-Vip3r-

i bought my 02 tl-s in july used from a private owner.. the guy had the whole a/c system redone before selling it to me. well, it's cold out now, and the heat doesn't work. i tried messing with the heater valve behind the engine, but that doesn't do a damn thing. so i found the climate control diagnostic tutorial and found out the error was [K] which referred to a problem in the air mix control linkage, door, or motor. i took the car to the dealer that he used to get the car serviced and it was ramsey acura. the problems he got fixed before dealing with the a/c were still under warranty incase they messed something up while doing that and it would be covered. so i leave my car there overnight and they found the problem to be the air mix control motor that opens the doors to let the heat in which i basically already knew, and they wanted 500$ for the part, and 1100$ for labor equaling 1600$ total which was not covered under the warranty..they said the car had work done at an outside shop and they must've messed it up. i was like wtf, i can't afford that. so i had to pay the 85$ diagnostic fee for a shitty car wash and information that i already knew. so now i need help on how much the repair should range in and if there are any known reputable dealers [i live in passaic, nj btw]. any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

SilverStoneTTL

...I hate Ramsey Acura...

-Vip3r-

yeah the representative said he told the technician to leave the doors open to atleast let heat in for now so i'll have heat, but it turns out he didn't do a damn thing because still no heat comes out. i went back in after finding that out and the representative said "oh well, i guess it's completely shorted out you'll have to get it fixed or else you'll get no heat". but i don't understand if he left it open for heat and my climate control read 90degrees it shouldnt of closed the doors and heat should come out?

fsttyms1

Pick up a used one in a junk yard and do it yourself

-Vip3r-

how much would it go for? and is it hard to do?

CL Platano

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...t&ListAll=Part

fsttyms1

?? dont know what they would charge but i can gaurentee it would be ALOT less than what the dealer is charging

-Vip3r-

can't find anything related to the part. any other suggestions?

and is the DIY hard?

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

i have an outside mechanic that does good work for cheap... pm me if you are interested... he has a shop in elizabeth...

mr.motoring

$1100 for labor... that's more than a timing belt change. I guess they have to remove and replace the entire dash to fix it.

SatinSilverTypS

iTrader: (1)

agreed. they're all major tools there. i will never go back. the only decent guy is stewie (if he's still there). he started at Poughkeepsie Ford.

SSTS

fla-tls

$1100 in labor - maybe they have to remove his tranny to get to it!

And $500 for a $100 mix motor? That's a bargain.

Sometimes I think dealers really just don't want to work on our cars. I mean, our local VW dealer charges $6k for a tranny (local Honda averages $4.5k, and local Mercedes is $5k - for a non-electronic unit). That's pretty much sayin' "I really don't want to work on your car - but if I have to - you're going to PAY for it."

tl-s4now

Is this common?? I had the same problem in my 2003 TL-S and I had it fixed 5 days before my warrany was up. The dealer had my car for 6 days and said it was a huge job. They said the whole dash had to be removed. Owning this car without a warranty is really making me nervous. I think it is time to start looking for a new car.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

vip3r, did u call him??? wats the update?

-Vip3r-

yeah i called him the other day and mentioned your name, he said that the labor would cost 135$ and whatever the part is. i'm thinking the part is the motor assy, air mix. http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...prddisplay.jsp which is 102$ because the diagram relates to the part that opens and closes the blend door. the dealer told me it was the air mix control motor which i couldn't find any exact part name being that. i might just let the shop diagnose it to so i don't end up getting something that won't fix the problem. thanks alot for that shop because i'll be saving like 1400$ lol.

just one question though, if the dealer told me the air mix control motor went bad which opens the doors for it to let heat in, it would be that part right?

davewlee

Do a search on Heater ... I remember that there was a button sequence that you use on the control amd it would give you a display. From the display , it would diagnose where the problem compponent was. Took about 2 min to diagnose. Common problem on the TL after 5 years or so. mOn mine it was the Air mixture motor. Took about 30 min to get off and then put back on . Could be a DIY

davewlee

Do a search on Heater ... I remember that there was a button sequence that you use on the control amd it would give you a display. From the display , it would diagnose where the problem compponent was. Took about 2 min to diagnose. Common problem on the TL after 5 years or so. mOn mine it was the Air mixture motor. Took about 30 min to get off and then put back on . Could be a DIY

Here is the thread from a member with a similar problem... I used this to narrow down the problem and then came up with the air control mixture motor
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112607

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

if u let him diagnose the problem, he can get the part for u too... it would prob be aftermarket... u can get it OEM but unless u know for sure which part you need, then bring it to him, he will just charge you labor... good luck and keep us updated...

AcuraBuddy

LOL Dont you just hate certain dealers, its like they dont give a crap unless you walk in there to buy a new car or something.

DiveforTL-s

Yah, beacuse there is no profit in charging a 300% markup on parts and $85 an hour for labor, billing you what ever the book says, not how long it really takes. Unless it takes longer.

tomterrific

I changed this control myself. It took approximately 45 min. The control motor was about 80 to 100 dollars. I went to the dealer and told them that I could get it on the Internet, and they sold it to me for the same price. The motor is on the passenger side slightly under the dash, to the left of the glove box. It is held in with 3 small screws, if I remember correctly. The screws have hex heads and you can use a ratchet and socket about 6mm. (not sure about exact size). When you remove the screws the control motor will drop straight down. Anyway it’s an easy job.