Hi guys, I'm really desperate for some help.
I just bought a honda certified used fit (2010 base model lx)
It has 50,000km. Two days after buying It I drove it on a 5 hour road trip, the AC stopped working after about 40 minutes and did not work for 5 hours. It will work on short trips around town, long drives cause the problem (in the heat) (it was a hot day).
Brought it back to dealer, they said they could not replicate any problem (it ran fine for them) and they changed a relay.
Drove another road trip (had a wedding)3 days after that, stopped working again after 40 minutes in the heat.
We basically want to return this car, since it has yet to work in the 10 days we've owned it. Honda says there is no problem, Honda Canada says they can't force the dealer to take it back.
Honda today said it has no leaks, everything is working fine, they can't replicate the problem. The tech guessed that some sort of sensor that is backorder for 2 months could be the problem. they will order it but it will not arrive for 2 months.
What should I do? Completely lost, I would prefer to return the car but it is now outside the 7 day 1000km return limit (because they said they can fix it), such a bad experience with this car.

 

Try this experiment. The next time it quits, keep driving and turn off the AC (not the fan) for 5 minutes. Then turn it on again. If you have cold air again then the evaporator is probably freezing up. The ice is moisture extracted from the outside air and accumulated on the evaporator. Turning the AC off for a few minutes give the ice time to melt off.

If it is icing up then the refrigerant charge is slightly low. Adding a few oz. of R-134 is all you need to do to fix the problem.

Also running on recirculate will reduce the amount of moisture laden outside air going through the evaporator so you should be able to run longer between freeze ups.

I'm not positive that this is your problem but it sounds like it is.

If you post again and I do not respond please PM me. I'm not watching the forum closely as my daughter is in the hospital 45 miles away recovering from surgery from a Honda Fit total loss accident. Also my Internet service in not working and I'm stealing weak service off of my neighbor when I'm home.

 

Thanks a lot for your reply. I haven't had much chance to take it for a long drive, it's very odd that the dealer can't find the problem. They say that it is full of freeon, no problems with compressor, no leaks. they have changed the relay (which did nothing) and now are convinced it is some switch that is malfunctioning.
I will take it for a long drive this weekend and test this out, where do I look to see if it is freezing? Down by the radiator?

 

Unfortunately you can not see the ice. The moisture and possible ice is accumulating on the evaporator which is the heat exchange unit inside the AC air ducts. Warm outside or recirculated air is blown across and through the evaporator to be cooled down before delivery to the inside of the cabin where you are sitting. As the air is cooled, moisture condenses on the evaporator and normally runs out of a tube on to the ground. There is a sensor usually buried in or on the surface of the evaporator to sense when the evaporator is near freezing. That sensor temporarily causes the compressor to temporarily shut down and prevent freeze up.

You can check indirectly for this by sticking a thermometer in the cabin air vent. If the temperature goes below 39 or 40 F. then you are running too cold. Most systems run down to around 45 at the center vent.

 

Ah, thank you. very informative post. I will try the temp check, I will also verify if that is the sensor they are changing. This dealer is not being overly informative, but hopefully if this is the problem then your trick of switching off ac with fan running will help on long rides.

 

Just an update, they started to take apart the coil pack and it turned out to be the ac compressor. The dealer balked at the cost, but a quick phone call to honda canada and some very assertive discussion with the sales department lead to them agreeing to cover the cost.
If anyone finds themself with an unresolved situation, it seems logical to me that they should take a very close look at the compressor. the minute they started to take it apart they noticed a leak and broken seals, etc. After they had earlier said that the ac was not leaking. I'm glad they found the problem and hope to start actually enjoying this car now. Thanks again for your help.

 

I'm happy that you found it and got it fixed. It look like my remote diagnosis was not very accurate. It is fixed and that is what counts.