I brought the car to dealer many times for my AC but the problem is very hard to duplicate, so it was never fixed.

The AC works fine in 70 or 80 degrees, but when it gets super hot 90 degrees +, that is when the problem occurs:

1. AC will blow cold air for few mins then warm, then cold then warm
2. Sometimes, out of no where, you will hear some grinding/squeel/wind blowing noise from the hood that lasts about 10 secs, then it goes away. it could be pretty loud sometimes.
3. 2 days ago, it was like 95 degrees here. i drove the car with AC on for about 20 miles and when i turn off the car with AC ON , some new noise came up from under the hood near the compressor area.
The sound is like you flick/pull a tight/tensioned string (guitar). i turned the car on and off a few times while it was still hot, the sound was there every time i turn off the car. until i let the car cool down.

as long as i leave the AC off, everything is fine.

what could be broken? the compressor, Belt, clutch?

I am going to take a trip to vegas next week, dont want my compressor to blow up when it is 110 degrees there...

 

You need to stop heel and toeing every time you exit the freeway. That's the main cause.

Good luck man! Someone will definitely find a solution for you!

 

Heel and toe is the last thing i have to worry about when you have AC on in a s2000...

S2k with AC on = car jerks when shift, corolla seem to be faster than you, you will still be sweating. Somehow, the brakes dont even seem to work that well.

 

Heh. Sounds like the compressor. When the clutch on the compressor engages, you get cold air. There is a switch that turns the compressor on. I think that could be an issue, because you might be engaging / disengaging the clutch. That's my swag at it (had my compressor replaced 3 years ago, similar issue).

 

You haven't tried adding your own refrigerant to your A/C system recently have you? If done improperly, it will gunk up your system and cause your Compressor to start failing among other things. When the compressor starts making noise, its a good sign it is going bad.

How do I know? I did this to my car too. Lots of $$ to get it right again. And its still not the way it used to be...

 

Does it have a compressor clutch relay? Its a common issue on Toyota's (my dad's Avalon has this issue). The relay becomes sticky over time and the magnetic clutch is engaged on and off causing it to blow cold/hot.

 

Thanks guys.

 

So Honda dealer called back, they said They found the problem!!
1. something was up with the heater hose (i would assume that it would not blow HOT air but my heater works fine, but whatevers)
2. Something with the heater valve that is broken so it would blow hot air sometimes.

I am no Ac expert so whatever they say as long as the problem is fixed.

Now they said oh it s not gonna be covered under warranty $350.

I told them that i have been trying to tell them that something with my AC for almost a year already and they never bothered to fix it for me and my bumper to bumper warranty just expired 1 month ago and now they found the problem and wanna charge me for it? that is not reasonable. It sounds like you guys are NOT the solve the problem until my warranty expires.

The service rep said he would talk to the Manager and call me back. ....

 

Glad they found a problem.

Hope you get it settled with the warranty man.

 

They said oh we fixed the "heater valve" under warranty but the Expansion valve is not covered under warranty.

I told him, the certified warranty says "Air Conditioning, Heater, Cooling" ... how can it NOT be covered under warranty??

 

hopefully they'll cover it.

 

I still think its ur compressor clutch. they're just trying to get more money out of you by telling you it has to do with heater.
what theyre doing is not new, seen it happen before several times. The problem is usually minor and they say its something big to get more money, and still fix the original problem.

 

i did some research on Expansion Valve on S2000. Apparently some people have the same problem as me and it was indeed the expansion valve. It produces some werid noises when it is clogged or damaged.

So we will see.

They actually increased the price. now it is $405. Another dealer told me just to call North America Honda directly, which i did. They opened a case # and they will contact the Service Manager.

The Service Adviser had the ball to tell me the part alone costs $120. their own part department told me it is $78.

 

you should have embarrassed that goddamn service adviser

god i hate dealerships