gogozy

nice info!! thanks!
my A/C still work at this point, and willing to take my TSX in for a check, but does dealer know where to look for faulty parts?

LuvMyTSX

I doubt it will do anything to take it in until something actually breaks. It would be a different story if there were a recall out and they were going to replace parts or something, but right now there is nothing like that. They can't do anything for you at this point, although I'm sure they would happily "check out" your car for $100....LOL.

darth62

My experience with Acura has always been consistent with this in the past. When a known problem develops (like the lights on the console going out) I hear about it here first, and bring my car to the dealer and inquire. The dealer always says that he can't do anything until a problem occurs.

In this particular case, it is a dumb startegy. Because, the problems in one part of the A/C system can lead to problems in the rest of the system (as per all those reports of shards of metal spreading throughout the system). Acura could save themselves, and owners, lots of $ by heading off the problem pre-emptively.

LuvMyTSX

Agreed, and what bothers me is that they seem to have fixed the problem for 2005 and later years, since they don't seem to have any failures posted on this forum. So, the million dollar question is what did they replace on 2005+ cars, and why haven't they done a recall to fix the 2004s?

It is especially urgent to figure this out since the repair costs upwards of $2000 (or more), which is a lot of money for one repair. For those out of warranty, that hurts pretty bad.

darth62

Well, I am crossing my fingers and hope that the factory rep is going to come through for me. I actually left him with all the pages that I had printed off from this forum.

What disappoints me is that I could have had some other vehicles which might have been a bit more fun to own (like a Beemer 3-series) but decided to go with Acura for reliability reasons.

Incidently, we don't know yet if the 2005 are also going to start failing. the reports here are all with 2004 (and the factory rep confirmed that it was that year - as soon as I told him the problem he asked "Is it a 2004..."). It could be the case that 2005 and up will start failing once they get more miles on them.

dom

First year build FTL. Never again.

gogozy

i did a quick look on the A/C part diagram for 04 and 06, can't find any major change in design. and even compressor is the same parts #. so my guess is the 04 may have the "faulty" parts or the parts that have shorter life expectancy.
for 04
http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...ll&ListAll=All
for 06
http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...ll&ListAll=All

darth62

I wonder if you moderator types might want to put a link to this thread on the main board? I generally don't come to this board until I have a problem and I think 2004 people might want to know that a serious issue is lurking.

Dom - I completely agree with you. My last two Hondas (Accords) had no real issues. My TSX had a lot of little things go wrong that turns out to be systematic - the buzz in the speakers, the radio lights going dim, condensation in the headlights, and now this little $2000 laughfest.

I had planned to look at either the new Maxima or new TL in the fall. But, it will be a cold freaking day in hell before I ever buy another first year model.

TSXinTN

AMEN!

nbtx

There may have been a simple process change by the compressor manufacturer during the 2004 model run. Or the problem could be caused by a defective subassembly from a subcontractor. Either way, it's not likely the problem can be linked to the 2004 vehicles if there were some compressors left in the pipeline at the 2004 year end which got used on early 2005s. Or if the quality control problem was found in the middle of 2004, then only the early ones would be affected.

It's hard for me to believe that there were enough 2004 failures early on for Acura to do a redesign, so I'm guessing Acura knew during 2004 that the compressors were substandard and decided to just take the hits on warrantee claims, or Nippondenso (?) cleaned up their processes and Acura didn't find out until the 2004s began failing.

