Air Con problem

[Jazzdriver]

I sometimes see people referring to having their gas topped up.  If the gas is low, there is a leak. (Aircon gas going into the atmosphere is bad.)  Topping up is not the answer.  The leak need to be addressed before the top up.

[Lord Voltermore]

I sometimes see people referring to having their gas topped up.  If the gas is low, there is a leak. (Aircon gas going into the atmosphere is bad.)  Topping up is not the answer.  The leak need to be addressed before the top up.

I think there is a slow rate of leakage through rubber seals etc that is considered normal and inevitable. But its slow , maybe less than 5 % pressure loss per year and might need topping up after say 10 years.  In this case a top up is acceptable  but I believe  air con experts have a legal  obligation to find and fix leaks  if  leakage becomes too excessive,not just top it up. Even if that's what the  owner wants.    I dont know when leakage becomes excessive but I think if it needs topping up every year it needs fixing. 

[monkeydave]

The aircon in my four-year-old Jazz Crosstar has stopped working. I took it to the dealer for its annual service and they said the condenser pipe had leaked and needed replacing at a cost of nearly a grand.
After I had come around from the shock, they conceded my vehicle hadn’t been the first to have this problem and said they would ask Honda if they could authorise a “goodwill repair” since my warranty had expired.
I received a call today from the garage and was told that Honda had now extended its vehicle warranties to cover this fault, so it sounds like there is indeed a problem with this part.
Hugely relieved!

what it costs nearly £1000 for a condensor replacement, sounds like a bit much to me

[monkeydave]

The aircon in my four-year-old Jazz Crosstar has stopped working. I took it to the dealer for its annual service and they said the condenser pipe had leaked and needed replacing at a cost of nearly a grand.
After I had come around from the shock, they conceded my vehicle hadn’t been the first to have this problem and said they would ask Honda if they could authorise a “goodwill repair” since my warranty had expired.
I received a call today from the garage and was told that Honda had now extended its vehicle warranties to cover this fault, so it sounds like there is indeed a problem with this part.
Hugely relieved!

what it costs nearly £1000 for a condensor replacement, sounds like a bit much to me did they mean a new compressor ?

[ninanina]

On my first Prius I had to have the condenser replaced. My Toyota dealer originally quoted £500+ but they phoned Toyota and got me a deal at roughly £200

[monkeydave]

[/quote]

On my first Prius I had to have the condenser replaced. My Toyota dealer originally quoted £500+ but they phoned Toyota and got me a deal at roughly £200
[/quote]

thanks for your reply, my condenser is still working its just the fins have been worn away with motorway debris and i have gaps in the fins now and as i am out of warranty around the £500 mark seems ok if it includes a re-gas, labour and vat

[ninanina]

thanks for your reply, my condenser is still working its just the fins have been worn away with motorway debris and i have gaps in the fins now and as i am out of warranty around the £500 mark seems ok if it includes a re-gas, labour and vat

Is that £500 by a Honda dealer?  If so I think that’s pretty good as it’s not a five minute job

[monkeydave]

thanks for your reply, my condenser is still working its just the fins have been worn away with motorway debris and i have gaps in the fins now and as i am out of warranty around the £500 mark seems ok if it includes a re-gas, labour and vat

Is that £500 by a Honda dealer?  If so I think that’s pretty good as it’s not a five minute job

when i go to book my service next week i will ask how much they charge hopefully around the £500 mark, it seems like a quick job once they take the bumper off you just unbolt the condenser and regas

[monkeydave]

i went into honda to book my service and fuel pump recal and i also asked about the a/c condenser, i was a little shocked as he said £1050 fitted and the part itself is out of stock till october

i am going to leave it for now and get it done at a local garage if or when it fails

[Spodric]

An update on this, I had my car serviced today with the a/c issue being looked at. It turns out to be a leaking condenser which will need replacing, fortunately my car is (just) still under warranty so it should be covered (subject to Honda approval), otherwise it will cost around £900 to fix.

The dealership had another Mk4 (2 years old) in the week before with the same problem, so they're beginning to think there might have been a dodgy batch of condensers with a manufacturing fault. My car has only done 9,000 miles so it shouldn't have happened. They said it was not caused by the system being under-used, so if you get similar issues make sure you get the car checked before the warranty expires.

My 2020 Jazz SR with 22,000 miles, aircon permanently on, has just been diagnosed withe leaky AC condenser.

Fortunately a warranty claim has been made by Waylands Honda with 2 days left to run on the 5 year Honda extended Warranty. I am waiting for a workshop appointment. Nevertheless losing the jazz for a day is going to be inconvenient.

Just had the fuel pump recall carried out.

This AC condenser defect does seem to be a common fault with the Mk4 Jazz.

As well as brake feel simulator failures. Big hassle, long saga.

The list of defects is getting longer. What happened to the bulletproof reputation that the older Jazz had?

[RuthieB]

Just had my front seat bolsters replaced on our 21 EX as a Honda" Goodwill Gesture" (an update to report on the Front Seat Splitting Subject will appear elsewhere in the forum!) and the Technician reported that the Air-Con condenser has a slight leak.

According to the dealer there is a range of affected VIN numbers which may suffer this failure and fortunately my VIN number falls in the range so will be replaced under 'extended warranty/Goodwill. This doesn't flag up on the usual Honda online Recall Checker using your VIN: the dealer has to check directly with Honda. The condenser will be replaced on 19 March FOC.

I noticed that the part number on the report was 80100-TZB-JO1 and t rocks in at a price of £632.34 with a few hours labour on top it would probably be a total of £900 - £1000!

If anybody knows what the exact problem is or what the Technical Service Bulletin number is then please let us know. (Suspect it may be a newer type of refrigerant

So it looks like I may have the full house on "Product Updates" (aka recalls or inspections) .......Sat Nav voice guidance software bug issues, brake simulator replacement, front camera, and the front seat base covers replacement.
What has annoyed me the most is having to fight with Honda HME EU-UK to get some things done when the car is past its 3-year warranty.
Thankfully this Air Con problem isn't one of them!

That said, we still want to keep this car going as long aspossible as I'm struugling to find anything better in the price range and sector

[Sean Regan]

Somewhere in the handbook, after you've read the first hundred pages covering, 'elf n' safety, it should advise you to run the air/con for at least half an hour a week all year round, it stops the joints from drying out and leaking.
My previous car was a CRV, which I'd bought new 20 years before. When I sold it last March, everything still worked including the air/con which had never needed re-gassing, as I'd done what it said in the handbook.

[Woo]

I haven't read the whole thread but there is a known issue with some AC condensers on the Jazz.
If your car is in the affected model/year/VIN range then Honda will replace the part.
Our issue is we refilled the gas and a year later it's gone! We then found out the condenser was split and leaking gas.

Hope that helps

[RuthieB]

The "leaking condenser" was replaced on our '21 plate Jazz EX today as a 'Warranty Claim' completely free of charge which is ggod news, so fair play to Honda HME-EU at last in this particular instance.

I'd suggest that it's definitelyworth asking the dealer to establish if your VIN falls in the range of affected units but beware of any potential diagnostic charges if the car is not being serviced when making the request!?

Mine was picked up as leaking on the final service of the 5 year service plan as part of the "Health Check" (I think they use a special detector to sniff out the refridgerant).

Best dealt with sooner rather than later just in case Honda put a time limit on it or change their mind!