Hi,

On April 26, 2013, I brought my car to Acura because I was having issues with my AC, AC was only blowing cold on passenger side. Warm / ambient temperature air would come out of driver's side vents. Acura found that the AC pressure was down to 6 psi. They recharged the system with colored dye, but could not find a leak. They told me to come back if the problem persisted in order to look for the leak again.

On June 1st, 2013, I was on driving back from the beach, enjoying my ice cold AC, when all of a sudden it completely changed from cold air to very hot air. I knew something was afoot. Due to the timing, I was unable to catch Acura before they closed. I started the car later that evening and heard a weird, "wurring" sound, that also sounded like something was dragging in the engine bay. I open the hood and the sound is coming from the AC compressor / Alternator area. I took the car for drive and after about 15 minutes, hot air was coming through the vents without any input from me. I didn't have the AC or heat on at all. After reading the forums, I was afraid that my compressor may have gave up the ghost.

On June 4, 2013 I drop my car off at the Acura dealership near my house (Brighton, MA). They call me a couple of hours later and told me that the sound was coming from the compressor and that I needed to have the compressor clutch and stator at a minimum, but recommend I replace the compressor as well based on the mileage (and they said they have no way to testing whether or not the compressor is defective or not). They told me that replacing the Compressor, Clutch, and Stator will cost is $1600. I asked them if there's anything they could do to help me out referencing the class action suit Honda settled over the high rate of AC compressor failures. He said there was nothing the dealership could do and suggested that I contact Acura directly file a complaint (and get a case #). He said from there, Acura would most likely contact the dealer if Acura decides to help me out.

What's the recommended course of action? From the posts I've read on the forum, it seems that Acura has been reluctant to help anyone out.

My car has been trouble free until recently, but it is a 2004 Acura TSX w/ ~135,000 miles. Am I pressing my luck to think anyone will help me out on this? AC compressors are not supposed to be wear-out-and-replace kind of item. My little brother's 1990 Toyota Camry was purchased used for $1300 and his AC still blows iced cold!

Is this the kind of job that a weekend warrior could fix or is this an overwhelming job that I'm better off having someone else fix? I'm a working professional, but I live paycheck to paycheck because of my mortgage-like student loan payments so I'd have to charge the $1600.00 to a credit card to have this fixed. Since I live in Boston, MA AC is a necessity in the summer time since I don't want to look like an idiot, dripping with sweat as I walk into the office.

Please help

 

I've done it twice, once on my RSX, and then on my TL...It's not a bad job but is time consuming. You need a vacuum pump ($150), a manifold gage set ($50) and a can piercer ($15). Plus you'll need a new receiver dryer ($10), O-Rings ($10) and refrigerant ($30) and a compressor ($400). So for less than $700 you can do it yourself.

I generally pull the bumper cover, condensor and radiator and access everything through the core support area..Takes about eight hours (or less) of actual work (I took my time, being real careful)...

 

Thank you. I was told that my Compressor Clutch & Stator are bad. Is there anyway to tell if the compressor is bad or is it just best practice to replace the compressor since I would be in that area already?

I don't know if this changes anything, but the sound I've been hearing is definitely a "whoop" sound. It occurs while the engine is on, but AC/Heat is OFF (since something is broken, I don't want to make it worse).

Just got off the phone with Acura Customer Relations and as expected I'm on my own to fix this problem. I didn't think they would help me out since I have ~134,000 miles on a 2004 car.

 

In my case, on the TL the clutch had failed. I opted for a complete compressor replacement for two reasons:

1) the price of the clutch and stator was only slightly less than the cost for a new OEM compressor

2) I didn't want to have to mess with the shimming that is required when installing a new clutch

In the case of the TSX, the clutch/solenoid (stator) is $250. You can replace just this and not mess with all the other stuff if you are confident about the procedure. Most shops will want to simply replace the compressor (the OEM one is $430 by the way. If you go the compressor replacement route, I'd consider getting the OEM one for the small price difference). Consider that the compressor could fail in the near future, based upon your mileage.

 

The procedure becomes more complicated if the compressor has grenaded, because in this case the system needs to be flushed requiring additional flushing equipment, and necessitates the replacement of the expansion valve. Generally speaking, replacing the expansion valve is a chore due its being in the heater core/evaporator area which makes it difficult to get to (requiring interior/dash disassembly). I looked at the assembly drawing and see that it may be easier to get to than for most cars, but I am by no means certain.

