Well the car's in today getting fixed at a third party shop. I found a good local shop that quoted me CDN$2200 total, to replace the compressor, clutch, condensor and filter. They will also clean the lines and evaporator prior to recharging and testing the system. I'll find out soon enough how it works.

 

Well it happened to me too.

Weird twist - I had just read this thread for the first time like 1 week before!

I was running some errands and grabbing lunch. Very hot day in GA. Air stopped blowing cold when I came to a red light. Started moving and went cold again. But even that didn't last. Arrived at my bank - rolled down the window to listen - stopped the A/C and heard the clutch or compressor break apart.

Turned it back on - nada.

I have an '06 MT with only 36,000 miles on it. I had taken it do the dealer a few months before for it's 30k service. At that time they did some good will repair and some extended warranty repair work. It would have been 2 months out of warranty had I not bought the 7yr/100k extended.

Called advisor about A/C - Took it to Jackson Acura - my new adopted dealer. Got me a loaner. Diagnosed and fixed A/C over Memorial Day weekend.

$50 deductible.

THANK GOD I BOUGHT IT. Only reason I did was the 1st year thing.

 

Isn't the factory end-to-end warranty on all Acuras 4yrs/50K miles? You shouldn't have needed the extended warranty yet with only 36k.

 

ditto

 

For your reading pleasure:

http://www.ackits.com/c/BlackDeath/Auto+AC+Compressor+Failure+(Black+Death).html

From what I read, it doesn't sound like the interior of the hoses and heat exchangers can be adequately cleaned, meaning that all the parts that have freon in them need to be replaced.

FWIW, I googled "ac black death". There's plenty more to read ... I just included the first URL.

 

Is it okay to drive the car with it broken? I got the rattle today on my way to work. It goes away once the A/C is turned off.

 

Cor-rect. According to the CPO warranty brochure, the factory non-powertrain warranty is 4 year/50,000 miles, and a CPO (if that's what you bought) extends it to 5 years/62,000 miles.

I don't get how it could've been covered under extended warranty.

 

me neither

 

As long as the serpentine belt is intact, you should be ok. Engine operation on mine was working normal despite A/C failure.

 

yeah it was fine. I drove it all the way home, 25 miles with no problems. I'm only a month out of my warranty . Sucks.

 

3 months over 4 years...

I bought the car in Feb of '04.

It's whichever comes first 4yr/48k

And my extended is 7year/100k - bought with the car new. This was not a CPO. Acura factory extended.

 

The problem was when I typed '06 MT

My wife's car is an '06 - mine's an '04

Sorry for the confusion LOL

 

My 04 TSX's A/C just stopped working. I saw the invoices thread w/ bills into the thousands. This sucks.

 

If it's just the relay, it'll be a cheap fix. My relay was a $4 part.

The compressor issue is a whole other game, though.

 

Add me to the list as well. I'm @ 49,500 miles, but out of warranty because my delivery date to the original owner was early '03. I have actually owned the car for a little over a year. Quite frankly, I would have spent my money elsewhere had I knew I was going to have to deal with this crap. Why should it matter if I spend $32.00 every few months to prove loyalty when I spent $22,000 to drive the damn thing off the lot. I'm actually pleased I think the 2nd gens look like , eases my decision to take my business elsewhere for my next purchase.

 

I am getting nervous about all the 04 A/C problems. I was wondering if there is any preventive maintenance that I could have done to prevent a major A/C breakdown. Since the problem seems to be only affecting 04 models, Honda must know what part(s) were causing the problems, since they apparently did not use the defective part(s) after 04.

 

i saw the 04 CRV also have the A/C issue as well, interesting thing is that CRV is also assembled in Japan (like TSX). my center console light just went out, and i hope A/C will last for another few years... being in Canada, my tsx only have 50,000KM and i use A/C few times a year, so if its A/C crap out, i will give Acura/Honda earful.

 

The short answer is "NO" because the system is sealed and should be serviced by licensed AC repair people because of our goofy EPA rules.

