dcmodels

Yes, the actual BULLETIN is listed in post #41 of this very thread, as well as a copy of the Acura notification letter - but thanks anyway.

Tomtwtwtw

For all model years of 1st gen? Good knowledge to have just in case, although knock on wood my AC is handling these 110 degree Phoenix days like a champ so far.

littleblazer

AC replacement relays from dealer is around 6 dollars..

af145

So the dealer did not charge me, but said I did not need the recall part replaced. I was out of Freon... But I filled it about 5 weeks ago! Spent another $130 on new Freon -- no leak found! The A/C started working fine after refill, but stopped again in a couple of days, and then worked again. Will take the car to another dealer...

Tomtwtwtw

Does it blow insanely cold before it eventually gives out? Like colder than you'd expect a/c to be?

af145

My wife didn't report anything of the sort. The problem, however, is that when the system works we just keep it on Auto. The system relies on sensors to keep cabin temperature in line with user selection -- so if the output becomes "insanely cold", it may lower the fan, and the driver won't feel a thing.

Why? Do you have an idea what it may be? The most frustrating thing about it is that the problem is intermittent -- until Freon runs out...

Tomtwtwtw

My reason for asking is that if you *might* have a small leak on the inside of the system, to where some refrigerant is leaking into the air vents. If so, you may notice very cold air coming out. A friend of mine had a larger leak on the inside to where his vents frosted over, but he also killed a fresh charge of refrigerant in 2 days. His situation was obvious. You're getting 3 weeks, so maybe a smaller leak. And if a very small leak on the inside maybe too hard to detect by whoever is looking.

You may consider getting a thermometer to measure the air coming out of the vents...I think it should read between 50 and 55 degrees. If much less, you may have an issue.

dcmodels

Vent output temp will depend upon method of test, ambient temp, and humidity. See this link:

HOW TO TEST THE RDX AC TEMP, post #6:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13955220#post13955220

pwu_1

Did you replace the relay? According to this thread, your relay might be intermittently stuck closed(stuck in the on position), which would result in the the refrigerant venting to atmosphere.

af145

What can I tell ya... Never ever go to the Brooklyn dealer. The guys at Springfield NJ replaced the clutch on extended warranty, and the A/C has been working great ever since!

Before doing the inspection, they notified me of the $120 diagnostics fee that would be collected if the issue was not related to what's covered by the Acura's recall/warranty. Eventually, the fee was waved since it really was the clutch. The Brooklyn dealer a month ago told me that the inspection was covered in any case -- but then they said the clutch was working fine.

Anyway, I'm a happy camper now.

MGS2007

Just want to thank everyone for all the posts on this thread. This worked for me on my 2007 RDX with 160,000Km.

I too had the A/C issue of the compressor turning off and on at random times, but when it was on, it was cold air, so I knew that there wasn't any issue with the A/C. So I replaced my A/C Relay with the upgraded one (Part no.39794-SDA-A05) and my A/C is working fine now.

b123

Another thanks this worked for me post.

A/C just suddenly went out about three weeks ago. Clutch and Compressor covered under extended warranty on my 2008 RDX even though it had already been replaced once for previous owner. Impressed with Acura on this one versus experiences with other brands.

Danika7

Hi, I had an intermittant a/c in my 2010, had it in a few times, never does it at the shop, anyway I replaced the cabin filter and it always works well now.

gwilkinson

Anyone have any luck getting the clutch/coil replaced after the 7/100 has expired? Dealer told me it would be a $1400 fix. (And that I need a 3rd pressure switch for tranny.)

Although I am past the 7yrs from original purchase, I only have 81K miles (I'm 2nd owner). Not only did Honda issue the TSB and extended warranty, but I also have (well, had) the Acura Care extended warranty for 7y/100K. The RDX has only had four warranty repairs (two original owner, two mine) that total around $1K. So this AC and transmission issue are going to be on me even though I bought from a dealer and paid about $1500 extra for the extended CPO warranty.

I never miss a service, but I don't service at Acura dealer. About once a year I'll get the oil change / balance at my dealer just for the checkup (thinking I was covered under Acura Care), but I use a local mechanic that I trust for everything else.

I have called Honda twice per the dealer's instructions. Both times that have been pretty abrupt saying I was past the time limit and they would not issue any good will override.

Anyone have success in getting a good will override in a similar situation?

PS. Tomorrow morning I am going to get the replacement relay and see if that solves it. But if not I am back to arguing my case.

dcmodels

Well, that is off-topic for this thread - but what DTC error code, or other indicator, did you receive that indicates the 3rd pressure switch (tranny) is bad?? what does the dealer actually say about this??

And which year is your car?

gwilkinson

Sorry, I wasn't very clear... Car is 7 yrs old, so it is a 2007. I was just making reference to the 3rd pressure switch to illustrate that things starting breaking a few months after my 7yr / 100K extended warranty ended, even though I only have 81K miles.

Back to the AC...

