Sorry to read this, my friend.

If you can check refrigerant level, do that first. When I took mine in, the initial diagnoses was low on refrigerant. @Steve244, who had this same issue, told me he thought that would be the problem. Since the garage redid the A/C service, all is well here.

Keep us updated on your issue.

 

Sounds like it's low on refrigerant. When this happens the A/C works too hard (compressor runs non-stop) and results in too cold temps just after the expansion valve within the evaporator coil. It's counter intuitive, but adding refrigerant is usually the fix. This allows more even temperatures across the evaporator coil allowing the expansion valve and thermistor to work properly to keep the evaporator coil from freezing up.

What happens is short trips it's fine, medium trips it starts to ice up blocking the flow of air, but still enough cold air gets through to keep it comfortable. On long trips (more than an hour) the evaporator coil turns into a solid block of ice. Reduced airflow out the dash is barely cooled and and still humid. The lines out of the evaporator then start to ice up (this is probably where the water was dripping from inside the car) and then ice forms in the engine compartment on the low pressure return line. Turning off the A/C defrosts the ice (better to keep the blower going) in 15 minutes or so. Turn it back on then it repeats.

It could be the expansion valve and/or the thermistor (temp sensor) on the evaporator coil are faulty, but these cost a lot to replace as they are not accessible without taking half the dash apart. For the cost of diagnosis and a little bit of refrigerant, maybe $80, a reasonable A/C mechanic can see if it's just low on refrigerant. If this doesn't work then he's going to look for other causes that are more expensive.

If it just needs more refrigerant every 4-7 years it's cheaper to just keep adding it than look for the leak. The mechanic can put dye in the refrigerant that's visible under UV light to help next time.

Both times it happened to me were on trips to Key Largo in the middle of the summer. Both times I was on the road and took it to a Honda dealer and paid about $300 for them to throw parts on (they thought it might help), but they also recharged the A/C both times, fully. They couldn't find a leak either time (about 4 years in between) so they put some dye in it the 2nd time. The last time was last summer, it's still working fine this summer.

 

@spike55_bmw Lots of AC failures with the spike in heat as cars age in general.

I don't know much about automobile AC systems but I know a little bit about shipping container and small home AC units, which are essentially the same.

Over the last few years my brother DIY recharged about 5 cars and all 5 needed big AC rebuilds shortly thereafter. DIY uses low quality gauges, ignores high side entirely, ignores cause of leak. My gut tells me all the AC systems were already dead so DIY effort was wasted time but maybe a professional vacuum, drying, recharge, and inspection could have saved one of those cars before we got our hands on them.

I suppose your probable issues might include low refrigerant, dirty and/or bent condenser fins, bad switch, clogged cabin air filter, clogged drain, dirty evaporator fins, broken expensive bits.

* AC systems are [well] sealed so low refrigerant must be a leak that needs to be fixed rather than just addressed with a "recharge". You don't want moisture to enter the system so get it fixed ASAP else the bill skyrockets.

* The evaporator drain tube might be clogged; it might be under the glove compartment but I don't know. Don't let that moldy water drain on your rug.

* Frankly, I haven't seen anyone fix an auto AC problem by cleaning, straightening condenser fins; this can help a lot with home AC systems. Just a bit of dirt or a few bent fins have a massive impact on AC efficiency, like 25%+. I don't know how easy it is to inspect, repair, clean the condenser fins on a Fit. Maybe you have a lot of leaves and a cardboard box covering your condenser lol. There are commercial condenser fin cleaning chemicals. Problem is they are harsh on paints and maybe some rubbers and some plastics and generally need to be fully rinsed else they keep etching your condenser. There are no-rinse chemicals but same caveats apply. I don't know what alternative cleaners one would use on a car but have seen one suggest dish detergent. Maybe blowing some gentle air and water on bone-cold fins could help some.

* If you have kept up with clean cabin air filters, your evaporator fins should not have tons of built up dirt but who knows. There are sprays made to clean car evaporator fins inside your dash but maybe those are more for odours vs. boosting efficiency and reducing icing. Not sure how easy it is to view the condition of the evaporator and physically clean in a Fit. If you try removing the cabin air filter and run fan at max, maybe the increased airflow gets you around for the weekend until you can get this fixed.

 

Car A/Cs differ in two major ways: rubber hoses and seals on an exposed compressor shafts; they leak some even in perfect shape due to the porosity of the hoses and seals. I wouldn't say they're uber sealed, not like the hermetically enclosed compressors you see on central A/C systems, refrigerators, etc.

Fits' A/Cs differ from most cars I've had by repeated failures (freezing up) due to low refrigerant and mechs not being able to locate the leak. Most of the components are standard, so I don't know why the more frequent charges. Maybe poorly made evaporators.

If it's a leaky evaporator, the cost of replacement is probably north of $700. Better just to charge it every few years if the leak isn't bad. Moisture won't enter the system, it still has positive pressure even when it's low on gas. An empty system or one that has been open to the air will have moisture; so if it hasn't worked at all for a while, expect more expensive repairs.

ETA: a proper charge involves evacuating the system (capturing the refrigerant and not releasing it) vacuuming it down to almost a perfect vacuum. Let it sit (to check for leaks too bad to make charging worthwhile), and recharging with the correct weight of refrigerant as specified by Honda. A good mech with a proper set of gauges can probably add more refrigerant, but most shops will use an automated device to do the evacuation, vacuum, and charge.