It might be a good study to collect VINs which have failed so far.

knakane

I don't know if I posted to this particular thread before, but I have an 2004 6MT & my A/C failed on me this past year at about 61,000 miles. I was out of warranty & of course Tustin Acura told me that unfortunately my car is out of warranty and that this is an unprecedented occurance (I laughed of course)...he then went on to tell me that it will cost me about $2,000-$2,500 to replace & fix the system (laughed again).. I ended up buying the parts I needed (compressor, clutch assembly, filter, etc. - also replaced the S-belt since it had to be removed anyways) and installing the parts with a friend. Total cost - about $750. If you have a history of working on cars, it should only take you about 1-2 hours + time at an a/c shop to have the system checked for leaks & a recharging. I've put about another 15,000 miles on the car since and have no problems. I think it actually works better now than when the car was new.

darth62

Postscript to my story: Dealer just called. The entire system needs to be replaced from the compressor forward. I was waiting for him to say that Acura would pay for 50% or something. But, to my shock, he then informed me that Acura was picking up the entire cost "under warranty" and that I would even be given a loaner car.

This is probably a sign that Acura is about to extend the warranty on the HVAC system.

Either way the message is this: DO NOT PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THIS REPAIR. ASK TO SEE THE FACTORY REP OR CALL ACURA CLIENT SERVICES.

And, if you did already lay out the money, call Acura and ask for some consideration.

I have to say, btw, that I couldn't be happy with the way the dealer came through for me.

LuvMyTSX

I have a later VIN - 23014. I think they were selling ~30k a year. My compressor hasn't failed yet, but my relay did, so I lost A/C anyway. I have about 47k on the odo.

LuvMyTSX

That's awesome.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I got my car back today and ended up having to pay $100.38 for the belt and some temp sensor. Otherwise, the rest of the $4k repair was covered by my extended service contract. Mine had been failing for a while, but finally died at 90k.

chhimp

I think mine is failing. I drive and it makes a clanking noise from the engine and then hot air. But when it gets home I mess with it and the ac works again. the engine is struggling to turn on the ac. But when it does turn on, there is cold air. Is the relay messed up? It struggles to turn on, but then turns off. About five times it turns on.

davidspalding

Yeah, I was speaking in a general sense.

LuvMyTSX

Time for a visit to the dealer.

When my relay failed, I never heard any noises. The cold air would just come and go until a few weeks later when it finally died altogether.

darth62

You should get this looked at now. You don't want an entire system infected with little metal shards.

darth62

My car is back from the dealer. Across the top is written "Replaced full A/C system with new parts. System OK at this time. One time goodwill"

Parts list has compressor, clutch set, o-rings, refridgerant, condenser, filter sub-assembly, pipe receiver, hose a/c, hose discharge, evaporator, and expansion valve. Next to each part is writen "warranty." The only dollar amounts on the bill are $0.00 although the service manager said that the expected cost of a full A/C replacement was a bit over $3500.

I profusely thanked the service manager. However, in his words, this was a goodwill gesture from the factory. "Acura wants to be fair with its customers...."

So once again: DO NOT PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THIS REPAIR. ASK TO SPEAK TO A FACTORY REP OR CALL ACURA. ACURA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND WANTS TO WORK WITH OWNERS TOWARD REASONABLE SOLUTIONS.

davidspalding

Dan Martin

I'm glad they hooked you up, but I can only hope they'll actually issue a recall so I can get a refund. It sucks that they would give out free AC repairs now and screw all the guys that paid out of pocket before they admitted they have a problem.

I can think of a lot of things I would have rather spent that money on...

darth62

Dan, I think you might be able to get your money back. Contact Acura directly, send them the receipt and let them know you aware that this is a systematic problem.

Really, Acura is a good company. They've built their rep on reliablity and a positive ownership experience. The last thing they want is a bunch of owners out there who feel like they go the shaft due to a manufacturing flaw. Contact them, and they'll work with you.

Dan Martin

I had the center console replaced 3 times before they decided there was an actual problem with it. Hopefully they'll recall the A/C units on these cars too. I'll call in the morning to see what they say.

darth62

You just had a crappy dealer. You need to go to ACURA directly. Acura is very concerned about your satisfaction -mostly because they wanting you buying a TL or a RL when you decide to move up.