I replaced relay (one with the snowflake) and it seems to have fixed the AC issue without replacing the clutch & coil. It was 75 here yesterday and I kept it going at 65 most of the day. Seemed much colder than usual.

But I still have the radiator fan running after I stop the car. So I swapped the #6 30A fuse and the relay (with the snowflake & radiator image). Still happening but a few things changed...

1. If the AC is on, both fans run all the time.
2. If AC is off, radiator fan seems to cycle as normal (temp always stayed normal).
3. If the radiator fan is running, I can (sometimes) get it to turn off with a few power cycles to the AC. If the radiator fan goes off, I can turn off the car and walk away.
4. If the radiator fan is on I have to pull the #6 fuse to shut it down or battery drains.

dcmodels

Not sure that I understand your comments on the radiator fan, but did you simply replace the relay for that radiator fan? and did you use the updated relay for the AC clutch? there are three relays you should replace.

relay for AC compressor clutch
relay for AC fan
relay for radiator fan

LINK: upgrade the AC clutch relay
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14545907#post14545907

And what was the DTC? the actual reason for the switch failure? help out your fellow readers, the ones trying to help you.

wspy

My a/c compressor wouldn't engage after starting up the other day. Fans would come on but the clutch wouldn't engage. I switched around the solenoids and it started to work again. Fingers crossed.

Kres43

My AC would fail when it was 97 degrees or hotter outside. We tested the relay- appears to be ok. We changed the coil/clutch and now it doesn't work even when it's even 88 outside. Any suggestions what to look at next?

Tomtwtwtw

Is your cooling fan turning on? If your a/c coils aren't getting cooled properly, the a/c will generally shut off to prevent further damage. If you haven't already, try getting on a highway where speed is high and constant, and see if the a/c runs consistently. If so, and it shuts off as you come to a stop, I'd look at the cooling fan and/or fan relay.

Kres43

When it works- it blows perfectly super cold. I drove it on the freeway when it was cooler outside and it worked fine. However, after sitting in the sun for 30 minutes with increased outdoor temperature, the AC fails to cool and blows hot. It worked perfectly good this morning--72 degrees outside. As soon as the outside temperature increases, the AC fails.

Tomtwtwtw

Understand that, however I'm asking how it is performing when vehicle is stationary compared to when it is moving. When it is cool out, does it still work when you're at a stop light? When it is hot out, does it still work while you are moving at speed? Or better yet, just pop the hood and see if the fan comes on when you turn the a/c on. An engine with no fan can still idle for several minutes before overheating - the a/c will overheat in seconds. Compressor will turn off and air will get hot.

Kres43

Thanks for helping troubleshoot. Yes, when it works, it works when stopped when it is cooler outside. So, when it works it works regardless of driving or moving.

Ashmee

Hi. I just recently purchased an Acura RDX Turbo 2008. The first week of owning the car I noticed a loud noise coming from the dash when I switch the controls on ac up. One week after that the AC was working fine in the morning went to pick up my child from daycare and it was blowing hot air took it to the dealership the next morning and they said it was working fine couldn't find any problem with it.

The next day it started making the noise again I recorded the sound sent it to the dealership later on the AC stopped blowing cold air again took it straight to the dealership so they could see in fact that it was blowing warm air. The next day I get a call saying they can't get the AC to mess up again so they don't know what the problem is because the AC is working fine now.

I told them to keep trying ask them if they heard the noise they hadn't heard the news yet. The next day they call me say they replace the relay added Freon recharged it put a dye in it and it's ready to be picked up. They still never heard the noise, which was getting worse. I sent they the recording of the noise.

They don't know what it is. I'm worried I'm going to pick up my car at dealership and they dealership I bought it from will no longer to try to repair it and I'm going to be stuck with an AC that doesn't work and a huge bill I can't afford. I have three small children who need ac. I haven't picked up the car yet any ideas on what it could be?

brijesh98

My Acura RDX 2007 AC was apparently not working since last 4 weeks (when I needed most to beat the heat)... After reading the previous post, I swapped relay and magic.. my AC started working. (based on test after 1 day use).
I am still facing one issue... after my AC is on, if it try to switch it off and turn it on again.. AC doesn't work.(blows air but no cooling). What could be the issue?

PS: I am non technical guy trying to DIY for the first time...

wspy

You may need to buy new solenoids for the car. Since it stated to work again when you switched them.....and then stopped working again.

RamMan4x4

Seems like the 07 models (maybe others) have an issue with the clutch wearing out which causes the gap between the clutch and the pulley to be too large for the coil (electromagnet) to engage the clutch. Almost every post I have read with intermittent AC is about an 07 model with around 100k miles. The symptoms are the AC works when everything is cold, but if the air temp or underhood temp gets too high it won't work. The condensor fan turns on like it is supposed to, but the AC clutch does not engage. My RDX had this problem...prior to that it also had the common failed relay issue. I replaced the relay only for the intermittent AC problem to surface the following year.

