Jazz broken aircon?

[guest411]

Hi Guys,
I have a 2004 Jazz and I’m generally happy with it.

Last week the air con stopped working and when I went to the garage they told me I need to completely replace the unit because it is “sealed for life” and they can’t service it.

Incidentally my warranty expired about 6 months before hand.

My questions is this, if the air con is meant to be “sealed for life” and it stops working after 3.5 years, does that mean faulty manufacturing? Can I go back to Honda and claim its unreasonable for this to stop working so soon? Can I ask them to replace it?

Many thanks,

[RichardA]

It will be hard to prove if it was a manufacturing defect, but I think air con shouldn’t fail on a 3.5yr old car.

Did you buy the car from new?

If not, did it come from a Honda dealer?

If so, it should be easier to get things done. If the dealer supplied and serviced it from new they might be more sympathetic.

Considering how young car is and soon the warranty has expired, I would polity insist on having the system replaced free of charge. There’s no guarantees they will play ball, as dealers carry out the work and return faulty parts to Honda who then say yes or no over footing the bill.

If this fails you have two choices: either write to Honda UK in Slough and claim this is not good enough, or go back to the dealer and ask them to go two thirds to half on the bill as a good will gesture (easier if you are long-term customer who’s had the car serviced there in the past).

Best of luck and let us know how you get on!

[guest221]

When you say it stopped working, what exactly do you mean?

If the system is simply not blowing out cold air but you can hear the compressor working, it may just need re-gassing. The air-con my old V-reg Ford Focus ‘packed up’ at just over years old (and a few months after I bought it!). I took it a garage, they checked it and they said all was needed was to recharge the system (common on a 3yr old car).

[guest102]

Vehicle a/c systems are filled with a specific amount of refrigerant from new, similar to your fridge/freezer, the only difference is that in a vehicle system there needs to be flexible hoses to accomodate relative movement between the engine and chassis. Over a period of time some of the refrigerant leaches out of these hoses or a weak point in the system and it will cease to work efficiently. With most ‘European’ vehicles this usually occurs around 2-3 years, Japanese vehicles often last a little longer.
As the refrigerant level drops the cooling efficiency becomes less, until a pre set piont where the low pressure switch opens to prevent the compressor running ‘dry’ and self destructing.
No vehicles have a ’sealed’ system all vehicles have charging points, these are used to monitor the pressures and recharge the system when required.
If the system is found to be empty then it will need to be leak tested and the leak repaired, but if there is some refrigerant left it will simply need recharging, which should cost around £50.00 depending on your location.
It is better to use a specialist who understands the system, DIY kits are rarely effective for long and cost almost as much, added to which it is now illegal to handle refrigerants without the correct qualifications.
Bob. R ( http://www.caraircon.co.uk )

[guest411]

Thank People,

The car is new bought from a Honda dealer in Israel (which is where it still is) - thanks for the feedback, will go back to the dealer and talk with them.

Just to confirm,
If it’s just ran out of gas than it’s just a matter of refiling it.

if it’s fundamentally broken - then we need to replace the whole unit, in which case I shoudl demand they do it at their own expense or at least split the cost. I suspect this is the case they are quoting my the equivalent of £900 to replace the whole thing.

Many thanks,

[culzean]

You can have the low pressure A/C system pressure checked at the fill point (looking from front of car it is at LH front of engine area, located on a metal pipe next to the fuse box - it should have a blue plastic cap on it with a capital 'L' for low).

If there is still pressure in the system you can just have it re-gassed up to correct pressure reading, however if the system is empty (no gas at all) then you will need to have the system checked for leaks and repaired if necessary and then evacuated with a vacuum pump to make sure it is completely dry inside before having it re-gassed.

You can buy HFC-134a (R-134a) refrigerant in pressurised cans from any good motor parts dealer with pressure gauge and instructions for topping up the system - but remember too much gas in the system will degrade its performance.