The thought of that "hasty" mechanic who hates their job ripping apart so many parts make me sick to the stomach........Once it leaves the factory "nice and tight" its never the same when that disgrunted mechanic rips it apart while on the clock and under the gun.......

My '05 air conditioner started blowing hot air yesterday. Of course they could not reproduce it today. They could not find a TSB on the problem. Does anyone have an update on the replacement parts? Still not a TSB? The 06 has a different compressor part number than the 05. When I eventually get the compressor replaced it would be valuable to understand if its being replaced with the same poorly designed part or a redesigned part (as in the 06)?

Have people found an easy way to reproduce the problem before it fails completely?


Thanks.

Wow, my '05 started blowing hot air yesterday too; only mine never stopped. I'm two hours from the nearest dealership. I wonder if our cars were set to self-destruct.

Duplicated the problem at the dealer. They replaced the Rotor and Stator but not the compressor.
Hmm. I assumed that it was the compressor that caused the clutch to eventually fail. It was the compressor part number that changed on the 06. The Rotor and Stator part numbers are the same.

It does work great now.

Does anyone know if there is a TSB yet? Mine is "iffy" at best and does not cool down the car. Probably the worst AC I have ever had. Dealer is Hendricks in Pleasanton, CA and they are usually spot on, but it would help if I can give them a TSB or history. They fixed the "brake problem" quickly and I have had no further problems.

Thanks for the help!

My 05 is scheduled to go in on the 28th for a second fix. Last year it started blowing hot air and they fixed it for about $450. Now the air is still some what cool but the air will not blow hard enough to cool the car even with tinted windows. Interested to see what they say or how they take care of me. My car has 132,000 miles so it's not under warranty.

There's a TSB out on this. I actually first heard of it on this forum. It's the field coil. My dealer had one in stock, I was in and out in less than a day.

Have your dealer pull the TSB. All the info is right there.

My AC blew hot air today then later in the day started to work again. I am out of town at present and am on a hotel pc. Does some one have a copy of the TSB concerning the AC and the field coil??

TIA

Resurrecting old posts...

Exactly what just happened to me a couple of weeks ago...July, 2008...the car cooled when first cranking up, but wouldn't cool later in the day. I'm still having my car serviced at Honda dealers, so I'm not sure they know about the TSB's. The dealer where I had this work done thought the problem was fixed but then noticed that the AC wasn't working reliably. Parts were overnighted. They charged me for the parts they ordered, but had to replace the compressor at their expense due to breaking something on the compressor. The car is currently cooling, but I'm not sure it's back to where it should be, so I'll make a point to mention the recent posts regarding a TSB the next time in.

This happend one ago this month. I did not get my car back for a month.
It has been working ever since.

Think you have the answer, I contacted Bruce Peters @ Hendricks and he got an answer fast. He looked it up on the Acura tech site and found the following...

Poor A/C Performance or A/C Doesn’t Work

Currently Applies To: ’05–06 RLs

Got a vehicle in your shop because the A/C runs poorly or doesn’t work at all? A bad field coil in the

A/C compressor clutch could be the culprit.

To determine if this is the case, connect the HDS, go to the DATA LIST, and monitor the A/C switch and

A/C clutch relay signals. If the DATA LIST indicates that the A/C switch and A/C clutch relay are on—and

the A/C compressor clutch isn’t working—refer to step 4 on page 21-91 of the ’05–08 RL S/M and measure

the resistance of the field coil. (Online, enter keyword COMPRESSOR CLUTCH and select A/C

Compressor Clutch Check from the list.) If the resistance isn’t to spec, replace the field coil with

P/N 38924-RJA-A01.

He has the parts in stock and I am going in next Tuesday. They are getting me a loaner as well. Thanks for the reponses and I'll let you know the outcome.

In my cast the following was done:
Replaced clutch assebbly ( probably included the field coil)
Replaced Stator assembly.

My radiator was also replaced due to a seem leak spotted by tech.'

Neuronbob posted a note that many radiator repairs were required as a result of a/cs being repaired.. Who knows??

Follow this link:

Good luck.

My AC went out at the same time as yours, I have the 05 RL. My dealer said it was a compressor failure and they replaced it under warranty.

I had a compressor coil replaced last year and then started having problems this summer.

Just got it back from the shop and the problem was a clogged filter for the vent system. It was nasty and no air was getting past it.

Not sure how this was missed since i have regular checkups etc...even though i have 134k miles.... but it only cost $56 bucks. I had to turn the temp up to 72 on the drive home because I got cold!!! I haven't done that in two years.

Cheapest in and out in years

My AC quit today at mileage 52,444. The class action lawsuit extended the warranty by 5% which would be 52,500. I called the nearest dealer in Memphis and he said the fix would be covered by warranty and for me just to write down his name and the mileage at the time of failure and they would take care of it. How lucky can you get? I live about 110 miles north of Memphis so the mileage will be over the warranty.
Seems like this is a common problem with the 05's. I bought the car new in February of 2005, have never had any problems with it and it has never been to a dealer.

^^^

LUCKY! (whew.)

Does anyone know where this filter is located? My air does now seem to be blowing "hard" and I am wondering if this could be a cause?

Follow the link below:

A/C Cabin Filter replacement

Awesome... thanks! It was a quick 5-minute deal. The photo's really helped.

Just got back from the Acura dealer in Memphis. The service manager gave me a loaner and told me to go on home and he would call next week when it is fixed. It is about 120 miles one way to the dealer. He asked me if I wanted a TL or TSX. I told him the TSX since I have never driven one of them. I've had 2 TLs. The loaner I got is an 09 TSX with 2400 miles on it. I really like this car and got 36.5 mpg on my way home. Got 28.2 on the trip down in the RL. BTW, the A/C on the RL worked perfect on the trip down. Hope they can find what the problem is (or was).

