Miamicarfan

For the people that are having all these repairs done, what kind of warranty do you get on the new dealer parts and labor?

PACman

12,000miles or 12months, which ever comes first.

Miamicarfan

Only 12 months or 12000 miles??? It would be nice if it was 4 years or 50000 miles. Since the parts are straight from Acura and not an auto parts place. oh well

gogozy

+1

SERVICEADVISOR

compressors are remanufactured parts and come with a 3 year 36k mile warranty

zendrive

During idle, my 05 TSX AC struggles to keep me cool in the hot sun. During acceleration, my AC blows warm air for a good 10 seconds or so. I realize there is a mechanism that disengages the clutch to deliver more power to the engine, but for three years I have suffered with this issue.

It runs cold in the evenings and spring/fall. This is my third summer with the car and I am really upset that it doesnt work as well as I think it should. The Acura dealership tested the A/C and claimed that this was normal. I dont want to believe that.

I live in Las Vegas where the temperatures regularly reach 110-115 during this time of year. Is this just a engineering flaw with Honda engines or should I be concerned with something else? I dont want to take it back to the dealership because their attitude seems to be "replace everything." I want it fixed, not replaced.

Any ideas?

LukeaTron

The AC works by pulling heat from the car (or the air going into the car) and pushing outside the car via the condenser loop. It uses mechanical force (the compressor) to create a difference in temperature between the low and high pressure side of the system. There is a maximum difference in temperature the system is able to create limited by amount of pressure the compressor is able to create. That difference is probably around 30 degrees F.

With an outside temp of 110 that would mean the coldest air the AC could possibly blow is going to be 80 degrees. If you use recirc, the net effect can be colder because you're starting with air that is already at a lower temperature, however, the rate at which it can cool that air is still fixed (and very ugly to calculate).

I think the only options you have are either a bigger compressor (that sucks more power away from the engine) or a larger condenser that has more surface area dissipate the excess energy. I don't know that options for either exist.

If you don't already, I'd highly recommend getting your windows tinted in an environment like that.

dwest1023

You also might try a drain and refill of the Freon. That helped my 06. I will tell you just about very car new I have bought, the A/c only seems to work its best the first year. I have never found out why this happens.

nbtx

Drain and refill is the most ridiculous thing I've heard on this forum in a lloonngg time. Freon does not wear out, it leaks out. When the system is not optimally charged, it loses efficiency. And, "draining" can only be done by licensed mechanics because the stuff is not supposed to be "drained" into the atmosphere. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

The system also loses efficiency because dirt accumulates on the evaporator and condenser, and heat transfer diminishes. Cleaning the bugs out of the evaporator and radiator will help keeping good air flow over the life of the car.

DCTSXGUY

Wow! This is crazy to see that so many others share in the problem that I just discovered that the '04 TSX has. Unfortunately, I discovered this problem because I was struck by it last week. My AC made a weird clunk then my engine felt like it was going to stall. Instinctively, I turned off the AC and the engine came back to normal, but I was left with a broken off A/C clutch.

This happened last Wednesday and I made my last payment on Thursday. I guess I've officially switched from car payments to maintenance payments.
Radley Acura here in Northern VA quoted me $1670 (I'll post the quote when I scan it) for the repair, but said that Acura would not be doing anything for me. I told them that I would pass. I might be contacting "Leon" mentioned earlier in this thread.... Unfortunately, I don't have that great of a history with the dealer, since I have only had minor repairs and those were mostly under warranty. I'm afraid that might hurt my chances of getting any help from Acura. I would go to my normal mechanic for the fix, but then my concern is that I would be SOL thru Acura....

davidspalding

I continue to be disturbed that the only people supposedly eligible for good will repair are those who have paid high prices for regular service at a dealership in the past. When my dealership offered me a "bargain" of $1500 or so for future maintenance at today's prices, I chuckled. By my math, if you've gone to a dealership for minor servicing 3x a year, you're already paid for some of that "good will" repair.

Perhaps I'm naive, but going to a dealer with a #*%@ed up a/c system and hearing, "Acura won't be helping you since you haven't been coming to us for servicing" is just not what an "upscale" or "luxury" brand is all abot.

Can't wait to hear what TSXServiceAdvisor down in SoCal can accomplish. I got sold Hendrick's extended warranty instead of AcuraCare when I bought my CPO (with a sneaky brochure that made it look like an "Acura Extended Warranty"), so I rather wonder just what Acura would want to do for me if and when this happens to me.