That said, you might have an AC shop check the system regularly - yearly might be OK - to be sure the system is not leaking freon and oil. I posted this link in another thread

http://www.ackits.com/c/BlackDeath/Auto+AC+Compressor+Failure+(Black+Death).html

which explains the catastrophic failure in words the average guy can understand. Basically, if the compressor is running low on oil, it will chew itself apart and la viola, no AC and a large repair bill.

And this issue is not specific to 04 models; as soon as the later models get more miles and age, we'll see the same failures.

 

Combining this with the other thread. Doesn't really make sense to have this as a separate one.

 

Mine just went out at 51,500 miles and I took it to the dealership and discovered that the previous owner had a 100,000 extended warranty on it and not only that, the service manager said that the TSX extended the standard warranty to 52,500 miles and it would have been covered even without the extended warranty. Saved me $2500.

 

Well, my A/C failed not too far back and I told everyone that the dealership said that the condensor was the problem which is not in line with the problems others are seeing. They wanted about $800 to replace it.

I said forget that and replaced it myself with a $150 aftermarket one. I have to say after I took the old one out, it definitely needed to be replaced as the entire bottom of the thing was missing it's fins from 185K highway miles.

I went to recharge the system and it wouldn't take a charge so thinking that I was screwing something up I and took it to Sears (I know, I know...but it was the only place open on the Saturday I was working on this) just to make sure that I wasn't screwing anything up.

I asked them to just purge and charge the system for me. The guy came out after 15 minutes and told me what I was waiting to hear: " I can't charge it....the clutch on the compressor isn't engaging."

I told him thank you and went home and then ordered the parts I needed to change the compressor and clutch out.

A week later I was ready to change that out and let me tell you it was a PITA. I'm lucky that I work on a submarine base, so I was able to have the R-134a shop purge my system the day before

It took me a total of 5 or 6 hours to get everything out, back in and then buttoned up.

There is a great DIY thread for changing out the compressor. As he recommends though, DO NOT do this is you don’t have some mechanical experience. I have some, but mostly 8 years on submarines which is a bit of a different animal. It was enough to get me by though.

If anyone does do this though and is stuck, feel free to drop me a line and I’ll see if I can help you out.

I'm now the proud owner of a TSX WITH A/C. In the end I spent a litle under $1000 for the compressor, clutch, condensor, R-134a, etc. Compared to what the dealer wanted to change me...I'm happy I took the time to do it myself.

 

I took my car in yesterday for my broke A/C at 7am. The service advisor calls me at 10am and ass if i have an aftermarket alarm. I said yes and she said that could be the prob. I said impossible because I got the alarm the 2nd day I owned the car.

She then asks if I had any other installations done and I said no. She asks me if I had any interior work done and I told her the only work done to the interior was replacing the broken visors and that done by you guys (Acura).

She says okay, well it seems like youre missing an internal sensor. I said I had the car for 4+ yrs and the A/C stopped working last week. Impossible its this sensor you say im missing. She then says ok will call u back.

3 hrs later she calls back and says we cant figure it out. Your compressor is fine, relays are fine, etc. The only thing we see wrong is this sensor is missing and we'll take care of that for you (no charge). I said cool and didnt want to argue, but was thinking that sensor wont solve my prob. They have to order the part and I'll get my car back on Thurs.

I call them today (Thurs) at 11am and she said they installed the sensor and still the A/C doesnt work. She said she, the tech that worked on my car, and the tech foreman is going to "get to the bottom" of the issue.

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

I'd be skeptical about the folks you described getting your car fixed. They keep throwing out "this and that" as the problem. If it's the relay, that's an easy fix. If they can't see the clutch set engaging, then there's the answer.

And what "sensor" are they talking about? cause I'll look up that sensor on the parts list to see if it's related to the A/C system.

 

I'll try and find out.

 

I have a different question relating to the AC issue. I have the extended warranty till 100k and I currently have 37k on my 04 tsx auto. My AC seems to be working just fine although sometimes it blows colder then other times which is odd. When are most people having this major problem?

