Hi, all. I want to let you know my TSX 05, at mileage 72,000, A/C stopped working. Went to local Midas shop, and they found the compressor broken. They recommended to replace the compressor as well the condenser. Total price tag include recharge the whole system is more than 2,500.

Came back and search online found this forum. My next action plan is buy the parts and have them installed. Found some deal for the whole repair kit ( incl compressor/condensor, extension, oil and o-rings) price around $500. Will call to confirm if it is OEM parts.

Any recommendation for the shop to replace A/C?

BTW, the A/C simply stop working in the middle of driving, fortunately no parts flying out.

 

FYI at the dealer for all of that is still estimated at $1800. Why do I know this? Just got the word a few minutes ago with the damage. 132k miles on my 2004 5AT purchased April 2003.

What's scary was his description that there were clogs in the condenser and the receiver / dryer. I've done all the maintenance work through the shop and this still gets clogged???

I understand the compressor STB but the clog thing seems odd. Oh yeah and the price makes you want to do this:

 

Just lost my entire A/C system at 94k on my 2004 TSX. Quoted repairs from the dealership total $3,900 and Honda America has rejected the goodwill request. A call to Honda customer service returned no understand or acknowlegement of this (obviously huge) issue whatsoever!

It's absolutely enraging. I hadn't been on this forum until this issue and reading through all of your posts has me baffled as to why Honda/Acura isn't acknowledging this! I've loved my TSX up until this point and fully intended to drive it for another 100k. I'd have been happy driving Acura's for the rest of my life...and then to be treated like this.

The dealership has offered a mere 20% discount for being a faithful customer. This TSX has been babied its entire life and there's absolutely not justification for a failure such as this...which seems to be purely a mechanical flaw.

Have any of you signed the class action lawsuit? (www.honda-lawsuit.com)

 

I'd call BS on that quote too. Not sure where you are, but in PA my local dealer service Quoted $1800 and then dropped it to $1418.67 after everything was done. Try to get a detailed line-by-line quote and compare it to this:

Parts:

R134A FRE (Refrigerant) - $12.95
Compressor - $492.95
Coil Set. $88.16
Clutch SE $217.05
Condenser $377.31
Switch $48.45
O Ring 5 - $3.10
O Ring 1 - $3.10

Total Parts - $1242.37

If you need part numbers let me know.

They only charged my ~100 for labor so 2 hours +- total.


Good luck, and if you have another dealer nearby I would definitely try to get a service quote there too. Trying to f you out of 4K is ridiculous.

 

Hey Speednut, do you think you can try and post up a copy of your invoice? It would help others our when trying to argue the price down with the dealerships.

 

Huh??? I can't quite believe a labor cost of $50 per hour...The dealers I have used in the Twin Cities and in St. Louis have been more like $130 to $140 per hour...And, I would think that it would take more than two hours to change out all of the parts mentioned and recharge the system.

 

The service manager brought down the price when I picked it up. When I heard the news about 1800 I did sound depressed like I lost my puppy or something. Basically said "Oh...." and a good bit of silence on the phone. It did take them the whole day to get it done, so I probably got comped on a good bit of the labor.

Remember I was quoted 1800, so if it in reality was a full day of work that would be the difference after taxes. $140 an hour is a joke. I'm in the "supercity" belt between NYC and Philly and I have those rates. Everyone around here is between 50-70 an hour.

If there's a dealership with the Acura award for distinction near you try calling them up for a quote. The dealership I go to is one, and I guess the difference is normal labor rates!

 

just wondering-Lehigh Valley Acura in Emmaus.

 

Took the first TSX delivery there in 03. The sales staff when I went wasn't great, but the service is top notch.

 

The sales manager (Kyle) and general sales manager (Sonny) are terrific. I have been dealing with Lehigh Valley (Vinart) since 02. I now live in NC but still try to have my tsx serviced there. Have family and friends that live near there. The service manager Mustafa who took over for Rex (he is now the hyundai service manager) is extremely pleasant and goes out of his way to be helpful. They get great reviews on dealerrater.com

 

Yeah Kyle and Sonny weren't there when I bought, but Mustafa is awesome.

