A/C Condensor Punctured

[Doolie77]

2006 SI, about 5200 miles and the A/C is blowing hot.
Make an appointment, request a curtesy car since it is 2 months old and already having problems.
Take it in, they give me a free rental from Enterprize ( 06 Sonata) and call me before I can drive to work and tell me the condensor is punctured, which is not covered by the warranty.
But...
They said since this car is SOOOO new, they will replace it this time at no charge. I'm like, WOW, I've never been treated this well by a car dealership service dept before. And I told him that!
Unfortunately, they do not have a spare on hand and will have to overnight it.

So this is a GOOD experience from a dealership. Brahman Honda, Palm Beach, FL.

Question though... what are the best ways to protect myself from this again without sacrificing airflow? The service advisor stated there may be an aftermarket solution for protection.
I drive I-95 every day, to and from work, and there is debris, or is this just a one time curcumstance that just happened to beat the odds and penetrate the car's designed in protection?

Any thoughts?

[twistedframe]

i know this happened to someone else and he was planning on putting mess behind the lower bumper opening. I don't think he ever updated us on that though.

[Tate]

I'd be interested to know as well. I do quite a bit of long distance highway

[audibleforce]

No way! I have the same problem. I just realized yesterday that my air conditioner is blowing hot air too. Im pretty sure it's the same situation as yours. This is starting to look like a design flaw to me if I am the third person that this happens to. I planning on taking my car in next week since I will be out on camping trip for the rest of the week. I sure hope they cover my condenser. This really sucks!!.

[amdhunter]

Can one of you post a pic of where this is occuring? I'd like to see if can can take some preventative measures.

[Doolie77]

I will try to examine the bad part if the dealership will let me. If I can, then I may be able to determine where extra protection is needed. I will post that information, if it becomes available.

[ToBeHuman]

My AC stopped working a couple of days ago. 2006 Civic EX Sedan. They said my AC condenser was punctured too and that it is not covered under the warranty because it was caused by a road hazard, a rock. My front dumber doesn't even have any rock chips on it yet but somehow a rock already punctured my AC condensor. WTF? My car is less than a month old with 1400 miles on it. The dealer is going to provide the parts for free but I have to pay for the labor. They said it would be around $360. This is unacceptable. I've contacted American Honda so see if they'll pay for the whole thing. I think it is a design problem too. My service writer says he sees this alot with Oddyses and CRV's.

[audibleforce]

Originally Posted by ToBeHuman

My AC stopped working a couple of days ago. 2006 Civic EX Sedan. They said my AC condenser was punctured too and that it is not covered under the warranty because it was caused by a road hazard, a rock. My front dumber doesn't even have any rock chips on it yet but somehow a rock already punctured my AC condensor. WTF? My car is less than a month old with 1400 miles on it. The dealer is going to provide the parts for free but I have to pay for the labor. They said it would be around $360. This is unacceptable. I've contacted American Honda so see if they'll pay for the whole thing. I think it is a design problem too. My service writer says he sees this alot with Oddyses and CRV's.

I was thinking that maybe the people who are having this problem should get together and provide some kind of proof (Services #'s or Receipts) from a honda dealer that shows that this is a common problem and forward that to American Honda along with a letter asking them to pay for this flaw. Maybe they will see that this is a design flaw and we should not be paying for this. They should have put some kind of protection for the condenser.

I still have not gone to the dealership to get mine checked out but I pretty sure it's the same issue as you guys. Do you guys know were the condenser is?

[ToBeHuman]

I thought paying to have my AC condensor replaced was unacceptable so I called the Honda customer care line. I explained the situation to the customer service rep and she said a case manager would be giving me a call in a few days to let me know if Honda would take care of it or not. The dealer said they already contacted Honda and that Honda would only provide the parts for free. My case manager called today and told me since my car is so new and for customer satisfaction Honda would pay for the parts and labor to have my AC condensor replaced. I'm glad Honda decided to do this but I think there may be a design flaw with the AC condensor. My case manager at American Honda was Jeff Grapengater at 800-999-1009x118053.

audibleforce, the condensor is infront of the radiator, on the lower right side. It looks like a radiator itself but it is not. It's filled with refrigerant instead of coolant.