I just want to make sure it happens during the warranty period. Is there anyway to help it along? haha

 

There's a temp sensor on the dash to the right of the steering wheel. There's probably another, IIRC the climate control diagnostic indicated an air outlet temp reading.... Been a while, I could be mistaken.

ofusball21, do you have a bumper-to-bumper AcuraCare warranty to 100,000 miles, or only the factory powertrain warranty? I know the a/c is auto-regulated, so the temperature coming out of the vents may vary as the system maintains a target interior temperature. I usually feel a difference in the fan speed versus the outlet air temp, though.

 

If you have the A/C on auto, it will adjust the temperature coming out of the vents to meet the temp you have on the setting.

 

I called the Acura advisor this AM for status (come to think of it, she never called me during the last 2 day the car was in there, I always called her).

She said the car is fixed, it was the relay and it needed to be replaced.
She said that it was 4 hrs of labor + the initial diagnostic fee + the part. I said wait a min, the 4 hrs of labor included install of this sensor that you said I didnt have and ultimately didnt need.

She said good point, shes just going to charge me the part + the initial diagnostic fee. Around $200.

 

Interesting......my relay replacement was $4 for the part. Everything was free b/c I was still under warranty, though.

 

This dealership doesn't sound honest. Ever consider trying another place for future maintenance /issues?

 

Ive been going to these guys for the past 8 yrs. 1st w/ my ITR and now the TSX.
The A/C prob has been the biggest problem I had w/ both cars and have had stellar service from them. The lady I've been dealing w/ is new (never seen her before).

 

This was at Acura of Concord btw.

 

She sounds like she's finding her feet. But let's not discount the fact that she's been very flexible. Just have to watch what you're charged fer.

 

Ironically I just found this thread.

My A/C stopped blowing cold last year, Curry Acura said it just need to be recharged and hit me with a $250 bill for new coolant.

It stopped working again this week. The Subaru dealership noticed the issue (I have a very short commute, hadn't turned it on for a while). Final straw: sold the car. Glad I did, sounds like the problem is either very cheap (relay) or very expensive (shot condenser). I'm going to go ahead and assume it was the expensive fix since as of Monday the car won't be mine anymore!

 

I got the car back and A/C is working again!
I paid a total of $136.02 including tax.

Initally the bill was $265 + tax because they tried to charge me:
Diagnostic Fee - $142.00
Freon - $79.90 (2 units @ $39.95 each)
Relay - $6.07
Sensor Assembly (Part # 80530-SDA-A41) - 36.46.

I showed them a coupon I had for A/C check up for $50.
I politely explained to her again that I shouldnt need to pay for the sensor because the car didnt need it and after being installed it didnt solve the problem.
She knocked off $90 off the diagnostic fee, and took off the $36 sensor.

I ask what happened to the $200 she quoted me on the phone, she said she forgot to put on the freon. All in all the service was good, my service advisor was very nice and accomidating. Just make sure you go over the invoice before you pay!

 

The part # is 80530-SDA-A41

Yes this sensor I was supposedly missing was behind the small black circle (thats the mic I'm assuming) on the panel to the right of the steering wheel.

 

acura has extended warranty due to vaugn class action law suit to 52,500 miles and they are probably going to extend the warranty on these compressors or do a recall in the near future. this is how the power steering hose recall started on the 04-07 tl's

 

That would be awesome, hopefully everyone that paid out of pocket saved their invoices.

 

Let's hope so.

 

Canuck here

B92P6MT: What shop did you take the car to for replacement?

I'm looking at an 04 TSX with 91 km on it... I can get a great deal on it, but should I just stay away? My main points are reliability and gas efficiency. Am I better off looking at a 1.7EL?

What other problems are there with the 04? I've read about tranny issues as well... does the TSX just not have the typical Honda reliability? I'm in love with the car, but I need to use common sense when purchasing a car and not the one that grabs me the most (sadly).

Has Acura Canada told all Canucks basically to go away? If a recall is announced in the states, what are the chances us Canucks could get the work done? I don't want this car turning into a pit, like I said initially reliability and fuel efficiently are more important then how fast the car is.

Thanks guys... I can't imagine how you all feel with the AC blowing up on you, on a car that's supposed to compete with Lexus' and other mid-high end sedans.