AC out on another 05 RL. From the service advisor's comments, it seems like this continues to be a problem on the 05's. Thankfully repairs will be under warranty.

Got my RL back this past Tuesday. Dealer replaced the clutch and coil and everything seems to be working fine now. Acura of Memphis is great.

My A/C started blowing hot on Thursday with only 27000. I already had an appointment scheduled for 30K service (a little early, but I'm taking it out of country) on Friday. Service guy has given updates twice a day which has been very nice. He mentioned clutch and coil similar to previous posts. Should have it back on Monday. This is the best service I have ever had with a service dealer. Sterling Acura of Austin Texas came highly recommended over David McDavid and I can see why.
I have a RDX as a loaner - it's nice but it's not my RL.
D

Picked up the RL after being in the shop for 4 days for warranted A/C service. Service took a long time because their freon recharge machine went kaput. Had an RDX as a loaner so it wasn't too bad - not the RL but not bad.
Anyway, the A/C is working amazingly. Better than ever. I think the A/C had been dying for sometime since it never felt cold - just chilly. Not a problem anymore!
I read all of the service bulletins posted in the forum and saw the warning about damaging the radiator when doing A/C service. I mentioned that to the service manager when I dropped of the car so he was aware that I was aware.
Great job!

Do most of you, who have had failures, leave the A/C on Auto of do you turn the compressor off as often as you can?

I normally do leave the auto button on. 05 RL 51,600

Took mine in 8/12/08, they called yesterday to say they couldnt reproduce the problem. Im waiting for a call back today but going to suggest they measure the resistance of the field coil. My A/C has gone in and out over the last two weeks. Similar to other posts it usually works in the morning when pulling out of garage but if its above 80 and high humidity it almost guaranteed to fail during the day.

The MDX they loaned me is really nice. Handles and rides really well for an SUV.

Mine is typically on/off, not on auto. I asked the service manager and he said that would not affect performance. After they did the TSB (coil) and replaced the cabin filter, it's a night and day difference. In 95 degree weather yesterday I found myself turning down the fan and turining up the temp. That has not happenned in a loing, long time!

RE:Took mine in 8/12/08, they called yesterday to say they couldnt reproduce the problem. Im waiting for a call back today but going to suggest they measure the resistance of the field coil. My A/C has gone in and out over the last two weeks.


Field coil replaced. No problems for a week now.

The loaner MDX was nice but I'm really happy to have the RL back.

Someone have a part number for that field coil off their invoice?
thanks

Poor A/C Performance or A/C Doesn’t Work

Currently Applies To: ’05–06 RLs

Got a vehicle in your shop because the A/C runs poorly or doesn’t work at all? A bad field coil in the

A/C compressor clutch could be the culprit.

To determine if this is the case, connect the HDS, go to the DATA LIST, and monitor the A/C switch and

A/C clutch relay signals. If the DATA LIST indicates that the A/C switch and A/C clutch relay are on—and

the A/C compressor clutch isn’t working—refer to step 4 on page 21-91 of the ’05–08 RL S/M and measure

the resistance of the field coil. (Online, enter keyword COMPRESSOR CLUTCH and select A/C

Compressor Clutch Check from the list.) If the resistance isn’t to spec, replace the field coil with

P/N 38924-RJA-A01.

I cant find my invoice at the moment but here is the part number listed from the acura servicenews bulletin.

Awesome, thanks. Will probably just order and replace the original since it is prone to failure. hate to get stuck in the middle of nowhere without a/c. Only $80.00

I looked at my A/C repair invoice last night and brought it in just to be sure. 38924-RJA-A01 is indeed the part number that appears on my invoice as the replaced compressor clutch field coil.

Well I have a RL 2005 just got it and it has 60K mile on the dot, and guess what my STATOR just went out they had it in stock and fixed it right there, but man the part was $119.79 and Labor $300 for two hours of work. So I guess this is a common problem. I hope nothing else will go bad. I am going to call Acura and see if they will reimburse me for the part since the car only has 60k miles, do you think they will?

Omg that's the same part number i have 38924-rja-a01

Replaced mine myself a while ago, a/c works as it should now, no hiccups.

I whish I could do that would have saved me $300, lol

Well I just had this done. $520. They call it the coils. $200 part, plus $450 labor, minus $150 'credit' not Goodwill from Honda just the dealer helping us out. Plus taxes. $520.

First A/C unit we've had fail in the 20 years we've owned hondas.

Anyone having problems with their 2005 RL A/C?
Local mechanic replaced condensor, compressor, stator, checked all fuses/relays. still nothing...
Anyone have similar experience and/or resolution?
Still broken...

How about the field coil? Isn't that the common problem with the 05 RL A/C?

Edit: Here's the info from the Acura Service Bulletin:

Poor A/C Performance or A/C Doesn’t Work

Currently Applies To: ’05–06 RLs

Got a vehicle in your shop because the A/C runs poorly or doesn’t work at all? A bad field coil in the A/C compressor clutch could be the culprit. To determine if this is the case, connect the HDS, go to the DATA LIST, and monitor the A/C switch and A/C clutch relay signals. If the DATA LIST indicates that the A/C switch and A/C clutch relay are on—and the A/C compressor clutch isn’t working—refer to step 4 on page 21-91 of the ’05–08 RL S/M and measure the resistance of the field coil. (Online, enter keyword COMPRESSOR CLUTCH and select A/C Compressor Clutch Check from the list.) If the resistance isn’t to spec, replace the field coil with P/N 38924-RJA-A01.

I had mine stop blowing cold air and acura fixed it quick. it was the a/c clutch.