 

If you're willing to consider a used compressor for about $100-$150, you can get by even cheaper. I have installed used compressors w/ excellent results. Check ebay and car-part.com.

Suggest avoiding a rebuilt compressor, too much expense for possible problems, either used or new.

You can test your ac compressor by turning the inner clutch plate by hand. I should turn easily w/ low resistance and smooth action. Any significant resistance or grinding feedback would indicate internal problems w/ compressor.

If compressor checks good, you may get by w/ simply replacing clutch bearing. See video by richpin06a on replacing clutch bearing. Yours tsx would be similar. You could remove accessory belt and rotate pulley by hand to confirm the clutch bearing as source of noise.

I suspect you have a leak somewhere since low charge was original problem. Look for oil/dirt buildup around fittings, condensor face, clutch rotation plane, etc. This indicates where ac lube is leaking and attracting dirt/dust.

good luck

 

Has Honda/Acura updated the design of the compressor so that if I buy a new genuine Honda/Acura compressor, I shouldn't expect it to fail again?

 

Not sure about that, but your original one lasted 135,000 miles...That's decent enough to chance buying an OEM unit even if they weren't updated...

 

My car is currently at the dealership and I've been getting quotes from (what I hope) are reputable independent mechanics. Honda King (Brighton, MA) quoted me $980 to replace the Compressor, Compressor Clutch, & Compressor Stator. They seem to think that the stator overheated badly and caused the bearing in the compressor to sieze up. I'm waiting for them to answer me about the warranty on their work.

Since I don't believe my compressor "exploded" like many others (I do hear soft "whoo-do-do" sound coming from the Compressor / Alternator area, similar to that I've trying to pull start a stuborn lawn mower, but at a very low volume) is there any safe way of driving the vehicle to another location without doing further damage to the AC compressor and/or AC system? If there's any chance, that the AC Compressor internals have not sent metal particles throughout my AC system, I would like to do whatever necessary to mitigate the risk of it happening during transport from the dealership. I know that the serpentine belt goes around the AC compressor pulley, but I wasn't sure if the clutch has to be engaged for the pulley to rotate the AC compressor internals (if that makes any sense)?

 

If they replace the compressor, the stator and clutch are included. $980 is a good price, assuming that the compressor did not explode as you suggested. At that price it is likely that that they will use a remanufactured compressor, but make sure it's an OEM (Acura sells remanufactured AC Compressors).

The clutch does have to be engaged in order to rotate the compressor internals, so you should be fine to drive it around with the AC off. Climate control defaults with the AC "on" if I remember correctly, so I'd just leave the climate control off to eliminate the possibility of the clutch engaging.

 

I'm currently experiencing the same issue with my 2004 TSX/117k miles. After the repair, which I spent $340 on (blower motor & blower motor module I believe), AC continued to work intermittently for 1 month, then it worked like a champ for 1 month, and it just stopped blowing again today. I live in south Florida and I'm miserable!! Please let me know how your repair turns out netsx04, I also live paycheck to paycheck and I'm a 100% single mom (waahwahwahhhh). I love my car, but this is killing me! The "whoop" sound you're referring to...is it literally a high-pitched "whoooooop" sound? My mechanic and everyone else thinks I'm crazy when I mimic the noise to them. Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Heated, miserable, and irritated in south FL (Sara)

 

Any resolution yet??

 

I too had in issue with the AC compressor it seized up and pop(broke a 3inch hole on the compressor housing).
Well, I had 3 choices: Reman(always had bad luck, will never do again), New(depends on what part) and Used(very good luck with).
So I went with Used which save me lots of money, but there's a catch. I only buy Used from LKQ/Keystone Automotive, because they have a 6 month/6,000 mile warranty on there parts. You could also ask the mileage of the donor car, which is a plus for us(My compressor donor car had 42K and I have 190k). Up front your looking at $240 that's with the core charge. After the core is return it's $190 6 month/6,000 mile warranty.
But you'll need to replace the following: receiver dryer, O-Rings and refrigerant. Don't for get the new oil for the compressor. With all the parts on hand you looking at under $300 and if you could find a shop to do the labor. Just make sure it's under $200.
I had everything don't under $500.

http://www.lkqcorp.com/