 

Thanks for the intelligence @Steve244 .

 

Sounds like its a tad low on refrigerant imo.

 

I'm back from motorcycle camp (dirt roads) and will start checking the FIT over for low A/C pressure issues. Not sure which is worse on A/C systems: living where you run the A/C most of the year or in Pennsylvania where you run in maybe 30 times a year (not always in FIT or not always driving on the hottest days).

Will update.

 

I know this thread has been quiet for a month and a half, but I just want to add that this also happened to me. 2012 Fit Sport. A/C would freeze up after about an hour. I lived with it from 20K to about 35K miles (always run on recirc, after an hour turn off A/C for 10 minutes, air would stay cool as the ice on the evaporator melted and the airflow increased back to normal, then once it started blowing warm air at normal flow turn the A/C back on). To get it fixed on warrantee, I took it to the dealer at 35K. "We let it ran for an hour and couldn't duplicate the problem". Whatever. Drove the car until about 45K miles. After a very long trip in the summer from New England to Tennessee, (do the A/C turn-off shuffle every 45 minutes now), I took it back in to the dealer, and explained the car still wasn't right, and that I had it in at 35K but they didn't notice anything. Picked it up later, and the dealer had fixed it. "We checked for leaks, didn't find any, vacuumed it down twice, and found it was low on Freon. I'm at 80K. Problem is solved.

 

This is what happened to me. No issues here with A/C since last service. Glad you’re all good.

 

Expansion Valve.

 

As way of an update, I have my own $15 'add a can of Freon' rig and used it. Seems to have fixed the problem although I haven't run the car exactly the same way I did when it froze up (PA Turnpike heading to Phila on cruise control for +1.5 hrs where my A/C froze up going both directions).

This is a 2011 Sport AT with ~80,000 miles and is the first time I added Freon (most of one can at less than $10).

 

steve244, hey- i've also had the dreaded ac freeze up on a long drive in humid weather. is there a place in atlanta you'd recommend to have the a/c charged at ?

also, off topic, but my 2011 base fit has 84k miles on it and currently the replace auto transmission fluid code (3 i believe) has never popped up on the MM. my oil life is at 30% so i'm hoping that it will pop up so i finally stop getting hassled /pressured to change my ATF :-) .

i used to go sons honda, but they told me that if i didn't replace the oil every 5k miles (regardless of MM) and that if i didn't change the ATF at like 30k miles that i would eff up my car. they got really pissed when i refused to change my ATF at 60k miles so i stopped going there. sigh.

 

......................they told me that if i didn't replace the oil every 5k miles (regardless of MM) and that if i didn't change the ATF at like 30k miles that i would eff up my car. they got really pissed when i refused to change my ATF at 60k miles so i stopped going there.

I ran into the same but at local oil change place for the Tundra. I have this big steel skid plate under the engine, the bare filter element is in a compartment inside the engine, almost 9 gals of oil drains out, etc, so to me a big PITA. I used the full synthetic 0W-20 as prescribed by Toyota and go by the MM (maint req'd light comes on every ~9000 miles) but the oil change place put a sticker on the windshield wanting me to come back in 4000 miles. Guy told me 'that they like every 4000 miles'. Yea, I know 'you like' that schedule but if you're doing what I'm getting charged for (full-syn) then I'm following Toyota's rule.

Sometimes I start to wonder, 'who can you trust'?

 

Just to update this thread, nearly three years later, A/C isn’t cooling properly again. Normally when it’s functioning properly, the A/C lines under the hood have condensation on them and usually have a decent puddle under car. No condensation on lines and a few drips under vehicle, Some cool air, but definitely needs to be looked at again for low freon. The last time they couldn’t find a leak and they recharged the system, as @Steve244 recommended back then. I’ll have them check again and if they still can’t find anything again, I’ll have them recharge again. When I get time to see dealer, I’ll update the thread.

edit: No freeze over this time, because no long trips,

 

Here’s my 3 year update for my 2012: as stated before, vacuumed 2x and recharged at about 45k and then ok until 80k miles in 2019. Decided to sell the car in 2021 at about 92k miles. Ac was starting to freeze up again. Took it to local tech who is a Honda expert, explained and showed the history (cause I had every record), and he went ahead and did an evacuate and recharge plus added UV dye. (It was low again.) Drove it for a month, stopped at Harbor Freight and bought the UV flashlight, Waited for a dark night and had fun with the UV light. You could see UV on the fill valve and a little spray when the charge hose was disconnected. I also found a hint of UV 2 feet away on the cap of the drier cylinder attached to the side of the condenser. It wasn’t much, but the UV dye had no business being there. The technician and I talked, discussed the likelihood of disassembly problems (to just change the drier and re-torque the drier cap) on a 9 year old aluminum condenser in New Hampshire, looked at prices, and decided to replace the condenser/drier with new brand name aftermarket unit. Problem solved. Sold the car to a friend, and no problems 1 year and 10k miles later. Always start with the basics and check for leaks.

 

Update: Same program as three years ago. This time Honda dealer serviced and confirmed was very low on freon (only 25% charged). Once again it held vacuum. Recharge, with dye. Blowing cold. Tech said it’s a very slow leak and to bring it back if it’s not cooling. They will check for leaks then.