The compressors come with a 0.028in shim between the pulley and the clutch from the factory. I removed that shim from my RDX yesterday. The gap is very close, but it does not drag when the engine is running. It has fixed the problem so far...time will tell if it is a permanent fix.

Rscdave

Tomtwtwtw

For you is it a case of the fan blowing but no cold air, or no fan blowing at all?

fiddlesticksjoe

2009 RDX Tech - 97,000miles. I have been having issues where I will not have A/C for the vast majority of my 10-15 minute ride and then all of the sudden it kicks in and blows fairly cold. I wouldn't say freeze your fingers off cold, but pretty cold. This will happen after hearing *tick/click* and/or feeling the typical slight bog when the A/C clutch engages.

Today I checked my freon levels and noticed that they were perfectly inside the the "Green" Zone and on a Freon Recharge kit. During that process I had my car running and noticed that the clutch was not engaging so I went inside the car and turned down the fan speed two clicks and voila the clutch immediately engaged. Does the reduction of fan speed and resulting engagement of the clutch point to any one specific problem area of the various "A/C Issues" mentioned on this forum? Does this indicate the Field coil being bad or does that indicate the clutch is bad? Just trying to narrow down my options without having to waste to much money.

I will be checking the Relays in hopes of a cheap fix.

kev1900

Wife informed me her AC was not cooling again (2012 131k miles) so I checked the pressures and once again they were low. Had just recharged 3 weeks prior. Ran leak detector around and it hit on evaporator. Ordered evap ($53) and charged so she could drive it. Also did some checking to make sure the clutch was good. Removed coolant tank and passenger electric fan so I could access compressor. Marked the clutch and pulley on the edges with silver paint pen. Got out my variable strobe light and started up vehicle with ac on. At around 1200 rpm the marks on pulley and clutch stopped moving and showed no signs of slipping. Will replace evaporator next weekend.

Phink_528

bchizzle

2 years after switching out the AC relay, my GFs RDX is now back to having intermittent issues again. I purchased a new relay and swapped it out thinking I fixed the issue. Nope, I was wrong 2 days later the issues are back and I have no idea why. I can only assume that the Vegas weather is doing a number our poor 2007 RDX.

In addition to the AC going out, the turbo has a mind of its own causing an SH-AWD error and will cost 4K to fix/replace from the shop.

Probably time for us to move on...

DIY Thread w pictures https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-rdx-...pgrade-890420/

Renegade

Hey guys, I was having intermittent issues with the A/C blowing cold and then not blowing cold, so I changed the relay 39794-SDA-A05. Worked great as the car has blown ice cold for weeks. However, we live in Florida, so it's never cold except for Dec/Jan...and when I went to turn on the heat, it no longer works. As a matter of fact, no matter what I set the temperature at, it just blows ice cold air. Any thoughts/fixes? 2010 RDX

Tomtwtwtw

Turn temp up high, and make sure the a/c light is off (should say something like "a/c off" on screen somewhere as well). If the car is hot and you're still not getting any heat out the vents, you may have either an issue with the vents not being able to move to heat (flapper door or something...forget what it's called), or you may also have air in the cooling system to where coolant isn't flowing through your heater core (properly bleeding the system should fix that). Those are a couple possible items, just from my own experience and reading.

Tomtwtwtw

This is the part I'm referring to:

https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-rdx-.../#post16314422

aminsand

]
i have 2009 acura rdx ac work when car is cold as soon as my acura get hot after cuople milles ac stop working

CSmoney28

More details please

bulls

Hi, I've been reading over these forums trying to see if anyone has had a problem like mine when recharging the ac. I have a 2010 rdx, and this summer the ac stopped blowing cold air. I got some r134 (already have a hose with gauge) and tried recharging. Left the car on, ac on full blast, but the refrigerant will not fill into the ac low pressure valve. I know the hose and can are working, because it comes out when i pressed the top and the hose isn't connected to the schrader valve. I think the issue is that the hose attachment (pin) will not depress the schrader valve pin enough to open it so as to take the refrigerant. Has anyone had this happen before? Is it something that I can remedy with a different set of gauges? Thanks in advance, I went to a bunch of auto stores and it seemed like the hoses available were mostly a standard size attachment. Really appreciate any guidance here, thanks again.

wifesRDXtech

After 12 Years ( 103,000 miles ) My Wifes 2007 RDX Tech AC is finally giving out the clutch was intermittent on engaging for last year or so , i found a Denso new Compressor for 309 plus tax and Shipping total bout 350 , figure were going to keep her a few more years might as well have great AC.

I trouble shot changed relay no help ( got relay at Autzone ) when it was running ( clutch engages) checking refrigerant pressure and it was normal. What i did was while running get a crow car or long extension ( 1/2 drive ) and tap the clutch ( very dangerous ! ) and it engaged telling me the clutch/solenoid is shot . they do sell a new clutch and solenoid but that came out to 350 made no sense so got complete new DENSO from Carid . Have a indy shop do it hes telling me 3 hours labor .