 

2004 went out again @ 131,000. First time went out around 70,000. 1st time clutch was sheared off of compressor. Was desperate at time, still in college so just bought a used one off of an 05, $275 for total job/ parts/ freon. 2nd one was more violent. the clutch was sheared off again but this time compressor cracked down middle. I have never heard or seen of this before, so i must have had some serious pressure build up. I didn't hear anything though, just started blowing hot air. Got home first thing I looked for was the clutch and that was on the bottom resting on the braces under car. This time it cost $600 for compressor, condenser, labor, freon. Of course dealer wanted $530 for compressor, $190 for clutch/ coil assembly, $100 condenser, and $$$ for everything else and almost $600 for labor and re-charge. Told them to blow me one and then maybe I would consider. So add me to the list, twice. Keep all your paperwork if you did this somewhere besides dealer. One day acura will have class action suit and reimburse owners who have complained or asked for assistance and denied. Good luck to all. I got a deal on all the parts, uncle owns mechanic shop so got parts at wholesale and real deal on labor.

 

Ok. So my sister's 04 TSX A/C stopped blowing cold air. The air coming out is warm. No noise and the compressor seems to be fine. Car has 134,000 miles.

Need your advice. Anyone think it could just be the A/C relay???? If so how much do they run and anywhere else I can get one beside Acura dealership?

 

quck check would be to put some guages on it and see what it's reading

 

Might be a relay. Another common problem. Search for the other relay threads, there are a few already. It's happened to me twice already.

 

Does anybody else get a clicking noise from the engine bay when you turn on the AC? It disappears when i turn it off.

 

prolly the compressor if your A/C is working and the car has been doing it for a long time, I would not worry about it. I had several cars that did it and the A/C systems lasted 140K plus miles

 

Thanks for the help guys.

So I bought the relay, which cost me $27 after taxes , and it did not solve anything. It goes on the snowflake symbol spot, right? There was one with a snowflake by itself, and one with snowflake, radiator and fan? I replaced the one closest to the windshield that has the snowflake by itself.

So you guys don't think its the condensor too?

The A/C stopped working a week ago and it has never had problems before.

My sister lives an hour and a half away so it'd be until the weekend that I'd be able to get to her car and do the gauge test. I guess I can get my cousin to do it for me.

It sucks not having A/C . I don't know how people back in the days drove w/o A/C?!

 

My 2004 TSX's AC system just blew out. It displays all the symptoms of the previous threads (loud clunk noise followed by hot air). Took it to a 3rd party shop and they said I would need to repair the whole system as metal shards had somehow gotten into the system and there is a big hole in the compressor. Quoted $3000, which I know is ridiculous considering most on this thread have dealer quotes of around $1800. Going to bring it to the dealer in North Austin (David McDavid) since others on this forum have brought it to the same dealer. Hoping for help with "goodwill assistance". I will keep you guys updated. Thanks for all the posts!

 

Pat,

Do you remember the name of the service rep you had at David McDavid?

 

Hmm but the noise seems to be coming out of the front driver side wheel well. Isn't the compressor in the front passenger side?

 

Hey everyone - I suppose now I joint the list of TSX owners with complete AC units blown up. $2K and counting.........

Is there a class action suit happening or waiting to happen, clearly it seems like a bigger issue then just an isolated problem. What are your thoughts? I didnt' buy the car new, so I highly doubt that Acura will do anything for me but do you still think its worth a try?

Any thoughts would be great, I am almost tempted to setup an email address and invite people to send me their TSX stories and then go to a lawyer to see if they will take this up as a class action.

Cheers.

 

Have any of you signed the class action lawsuit? (www.honda-lawsuit.com)

 

Just signed it! Hope we get something resolved!!!!

 

I just spent $1500 for a new compressor and have only 65K miles. No car should have a bad compressor at such low mileage, I have a 2008 RDX. Just another lemon.

 

Can somebody confirm if the AC Compressor Assy (38810-RBB-A01) comes with the AC Clutch Set or must I get that seperately?

If not, what does the AC Compressor Assy come with?

Thanks

 

$1500 for just the compressor alone seems far fetched. I was quotes around $500 for compressor, not including clutch though. This was through Acura dealership too.

@fastfreddy: No, the compressor assy. doesn't usually come with clutch if you're getting it through Acura. You have to buy that separately.

 

well same issue happened to me. '04 6 MT with 58,000 mi and my friend who does HVAC stuff tested the coolant pressure, power to the compressor, and fuses. Pressure is fine, fuses seem fine, but there is power going into the compressor which seems like it is dead.

I was comming back from JFK airport and the AC died. Turned it off for about 20 minutes and on again and worked for about 5 minutes then only hot air came out. Later that night turned it on and worked for about 10 minutes and hasn't worked since. The fans kick on, but the compressor doesn't work. Awesome to happen in 95 degree weather stuck in traffic.

 

so I am trying to see if I actually have an issue with my A/C as well.

