was probably the correct decision. I went back the next day and paid 932.97 to pick up the car. It's just really sad that a "brand new car", only 3 years old, could have such AC problems already, when I use the air very little. The air blows very cold around town, but then it always did! The real test will be when Dad & I set off for New Orleans, and see if the lines freeze up again at around 80 miles down the road. I WILL write after the trip, and let everyone know what happened. In the mean time, I thank everyone for your assistance, your interest, and your kindness. You will hear from me in a week. R

 

I certainly understand your hesitancy to pay over $900 for an A/C job, but I'd MUCH rather have the dealer, who is better qualified to do such an extensive job such as removing/replacing the dash to get a part in without leaving damage or marks, and being certain the job will be done right the first time. I recently had my Fit serviced, valve adj and replaced plugs. I shopped 5 different Honda dealers to get quotes and got 5 different prices, several were beyond belief, over $700 to do these 2 SIMPLE jobs. I ended up paying about $375 for everything, and it runs perfectly. I'd rather have a Honda technician who has the right tools, genuine parts and expertise to do the job properly than an outside shop who may not be prepared for certain work on our Hondas.

 

I would say it depends on the outside shop. The one I go to has been in business since 1969, with the original owner still running it. Mekatron is not cheap, but absolutely reliable. My experience with the local dealer (where I bought car ) over an alignment job will keep me away from dealers except for warranty issues.

 

I have a 2010 Fit and I live in central Texas. Temps in the 90s and low 100s. My a/c is not very cold either. Even in full blast, the car never gets cool. I went to Walmart to buy one of those DIY a/c recharge kits and when I hooked the gauge up to the low pressure line, it said my r134a was full. This only started happening this year.

Any suggestions as to why the a/c is not blowing cold?

 

I personally would not trust those DIY kits. I would go to a trusted tech for AC work.

 

I realize this is a week later but if you take a look at rockauto.com you will see that you can get a kit with all of the parts you listed for $216 or $347 Individually the compressor is $187 OR $314, the dryer is $10 or $13, and the condenser is $54, $66, or $89.

Removing the bumper is no big problem. It takes about 10 minutes. My daughter had her's off yesterday working on something. I did not ask her what she was doing.

I think all of the prices you listed are severely inflated.

 

The tech probably flat rated you. Took those parts and toss them in his tool box. All it probably needed was to be recovered and recharged to the correct amount...

 

You can't tell with those rinky dinky cans with a gauge on them. The system needs to be recovered and the freon needs to be weighted in order to get the correct amount....

 

When I had mine serviced, it turned out I had about 4oz of refrigerant in the system. A full charge is 9oz, so no wonder it was getting warm!

 

Actually that is NOT true. Most of the time you can get by charging by weight, but occasionally you still have to get out the gages to diagnose what is really happening. The problem is most auto technicians today have no idea how to charge the AC system. They connect up the machine and let it do it's thing. To do it with gages they need to understand how the system works and take in to consideration all of the variables like refrigerant type, ambient temperature, etc.

If the AC system is just a little low, then I charge it with gages. If it has a major leak then I fix the leak, vacuum it down, and charge it by weight.

I have gotten burned a few times using the manufacturer's weight spec. One time I did the same vehicle 3 times by weight using a machine and it still had a problem on very hot days. It was only when I put the gages on it on a hot day than I found the system had too much refrigerant in it. I pulled a little out and that vehicle AC has run just fine since 2007.

I have most refrigerant types here in large containers and "the rinky dinky cans". The refrigerant is the same whether it comes in a small can or a larger 30 pound container. Charge the system to the correct amount and it will work for you no matter what the refrigerant source is. .

 

Wow....a lot of comments since I last posted. Sorry for the delay in responding and I'm not sure which ones actually need a response from me.

Anyway....

N9cv, I'm afraid the days of tinkering with my cars are over. My husband is retired so if there is any car work to be done, it's either him or the shop.

I totally agree with you about the inflated prices. And now, I also think the shop may have been trying to take advantage of me.

After having the a/c system recharged, it has has worked GREAT! Even when my husband drove it for 5 hours on his trip to Louisville the first week of August - in the extremely high temps. So I think that's all it needed. Anyone know how long I should wait to confront the shop about my compressor being fine and them possibly trying to screw me?

Just want to add....I had my 2008 Fit for about the same length of time/mileage as this 2012 Fit right now. I do not remember EVER having a/c problems with the 2008. And I never remember the a/c "getting warm at stops and cooling again when accelerating" on the 2008 like this 2012 does. I'm not sure what they changed but it seems to be worse.

One other thing, when the shop guy said my compressor was going out (right), he also said these Fits are "known for a/c problems". I think he was saying that to convince me to pay him $1,200 for work that I didn't need.

I guess only time will tell though.

 

For what it's worth, here's what fixed my AC problems: You may remember, my AC was blowing cold around town, but if I took it on a long road trip, it started blowing warm at around 80 miles out. Nalley Honda in Union City, GA diagnosed a bad "EVAPORATOR" ($61.38) and bad "EXPANSION VALVE" ($128.42). On the final bill, the "EVAPORATOR" that the Serv Rep referred to, was called a "RECEIVER" (part 80351-SDC-A01 F80340). I'm told they had to remove the "DASH" and "FRONT BUMPER", and therefore the labor came to $700.00. TTL: $889.80. I was raised as a child, to be suspicious of Dealer Service Centers, that might replace "good parts", simply to inflate the bill. I have no reason to distrust this particular dealer, and in fact can report that the AC now works GREAT around town AND on long trips. My Dad and I recently completed a 1500 mile trip to celebrate his 83rd birthday, and the AC worked flawlessly. ONE ADDITIONAL SYMPTOM I would like to address is, when I would return home from "around town" driving, the condensation from my AC would drip on the garage floor, and create a puddle approximately 2 feet across, that would still be there the next day. Since getting these two parts replaced, my AC no longer drips condensation after short drives. Can anyone comment on why this might be? For me it kind of lends credence, that in fact the "EVAPORATOR" was bad. So.....After $900.00 dollars, my AC is "Good to Go"!

 

If the evaporator was the issue, the labor for taking the passenger side dash apart sounds about right. The evaporator and the expansion valve are both behind/under the dash on the passenger side, and you have to remove the cowling (probably what they meant by "front bumper") to get to some connections in the engine compartment. The water on the garage floor also "came" from the evaporator, using the AC reduces the humidity in the car and that water collects on/around the evaporator ( it looks like a heater core or radiator) and drains out when you turn off the AC.