Civic A/C woes

Harbir · 16th May 2011, 07:44

My mom's civic has a weak air conditioner. the car has 34k km, and my mother says its A/C has always been weak. various A/C repair shops tell me that civic A/C is known to be weak.

anyway, I had it serviced a couple of days ago that involved an R134a top up and condensor clean out.

the cooling is certainly better than before but still not right.

if the HVAC is set to recirculate, the interior gets quite cool. if its set to draw in fresh air, the ac just can't seem to cool the incoming air. Also, even when on recirculate, the car needs to be in motion for the A/C to work well. In stop go traffic and at long red lights, the air out of the vent loses chill. when the speed picks up above 25km/h it gets chilled.

to me it feels like the fan blowing across the condensor isn't moving enough volume on its own. What I can't tell is whether I need a new OE fan (if the present one has become weak), or if I need a larger capacity fan (if the present fan is working to design but has inadequate flow).

what do you guys think?

Sn1p3r · 16th May 2011, 08:46

I think the gas pressure is low as you mention that it chills only after moving. Low gas pressure leads to ice formation and thus for the temp gauge it's like super cool, however with car moving and hot air breaking the ice formation, it starts cooling again.

I speak from experience, however get the car checked with Honda. Our civic was 3 years old and never had an AC issue. Try good sun-film as well.

All the best.

flipsyde · 16th May 2011, 09:02

I think you are mistaken. The Civic A/C is certainly not weak. Its probably the best in the segment. I can only assume your gas levels are low. If you did try refilling the gas and are still facing the problem there is a possibility of a leak.

It could always be a one off problem in your car too but I doubt that. Get the car A/C checked for leaks and that should help.

Akshay1234 · 16th May 2011, 10:06

The Civic ac is not known to be weak. Take it to a Honda dealer if you haven't already and get it checked out there. Compare it to another Civic if you can, and if you find that also weak then get some good sunfilm. I would suggest Vkool.

Harbir · 16th May 2011, 11:37

the car has 3M film on it. at any rate, the film cannot make a difference to why air from the vent stops being cool when the car is stationary. I will have it looked at by the hona dealer to see if the shop that recharged it with gas yesterday didn't do a good job.

but I do think that the fans are not moving enough air over the condensor.

Cyborg · 16th May 2011, 12:03

The Civic ac is definately not weak, I have a Civic AT and the ac is an absolute chiller.
In the afternoons and even if the car is parked in the sun, the ac chills the cabin withing minutes.

Have it checked out at the Honda dealer and insist on them fixing the problem. Tell them (speak confidently) that you have checked out a number of Civic's and all the cars tested the ac is great.
A lot of times I have noticed the service guys to be vey lazy unless you know someone there or are really pushy.

Hope you get it sorted out - Cheers.

16th May 2011, 07:44	#1
Harbir BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 920 Thanked: 1,025 Times View My Garage	Civic A/C woes My mom's civic has a weak air conditioner. the car has 34k km, and my mother says its A/C has always been weak. various A/C repair shops tell me that civic A/C is known to be weak. anyway, I had it serviced a couple of days ago that involved an R134a top up and condensor clean out. the cooling is certainly better than before but still not right. if the HVAC is set to recirculate, the interior gets quite cool. if its set to draw in fresh air, the ac just can't seem to cool the incoming air. Also, even when on recirculate, the car needs to be in motion for the A/C to work well. In stop go traffic and at long red lights, the air out of the vent loses chill. when the speed picks up above 25km/h it gets chilled. to me it feels like the fan blowing across the condensor isn't moving enough volume on its own. What I can't tell is whether I need a new OE fan (if the present one has become weak), or if I need a larger capacity fan (if the present fan is working to design but has inadequate flow). what do you guys think?
	() Thanks

16th May 2011, 08:46	#2
Sn1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 1,022 Thanked: 231 Times View My Garage	I think the gas pressure is low as you mention that it chills only after moving. Low gas pressure leads to ice formation and thus for the temp gauge it's like super cool, however with car moving and hot air breaking the ice formation, it starts cooling again. I speak from experience, however get the car checked with Honda. Our civic was 3 years old and never had an AC issue. Try good sun-film as well. All the best.
	() Thanks

16th May 2011, 09:02	#3
flipsyde BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 644 Thanked: 84 Times	Re: Civic A/C woes I think you are mistaken. The Civic A/C is certainly not weak. Its probably the best in the segment. I can only assume your gas levels are low. If you did try refilling the gas and are still facing the problem there is a possibility of a leak. It could always be a one off problem in your car too but I doubt that. Get the car A/C checked for leaks and that should help.
	() Thanks

16th May 2011, 10:06	#4
Akshay1234 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 10,265 Thanked: 12,317 Times	Re: Civic A/C woes The Civic ac is not known to be weak. Take it to a Honda dealer if you haven't already and get it checked out there. Compare it to another Civic if you can, and if you find that also weak then get some good sunfilm. I would suggest Vkool.
	() Thanks

16th May 2011, 11:37	#5
Harbir BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 920 Thanked: 1,025 Times View My Garage	Re: Civic A/C woes the car has 3M film on it. at any rate, the film cannot make a difference to why air from the vent stops being cool when the car is stationary. I will have it looked at by the hona dealer to see if the shop that recharged it with gas yesterday didn't do a good job. but I do think that the fans are not moving enough air over the condensor.
	() Thanks

16th May 2011, 12:03	#6
Cyborg Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,694 Thanked: 3,856 Times	Re: Civic A/C woes The Civic ac is definately not weak, I have a Civic AT and the ac is an absolute chiller. In the afternoons and even if the car is parked in the sun, the ac chills the cabin withing minutes. Have it checked out at the Honda dealer and insist on them fixing the problem. Tell them (speak confidently) that you have checked out a number of Civic's and all the cars tested the ac is great. A lot of times I have noticed the service guys to be vey lazy unless you know someone there or are really pushy. Hope you get it sorted out - Cheers.
	() Thanks