I was driving on the belt parkway last saturday and everything was fine but then the A/C started to blow warm air out. I thought because it was 97+ outside and I was in slow traffic that it was just the heat from outside. Decided to put the temperature down to 67, nothing. Then put temp to "Lo" and still nothing, just got all the vent to gather condensation because of the hot air. I shut off the A/C and drove the remaining trip home. Parked the car, came back 25 minutes later and the A/C was working again.

Ever since then, the A/C does not feel as cold as it used to. Most of the time I feel like it is blowing cool air, but not cold.

Do you guys think its the same problem? I never heard any clunking or loud noises, it just stopped for a little bit. Do I just need to recharge the refrigerant?

 

Our 04 TSX air went out last year and our Acura dealer pickedup most of the bill. But yesterday the air stopped working this time I have no blower and the compressor is not kicking in. I checked all the fuses. Any idea!

 

When I took it to a local shop they said it was the compressor that had gone out. I just dropped the car off and my sister ended up picking the car and they told her what was wrong with it. It was her car that it happended to. When I asked her she just remembered that it was the compressor as she didn't remember what else they told her. I didn't want to call the shop since most of the mechanics are real idiots.

You have a few who know what they are doing. My brother has been going there for awhile and most of them forget to put the oil cap back on or fuse box, etc. so he's always double checking to make sure everything is on properly.

 

Same thing that happened to my sister's 04 TSX. it sucks. I didn't want to pay $100 + tax to get it diagnosed by the Acura dealership so I just bought a compressor off eBay and I'm having a friend install it for her and hopefully that solves the issue. If not, then I hope we get something out of the lawsuit.

 

That actually sounds more like the relay problem to me (search for the threads). I've had to replace the relay twice on my 04. Symptom is the A/C seems to come and go.

 

This could also be a relay (search for the threads).

I just had mine fixed a second time back in May, and I don't know if it's just paranoia or what, but I feel like my A/C is just not as cold as it used to be, either.

 

I was thinking the same thing....wasn't sure if it was all mental since I did have that one incident where it definitely stopped working.

Thanks for the tip, I'll search for the thread now

 

^ Must be contagious

Mine is definitely acting up again. I had a terrible morning. First, coffee maker at home apparently broken, then I had to do my 90 mile commute through torrential downpours, and lastly, I realized towards the end of my drive that my A/C was not working properly.

When the rain finally stopped coming down so hard, I could see that the driver's side of my windshield was all fogged up, while the passenger side was clear. WTF? I fiddled with the heat and A/C and first, turned up the heat and it would not get hot. Turned it up to 'hi' and it finally got hot. Turned it down to 60....still hot. Then after a couple minutes, the driver's side vents stayed hot, but the passenger side got cool (but not cold). So that is the reason for the fog. At that point, I was very agitated. I've already had a few repairs this year and I vowed that I am not putting any more money into the car because I need something with more utility anyway, so it just doesn't make much sense to keep fixing things.

However, I just checked on it after letting it sit for 3 hours, and the A/C seems to be working again. I'm thinking it's the relay, AGAIN.

 

so my a/c on my 2005 has lost a bit of its crisp cold air. It is still fine, but not as it used to be 1 week ago. Any recommendations? Also some have mentioned a grinding noise...can people explain a bit, I do have a grinding noise for half a second coming from the front lower part of the engine bay. The sound comes only one time when I start driving the car. Is that a/c related?

 

I just got my car back from the dealer. Initial quote for the repair was about $1900, but Acura helped with some "goodwill assistance" so I paid $1080 for it. It's still a lot of money but it is much better than what I got quoted for from a 3rd party mechanic ($3K). I just hope this problem never happens again.

 

I believe most dealer repairs include a one year warranty on the parts and labor...If your relay has gone out again within a year of replacement, you should be covered...Look at your repair invoice.

 

Well I posted on here a while back thinking my relay had gone. Have an '04 6MT with 137,XXX miles on it. A/C stopped blowing cold but I never heard any alarming noises.

Tested the relay according to procedure in service manual and it was good, so I took it into the dealership. Service tech tells me the clutch has fused itself onto the compressor, quotes me $1800 to replace compressor and clutch. I told him about this thread and he says its only the 2nd TSX compressor failure he's ever seen in the 7 years since the car came out (right...)

I asked him if the entire system could be contaminated and he said no, only compressor, clutch, and evaporator need to be replaced. This whole 'black death' theory has me worried though. I don't want to spend $1800 bucks and have it go out on me again!

Anyone else have compressor failure without the explosion/shearing? What did you have done and how is it holding up?