I have an 03 cls with 19,000mi on it. My air conditioner went out about a week a go. I brought it in for what i thought would be warrantied service work; i was mistaken. I was told by the service manager that the condeser was damaged, he asked if i had been in a frontal collision of some kind. The car has never been in any accidents. long story short it isnt covered by warranty and will cost me $680. before tax for a new condensor and an air dryer.
Is this legit or are they trying to screw me?

 

The dealer should be able to tell if the car has been in an accident to where it would cause the compressor to be damaged.

If in fact you haven't had any collisions in the car, I'd try and fight it. Especially if they're claiming it was damaged via. an impact that never happened.

Good luck.

 

i talked again with the service manager and said that it looked like a rock or something like that collided with it. This caused a small hole which all of the freon in the system leaked out of. He also told me that once the condenser is exposed to the elements that a new dryer needs to be installed as well. That sounds like bulshit to me, I dont know though.

 

the title of the thread is wrong, instead of compressor it should say condensor. sorry.

 

Oh so now we hear the whole story..... yeah, your screwed.. that is not covered under warranty...since it not a faulty part... in other words the part did not mechanically break.. it was broken by the rock.

Did you try another dealership?... you might be able to see what another dealer says.

 

I called a local Honda dealership and explained the situation to them and they pretty much told me the same thing.

Is it rare for the condenser to get damaged like this? Could this have been prevented by a screen over the lower grill opening?

 

yes...the dryer needs to be replaced also under these conditions.

 

yes it is rare, but shit happenes... got to pay to play... try keeping you distance from the back of trucks, SUV's and stone throwing POS drivers who like to ride off the road and pelt you with crap.

 

How about your car's comprehensive insurance?

It pays for damages caused by other than collisions, similar to the damage they would pay for if your windshield were hit by a flying rock.

 

yeah, i can claim on insurance. I have a $500 deductible, though. It will save me a little over $200 by claiming.

 

If I were you, I would go to a good independent garage and let them tell what's wrong with the AC and how much it would cost to repair it. Don't volunteer any information about the Acura dealer's comments, just tell shop to give you an estimate. I would bet you it would be a lot cheaper than your dealer

 

What about mentioning your 12 year old most lovable fmaily pet cat drank the leaked freon and poisoned himself?? - You think this is far fetched?? ..What kind of a f*cking right Acura has in their response if they did NOT put a protective enough cover on the thing??? I'd say you were 'normally wearing & tearing' your car, and this is not an external part - hence Acura bears negligence, since it didn't ensure 'adequate protection'.
Also... read those 'warantee contracts' carefully. Chances are that they did NOT specify condenser/compressor on the 'abused' list of parts, such as tires, windhield, paint, i.e. most which are external. I am hoping it is similar to what I had to fight fixing under Extended Appliance plan - similar situation, once I've proven that something was or was not on the contract - it got fixed - no questions asked.
As far as the 'cat story' - I firmly believe, we should DOUBLE the amount of 'crap' [adding some emotion & even danger] that AMC [AcuraMoronsClub] bestows upon us in the 1st place... Good luck.

 

I had the same thing hapen to my 04 S2000. My A/C stopped working, took it into the dealer, and had it looked at. Took a rock right into the condensor at somepoint.

Luckily my deductable is only 100 bucks.

Final bill was around 850 and change for the repair.