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I have honda accord 2016 which reached 42K so out of warranty. I was driving back with my family during a long trip and my AC stopped working, I went to the Honda dealer and I was told my Clutch and coil failed and need to be replaced. I took it to local mechanic and I was told that compressor is locked up which burned clutch and coil. now I have to replace compressor set( including clutch and coil) and condenser. Honda dealer is charging around 2800$ and local mechanic charges around 2000$. Is this normal for compressor to go out soon, Honda dealer confirmed that there is no physical damage and they cannot identify why it failed which sounds like I got a defective compressor, Is this common? I already escalated this to Honda and a case is open. Anyone have similar experience?
I'm not a mechanic but that sounds extremely expensive. It might be a good idea to check some forums for your car. They can be a very good source information about recommendations for service etc. in your area. I know they have been very good to me over the years for my cars.
Keep shopping. It's Summer and the mechanic knew you need the cool air. I would say it should cost about $700 or so, depending on where you live. The mechanic is a scam, unless there is something else wrong with your car.
You can still drive it, if you live in ... Alaska.
I had it done last Summer ( yeah, Summer when it fails) and friendly mechanic charged me $420. Honda dealership was $700, but they also wanted to replace hose, which was unnecessary.
The whole kit cost ~$260 at ebay. Used - half the price.
Ugh... just noticed. The condenser is probably another $350, still not even near your estimate.
OP, this is not aimed at you personally but is a general comment... I never understand why people don't just google parts for their cars...
In general, once you have the car part price you know if you are being ripped off or not. Someone else above suggested a brand specific forum. That is good, there you will also get an idea how much labor is involved so that you can (a) do it yourself, or (b) again know how much time it should take to get the job done.
Once you have the price for parts and the amount of time required, ask your mechanic what his labor rate is.
From there, you can double the price given on the forums for an independent mechanic to do the job, or triple it for a dealership to get the very maximum it should cost to get the job done.
Last edited by blktoptrvl; 06-01-2018 at 05:26 PM..
I'd argue with the next level of Honda for a warranty repair. AC is not especially mileage-related and two years is far, far too short to have failed catastrophically. I assume you have at least 3 years coverage, if not a little more?
The compressor on my Sonata was going bad at 40k miles, and the compressor went out on my coworker’s 2015 GMC pickup with only 45k miles. He paid and independent mechanic to replace his for around $1k, and I traded my Sonata before it completely died.
Cars have gotten more reliable, but it seems ac compressors are the exception to that.
Check with Honda. Had the AC compressor seize at 16 months and just over 40k miles on my Mazda3. Mazda good-willed the parts and I paid labor. There's a ton of labor involved in replacing an AC system though so it was still around $800 if memory serves. Getting it fixed at my regular indie shop would have been 1,400 though.
I had a Honda AC compressor fail a number of years ago on a fairly year old Honda with low miles, just after it went off factory warranty. I know of someone else that had a similar experience.
It's part of the reason Honda was crossed off the list the next time I bought a new vehicle. I am shocked to see they are still having the issue.
I had a Honda AC compressor fail a number of years ago on a fairly year old Honda with low miles, just after it went off factory warranty. I know of someone else that had a similar experience.
It's part of the reason Honda was crossed off the list the next time I bought a new vehicle. I am shocked to see they are still having the issue.
It’s all brands.
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