First run on recirculate whenever possible. You will accumulate less moisture (and ice) that way.

Why don't put up with it. If it starts to freeze up too much you simply push the AC button to turn off the compressor but leave the temperature on full cold and continue to drive. As the ice melts your car will continue to cool. When the air from the vents starts getting warm then all of the ice is gone. Press the AC button again and continue on your way.

My point is if you leave it this way you are running your AC slightly colder than designed and over all you will get more cabin cooling out of the system. Recharging the system should bring the evaporator up to a temperature of 40 to 45. Without recharging the evaporator is obviously running below 32. Colder evaporator means more cooling in the interior of the car. Now if it is freezing up every 10 minutes then you really do need to get it recharged.

 

Yeah when it was freezing it seemed to throw extra cold air for a few minutes, but then nuttin. Airflow was down to a breeze and it was cool and clammy (no dehumidifying and not much cooling). It was about a 30 minute cycle (turning off the compressor to defrost every 20 minutes, getting warm and clammy for 10, then repeat) from south GA to the Keys last month, and that was on recirculate. Around town after getting down there it cooled ok. After having it worked on, it (pressure switch, clutch relay, recharge) it's much better. The drive back it functioned normally: cooling effectively over the 12hour drive on outside air. Here in the city it does better cooling down in late afternoon. A/C isn't really optional down here. Yes I'm a sissy.

 

In the high humidity we've had recently all my cars leave a large puddle after parking.
Just out of curiosity are you running your systme on recirculation ? If not, do so. My Fit won't keep up with a/cing the whole world but it does if I'm just cooling my air.

 

About a year ago a whirring noise developed in my engine bay. It became progressively more noisy. You could hear it in the cabin of vehicle. A/C was cooling fine. Dealer ended up replacing the A/C compressor, clutch and coil.

It's been cooling fine, even when it's hot out. If it's really hot out, I run it in recirculate until things cool down and then click it over to fresh mode. Works fine in fresh mode.

 

My trix:

Tinted windows
I leave my front windows opened about 1/2 inch when I park. I have visors so it doesn't show.
When I first get in I close the windows and run AC full tilt on outside air mode until the hot air is flushed out of the car, then I lower the fan and throw on recirculate. I end up having to occasionally turn off the AC because I find it too cold. Works great for me, I'm running an '07.

 

well, just drove from Little Rock to Kansas City with one stop, both stretches 3+ hours, high 80s and sunny, admittedly not the most taxing of conditions. But not only did the A/C never freeze up, my 13 year old was too cold with the fan setting on "2," it was working that well. Hopefully that flush and refill was exactly what it needed.

 

In fairness, your car was probably just happy to be leaving Arkansas.

 

Hello Everyone, I have the same issue with my 2012 Fit. It only has 12,000 miles on it and when I travel on the highway after an hour the A/C quits working. If I let the car sit for 20 min or so, I will have a huge puddle on the ground and the A/C starts working again for another hour. Seems to me this is a cronic issue with the FIT. Sounds like a recall item to me... What do you think???

 

Sounds like TSB time. Recalls are for safety issues. Other than overheated drivers running amok I don't see a safety recall.

 

I think I had a similar issue today on a long & hot road trip. My Fit only has about 7000 miles on it and I always knew the air conditioner wasn't that great in 100 degree plus Texas heat, but I think something has to be wrong with it.

It would seem to start reasonably cold, but after awhile on the road it seemed like the cooling ability went DOWN, and I had it on 3 & 4 and recirculate. I guess I'll take it in along with the safety recall issue (13-040) and mention that it might be low on refrigerant. I have a feeling it's freezing up.

 

Sounds like the ac in your case is working too aggressively and causing the refrigerant to freeze, thereby reducing its ability to transfer cold refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporator. The puddle would happen as a result of way too much condensation building up on the pipes and melting all at once once the ac is switched off.

 

Wonder if it's time to start a sticky on this.

 

A poll of A/C issues by model year might be interesting...

 

Found this website not sure how valid it is.

http://www.hondaproblems.com/

 

Better organized than this site.

I think we can scientifically state the Fit's A/C is kinda sucky.

 

The auto a/c is pretty good

 

We had a hot 2 weeks earlier this month in Chicago and my car was not cooling down very well until I put the vent in re-circulate mode.

Then it was better, but my old Altima I sold had much much cooler air.

 

Using recirculate at times to get adequate cooling is normal for the Fit.

 

Yeahbut yours is 1 in a hundred thousand (or so).

 

Recently I went on a long trip and the air-conditioner in my 2012 Fit sport would freeze up after a while. I had to keep turning it on and off. When I got home I brought it to my dealer ship and they serviced it by evacuating the system and recharging it with the proper amount. They said it was a little low on refrigerant.

After it was serviced it seemed like it was cooling a little better. I think that was just in my mind because now it's just cooling like it usually does, which is mediocre.

I honestly and truly believe the air-conditioning system for the Fit is "Way Too Small"

Just for comparison sake I had a 2003 Hyundai Elantra that the air-conditioner in it would get so cold I had to turn the thermostat "Up".

In many ways I love my Fit, but we need to acknowledge some of the design flaws in it. Like the air-conditioning system that doesn't cool very well. How about excessive road noise. Mine is a 2012 Fit sport and I can tell you the road noise is the worst of had on any car I've owned and I'm in my 60s.

I'm sure some here will get pissed off at me for saying anything bad about the Fit but the truth is the truth.