SERVICEADVISOR

the main questions the (ACURA DSM) ask me when considering good will assistance are, are they the original owner, is it a legitimate factory defect that caused failure and do they do factory recommended services. meaning, they can do maintenance themsleves or outside shop as long as they are following factory schedule maintenance schedule. The service advisor/manager do have some input like, "I really want to help or not help this guy" but ultimately it's up to the Acura DSM (factory rep). if you have exteneded warranty there are going to ask you to see if it'd covered by them first. remeber the factory does not care how much money you spent at the dealer and the dealer should not either, remeber they are making money because the factory is going to pay the bill and they lose money if factory declines assistance or if you take the car elswhere for repairs.

moda_way

If the Service Rep knows you and you support his purpose (revenue generation through services), then he/she is likely to go to bat to get the work done good will. You cannot neglect that fact. Whether or not you can prove you changed your oil yourself or through an oil shop, changed your Cabin Air filter or engine air filter on the regular/severe schedule is irrelevant to him/her unless it involves those areas. At the end of the day, good will is just that, a subjective decision between the Service Rep and DSM.

dwest1023

Not sure why you find this so ridiculous. I had mine done at the dealer and my a/c was performance was improved. A vacuum down with a machine removes any moisture and impurities in the system

davidspalding

All good points. I've done maintenance promptly. Gave them 5's on the sales survey. Even did the Sales/Service manager a favor when 1 of 3 things I discovered on delivery of the CPO would've come out of their sales budget, but I waited 30 days to bring it in at their request, so the repair was covered by the factory warranty. (Could've just said, "It's not right, should not've been sold to me like this,... fix it.")

Actually ... should this happen to my vehicle, I guess that sneaky extended warranty swap could bite them in the arse. If I understand you, if they'd sold me AcuraCare, Acura would be on the hook for the repair. By selling me the Hendrick Auto Group warranty (will be on it in 4,000 miles), I guess the Auto Group would be first on the hook to pay for it. They made $1,100 and could stand to lose $4000. Oh well, c'est la guerre.

I've been paranoid about my a/c the past week, driving my daughter to and fro, hither and yon, during another major heat wave (heat index to 105 and better). Gotta stop reading these threads for a while....

darth62

I'm somebody who had the entire tab for the A/C picked up by Acura.

What I did was to go to the dealer when the factory rep was on the floor, and meet with him directly. I've found over and over that the Acura Factory Reps are quite fair. If they believe that you are having a problem because of something systematic in the Acura line, they'll usually work with you.

dallastsx

I just had the same problem. 2004 TSX with 54,000 - driving from Dallas to Alabama and experienced a loud dragging noise and no cool air from A/C. Fortunately, was driving through New Orleans at the time. Total cost to replace the compressor: $1,900. This is my second Acura, and I have to say, disappoints me a little. I've had better dependibility from Lexus and Toyota. Although the Acuras have been cheaper cars off the lot, their cost of ownership (both regular maintenance, and unplanned repairs) has definitely negated some of the original value.

TSX559

My AC just broke today. I have an 04 with 66k miles. Im calling the dealer tomorrow to see what they say.

frisch

Add me to the list of premature failures on the AC compressor. 71,000 kms (under 45,000 miles) and a $1,600.00 bill! No help from Acura.

PACman

How come it wasn't covered under warranty? 4yr/50K

LuvMyTSX

Might be past the 4 year warranty period.

frisch

Bought the car in 2003 so it is past the warranty period.

muffinw98

So I'm driving down the interstate when my car starts making a funny noise. I pulled over and realized that my ac wasn't working anymore. Took the car into the dealership and they are having an "inspector" come out and look at the car to see if my extended warranty will cover this....what's up with that?
My TSX has 78,000 miles on it and most of them are interstate miles. Why would the warranty NOT cover this?

frisch

I have not gone through all 10 pages of posts with issues of the TSX air conditioning but... It seems clear that many cars have/have had/will have defective air conditioners. This is beyond a comfort issue - it is a safety issue as heavy rain steams up the windshield and the A/C is used for proper visibility. So what can we, the victims of this design defect, do to get a recall of these cars?

curls

As much as I agree that this is a major issue, I'm disagreeing on it being a safety issue. If it was, then everyone who was driving a car without A/C would be able to launch a suit to get dealer-installed A/C free of charge. Ain't gonna happen.

