04 Civic Air Conditioner Not So Good

8 posts

I posted this on another message board. I found 1 person who sympathized with my problems, and another person who yelled at me for complaining. Go figure:) I thought I would post here to see if anyone else is having similar issues.

I live in Arizona, and let me tell you, it is no picnic with this car's air conditioning when its 110 degrees out. Sometimes it blows cold air, and sometimes it does not. There are many times when it takes 15-20 minutes to even cool down the front seat. The back seat never cools down. I know this because I have a baby that sits in the back, and when I go to take her out of the car she is extremely hot and sweaty. I sat back there for 4 hours one day, and it was a miserable ride.

I had taken my car into one Honda shop 3 times complaining about my air conditioner and every time they tell me that the air is "normal" and they have also informed me that this was built to blow warm air when accelerating while getting onto the freeway.

Their solution to the problem? They tinted my windows for free. While that is a nice gesture, and it does keep some of the heat out, it doesn't help the actual air conditioner cooling off the car.

So I complained to Honda Customer Care, and they recommended I go see another dealership's shop. So I did, and they found a hole in a hose. So they repaired that, and recharged the A/C system. It worked great the first day, and now its back to sucking again.

So the car is back in the shop. We shall see what they do for me. I hope they can fix it, if not, well I will have to take some alternative routes.

If anyone else has this problem, please let me know!

Thanks!

Alie

From Los Angeles, 1 post

I sympathize with your problem because I have the same problem with my Honda Accord 2004 A/C. It blows warm air for the first 10-20 miles. The dealer found a valve leaking, fixed that. But when I got it back it still does the same thing. The dealer says they have not encountered a problem such as this!

Any others? Maybe if more people have this problem, Honda should research on why it's causing this problem. Sounds like your/my problems are not unique!!!

8 posts

Im sorry that you are going through this as well. do you live in arizona too?

unfortunately, i still have the car, the a/c the last time i used it in the crazy heat, still sucked. its been winter so i havent had to use it for a while. but the hot weather is just around the corner.

have you contacted honda customer care?

i'm thinking about doing so again, but just openeing a new claim so i dont have to work with tha same lady from last time.

2 posts

I am going through this same thing right now. It is really frustrating! I took my 04 civic in last week to get the air fixed, the next day it was REALLY HOT out and the air did not work at all!!!!

I took it back to the dealer today and got a call back saying there is nothing wrong with it. I asked what i can do about it and they had no suggestions...which made me even more mad.

My husband found this site and just sent it to me...i'm glad to know it isn't just me.

Any suggestions?

8 posts

i wish i had some good advice for you...here i am a whole year later, it's hot as hell outside, and my AC still sucks. honda is not willing to do anything to fix this problem, as they say there is nothing wrong with it. at this point, i am not even going to bother with them anymore. i am just going to trade this car in for something i know has good AC.

you could try contacting honda's customer care, and see if they are willing to help you out. they will probably send you to another dealership for a second opinion. my hope is you will get better results than i did...wish i could be of more help.

From Ohio, 1 post

I have a 2005 Honda Civic and am having the exact same problems. My a/c blows warm and cool air alternately--and I have to keep the fan on the absolute highest setting to even get a bit of relief from the heat. It seems like the hotter it is the worse the air works--and if it is at all humid?-- Forget about even trying the air, it just doesn't work at all! I only have 4000 miles on my car and worry that this is the beginning of a horrible experience with the Honda dealer after reading all of your posts. My husband is a mechanic and says that the line the dealer gave you about the air shutting down on the highway is a load of bull--our a/c should definitely be working much better than it is! By the way--he has a 10 year old Ford that the a/c gets so cold after only a few minutes in the car that I have to turn it down!! We have an appointment to take my Honda in this Saturday for the a/c--I'll let ya know what happens and wish me luck!

From St. Louis, MO, 1 post

Reading these replies makes me feel a tad better. Now I know I am not alone. I just bought a Honda Civic '05 in May and the air conditioner is the worst I've ever had; it blows hot/humid air for a long time. When I spoke with the Dealer about how hot the car got, he told me the windows were developed to provide a greehouse effect. I explained that might be good for a plant but not a person--these windows do not keep the heat out at all. I traded in a Hundyai Elantra and to tell you the truth it's air conditioner far exceeds that of the Honda Civic. People riding in my car have told me after being SO HOT, they will NEVER buy a Honda. I hope Honda listens to this.

Hot in St. Louis

From UK, 3 posts

I'm not sure where you guys are situated apart from the person in AZ in the US, but thought I would share my experience with you. I have an 03 Honda Civic Type R (197 hp 6 speed UK model), the air con was a dealer fit option (which has now changed to a factory fit I understand). Even in a UK summer which ok does not get really hot (but does get humid) the aircon has struggled to reach anything like comfortable temps. I took the vehicle to France in 2003 during their unprecedented heat wave (temps were hitting 46c), and frankly it was useless. Honda certainly do have issues with aircon on Civics so it seems.

8 posts

i feel bad that you are all having such issues with your cars. mine still sucks. this car has now decided that it's only going to start when it's in neutral and it's an automatic car. i seriously am at my wits end with this vehicle. i am going to try to find a new car asap. and it will not be a honda. i am so done with this company. not only is their product bad, but they have done nothing to rectify the problems i have with it.

i wish you all luck with your cars. i hope you have a better experience than i have had!

From Raleigh, NC, 1 post

Alie, I live in NC, have a new 2005 Honda Civic, with the exact same problem. I've had two dealerships assure me that the car is "normal", when clearly it is not. I am distressed to hear that you are giving up. My husband and I are forced to drive his gas guzzling SUV most of the time now, because at least it has a functioning AC. I would be very interested to hear if you have actually made any records or documentation of temperatures, etc. I am going to do this with my own car, so I will actually have some evidence to present as I pursue this. Do you still have your car? Would you be interested in perhaps working on this problem together? If we can document the problem, and maybe find some others with the same issue, I plan to submit the findings to not only Honda, but other watchdog agencies. Maybe we can get some action if we generate a little heat of our own.