[Doolie77]

Went back to the dealer and examined the damaged condensor. The hole was just off center about an inch from the bottom. That means the projectile entered through the bottom portion, right where my front license plate assembly would be if, I hadn't removed it.
I have since purchased some 1/4 "hardware cloth" (wire mesh). I plan on cutting a piece to position behind the grill. I may take some pictures of the process and post if things go well. For $6 and some time it should offer more protection without inhibiting airflow.

I couldn't help but notice, while I was at the dealership, all of the other honda models that have even less stock protection than the civic.

I'll try to keep any interested updated.

[ScorchedHands]

Pictures of this would be great.

[ToBeHuman]

The dealer changed out my condensor coil today. I took a couple of pics. The green on the coil is the dye they used to find the leak. As you can see a small rock hit the coil. It looks like it doesn't take much to puncture the coil. Considering the coil is at the front of the car, infront of the radiator and close to the ground, Honda should have made it more durable.

[taste]

I wonder if this *might* be a honda thing. I'm treading lightly with this because I don't have any information, but my wife drives an 05 Odyssey, and a small rock just punctured her condensor. $700 bucks to fix.

No probs with the civic. But if it happens to it, I would be concerned.

[Doolie77]

Here are some pics with some info on how I did it. I'm sorry the pictures are not the greatest, but show the basic steps. Should only take an hour or so to do and could save you hundreds of dollars if your car is a daily driver on a busy interstate like mine is. $6 dollars for the 1/4" galvanised hardware cloth (mesh) and I had the ty-wraps laying around.
Standing up and looking down at the car from 5 - 8 feet away, the deep grill slots make the mesh hard to see. Farther away, it is still hard to see.

[moxom]

Doolie, how do you find the Sonata's ride quality, quietness,A/C? Just curious what you tought. I test drove the V6 GLS and it seems like Hyundai is on the right track to improving the brand.

[WiDeFiRE]

You think that this grill will solve the A/C problem in the long run? There's no aftermarket part out there that would fix it without having to add this kind of grill to the front of the car? Like something black plastic? I don't know! Would a front licence plate protect the A/C?

[civicboy]

It seems like Honda condensers are very cheaply made today. I have to say that the quality Honda puts into their vehicles today has drastically droped from 5 to 10 years ago. It seems like everything is very cheaply made.

[Doolie77]

This mod is actually quite invisable and should protect it for some time. I hope that any thing that can get through the quarter inch holes won't have enough density or mass to cause a puncture. Less than 10 bucks and an hour or so worth of time is worth saving potentially $700, IMO. May not be worth it to do for everyone, but with the road conditions and time I'm on those roads, is well worth it. 15 miles of my daily commute, in each direction, is under various stages of construction with the concrete baracades on both sides containing all the debris in between them that rarley ever gets cleaned. I searched the internet for a couple hours to find an aftermarket solution, but I did not locate anything suitable. Other than this solution.
As far as the quality of the condensor, it seems as well made as anyones. Part of the reason it works is that it dissapates heat and a thin light metal such as aluminum is well suited for this application. For it to function effectively, it has to be directly exposed to the cool air, in front of the radiator. It is the location and obvious lack of protection that is the real issue.
The Sonata drove ok, it was a dirty rental and I couldn't wait to get back in to my Si. But I'm biased. Probably not a bad family car and the warranties are supposed to be good. Has a faily strong V6 and looks nice compared to older styled Hyandia's. A/C worked well and it had some nice features, just did not have a good quality feel to me.
I hope all of the above information helps someone and they find the information useful.

[audibleforce]

Originally Posted by ToBeHuman

I thought paying to have my AC condensor replaced was unacceptable so I called the Honda customer care line. I explained the situation to the customer service rep and she said a case manager would be giving me a call in a few days to let me know if Honda would take care of it or not. The dealer said they already contacted Honda and that Honda would only provide the parts for free. My case manager called today and told me since my car is so new and for customer satisfaction Honda would pay for the parts and labor to have my AC condensor replaced. I'm glad Honda decided to do this but I think there may be a design flaw with the AC condensor. My case manager at American Honda was Jeff Grapengater at 800-999-1009x118053.

audibleforce, the condensor is infront of the radiator, on the lower right side. It looks like a radiator itself but it is not. It's filled with refrigerant instead of coolant.

Thanks for the help. I took my car to the dealership today. I will let you guys and gals know how it goes.

[audibleforce]

Just got a call from the dealership and they said that one of my hoses was leaking and they will replace it. I got lucky this time that it wasnt my condenser.