I would LOVE for Honda/Acura to see this as a problem and narrow down a range of defective compressors, so they they would recall them voluntarily. Especially since I own a 2004 w/ over 130,000km on it. But it's a big mean corporate world, so who knows...

davidspalding

Do you have AcuraCare, or a third party extended warranty?

tchibo

Hi, add me to the list: 2004 TSX, 43k miles, 4years expired 3 months ago, A/C gone ... do you think I can get help from Acura?
Going to the dealership in a few days...

moda_way

To all having repairs done, don't forget, we have a thread for you to post up your invoices if you've had the repair done via warranty or not. It is a tool to help those of us arguing to get the work done that there is a systematic failure. It is ammunition in the cause to get it done on warranty. DO NOT FORGET TO SCAN AND POST THOSE REPAIR INVOICES UP.

davidspalding

And here it is.

If you don't know how to host or post images here, PM me or Moda_way, we can help with that.

julyccc

is this A/C thing only for 04?

LuvMyTSX

The failures seem to mostly occur on the 04s. Haven't heard much of a problem on subsequent model years.

davidspalding

IIRC a posting (or two) indicated the a/c components weren't changed for 2005, 2006, etc., so there must be some reason that this is mostly happening to 2004s. Age? Mileage? Environment (seasonal weather, road conditions)? Correct me if I'm wrong here, LuvMyTSX or Moda_way....

Of course, the population on this board is not comprehensive, it may be happening much more to owners who just don't happen to be Acuraziners. A scary thought.

akm0015

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

I replaced my compressor on 6/12 and guess what? It blew AGAIN. Don't know what's going on because I just got it back from the shop (3rd party) and even though the a/c works, having it on causes my car to "jump". It acts like it's struggling with the a/c on- the rpm's jump up like it's in neutral and I've put my foot on the gas even though it's in gear w/ my foot steady. Then it goes back to normal rpm (3k) and it cycles like this every few seconds. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about and if so, what's the cause? I'm out $850 right now but still no resolution. I'm so freggin frustrated.

MMsTSX

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...576&highlight=

gogozy

interesting enought, the 03 CRV also having the same issue, and CRV and TSX were both assemble in Japan.

tchibo

...and here is the rest of the story: took my TSX to the dealership, diagnosis result: A/C compressor+clutch ... (diagnosis $105, deductible from the final repair costs). The service manager admitted he'd seen a few broken TSX A/C compressors...
Estimated repair cost: around $1400.
So I've contacted Acura Client Services, sent them the estimate sheet I got from the dealership, mentioned them about this Acura forum, about lot of you nice people having the same problem. I even quoted a few posts from this thread, reflecting that others had the same problem and some of them got help from Acura - so it looks like a systematic 04 TSX defect.
After a few days they called me back, saying that this is not a typical Acura problem - but they also asked me how could they make me a satisfied customer, I told them I would really appreciate if they would pay for the repairs - so the guy promised he would talk to the dealership and try to work out something for me.
After another few days I got another call from Acura Client Services - they agreed to pay 75% of the total cost repairs, as a one time goodwill gesture!! I'm quite happy that I ended up paying only $350 out of $1400, I think it's a really nice gesture from Acura.

Parts replaced:
A/C compressor $526
Clutch set $209
Coil set, solenoid $83
O-rings, freon + labor

THANK ALL OF YOU guys for this thread, it helped me a lot!
If you have the same problem, before making the repairs try to get some help from Acura Client Service!

TSX559

Who was your agent at Acura Client Service?

tchibo

His name was Scott. I don't recall his last name.

loren m.

I sadly admit I am one of the number of victims of the a/c compressor grenade. While I hoped it would'nt happen to me, I found myself visiting my local acura dealer for the very same reason. While in the midst of investingating the damages, I give much kudos to Flatiron Acura in Boulder for their concern and in offering me a beautiful 09 tsx as a loaner. While I am out of warrranty I still only have 41k on my 04 tsx, and am relying on acura to honor their reliability. I must save face to my wife whom I extolled the highest virtues of buying an acura product. Do I hear a recall?

xenonhid

My condolences loren m.

Hope the 05's don't get affected.