Let us know what happens, and if I can give you any more information that would be helpful, PM me or contact me here.

dom

My AC blows cold when the car is moving but not so cold when stopped. Warm actually. Is this a symptom? or is the fact that its really humid here today play a part?

darth62

Dom - my A/C NEVER did that - before it crashed. It is not humid in California at all, but I regularly drive it out to the 100 F + desert in Palm Springs and have never had those symptoms.

LuvMyTSX

Sounds to me like the relay might be starting to go. Hopefully that's it. Temp/humidity shouldn't be a factor.

dom

It's never blowed AS cold when the car is stopped but it was never warm. Today it was warm. But the AC is very cold when its working. How much was your relay repair?

Between the AC, the bad vibration at 70-75, the leaky valve cover, the broken door actuator and the pass side mirror that I broke it may just be time to say buh-bye to the TSX in favor of a Fit.

LuvMyTSX

I'd be tempted, too, if I were in your shoes. The relay itself was listed as $4 on my invoice last year, but it was a warranty repair, so I have no idea how much labor is. If it isn't the relay, it could cost you even more to repair.

I've got a little less than a year left on my 5 yr bumper to bumper CPO warranty, so if something's gonna go, I hope it goes very soon.

knakane

Is there phone number for Acura Client Services???

PACman

By Phone: (800) 382-2238
Monday through Friday, 6:00am to 5:00pm Pacific Standard time at the toll-free phone number above

By Fax: (310) 783-3535

By Mail:
Acura Client Services
Mail Stop 500-2N-7A
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501-2746

darth62

Another alternative to calling Acura is to ask to see the factory rep. I don't really understand the role of the rep but they work for Acura, not the dealer. It was a factor rep who arranged for a good will replacement of my entire HVAC system.

guanacoracing2

95F this afteroon in NJ and my A/C goes. '04 with 49.8K, CPO with extended warranty/service contract.

At first I thought it was a tranny problem since I heard a rumbling noise going down the road as well as a weird smell, sort of like burnt fluid. I was going to coast to a stop but coasting wasn't going to work due to the road so I shifted the tranny praying that I wouldn't damage it any further. The tranny shifted OK and the car ran OK so I figured I would drive a little more to get into a safer side street. The car ran well so then I thought maybe it's not the tranny but I'll call and make an appointment anyways.

During the call my son noticed that there was no cold air coming out of the A/C vents and we figured it may be the A/C that went and not the tranny since the car is/was running fine and shifting fine.

When I get home I pop the hood and neither one of the 2 fans is running. Grab the service manual and it says to check the fuses and I did and they are fine. I don't know how to check a relay. I could't tell if the compressor had disintegrated but it looked intact to me. I couldn't see any metal shards anywhere in the engine compartment. The manual also says to check DTCs but I ran the diagnostic and no DTCs showed up.

Did anyone with the A/C problem also notice a weird smell when the A/C conked out? The smell and the rumbling noise is what made think it was a tranny issue at first.

muncher

f'ing A... another one =/

LuvMyTSX

Mine went last year in the middle of NJ summer, but I had no smell. It was just warm air. My relay was the culprit, not the compressor. It was hot - in the 90s- for a month before mine was fixed because the service department kept saying they couldn't find the problem, so I suffered.

knakane

The first thing I did when my a/c went out was to check the pulley on the compressor and sure enough...NO CLUTCH ASSEMBLY!!!...It just fell off!!!

darth62

I am really, really sorry to see so many of you having this problem.

tsxguy77

Well I have a little over 149,000 miles on my 2004 and the A/C wont go on! Just hot air coming in. I never had any loud noises or anything though, so Im thinking of checking the relay. Is this something I can check? I really hope its nothing expensive, because that would mess up my summer plans big time. Any ideas for a do it yourselfer like me?

tsxguy77

Oh, a little background on my problem. Never had any loud noises, no funny smell. fans go on, just hot air blows out. Hooked up the freon gauge and it went into the red and said dont add freon, there is another problem.