Hi I have a 2013 Honda civic ex, with 133,000 km automatic. My Air Conditioning quit on me, approaching 3 years at least now. A few years ago, I added free on. The compressor would start right back up again, but it seems that there must be a leak. The AC would blow cold for a week getting less less cold as the days go by. I'm stuck on the thought that this is a $400 cash fix to get a garage to fix my AC. What else could the problem be other than a leak? And is $400 a good price?
The AC would blow cold for a week getting less less cold as the days go by. I'm stuck on the thought that this is a $400 cash fix to get a garage to fix my AC. What else could the problem be other than a leak? And is $400 a good price?
Well, you didn't identify the cause of the leak. Air conditioners have 5 main parts and corresponding conduit: a compressor, condenser, receiver/dryer, expansion valve/orifice tube and an evaporator. Almost all of the components are under the hood, except for the orifice tube/ expansion valve and the evaporator, which are inside the dashboard. Judging from your estimate, the condenser probably has holes in it (the condenser is in front of the radiator, and rocks that have been kicked up by passing vehicles can hit your car's condenser).
I'm a technical guy with a minor in aerospace engineering; I also thoroughly researched what all is involved and I replaced the condenser and receiver/dryer on my own in a 1999 Ford Ranger. If you are not technical, do not work on air conditioners. They can be extremely dangerous if you don't know what you're doing; the high side can get up to between 250 and 300 PSI depending on ambient air temperatures outside the car. For reference, a typical car tire is only inflated to about 35 PSI.
If you're comfortable with numbers, get a recharge kit WITHOUT sealant and with UV dye. fill it up until the compressor starts to run. The kit will come with funky sunglasses that highlight the presence of the UV dye. If the condenser has holes in it, replace it, along with the receiver/dryer. Then, if you're comfortable enough, get a pair of safety glasses, a proper manifold gauge set (not that "fill to the green nonsense") a vacuum pump, straight refrigerant and PAG oil. A good shop manual will have recharge amounts for what you've replaced, and the amount you need to refill. Vacuum the system and leave it for an hour. If it stays in vacuum, all holes have been sealed. The AC recharge amount will be under the hood, typically on the radiator core support. Recharge using a reverse scale to exactly that amount.
Obviously you have a leak if the AC works only a short time after refilling it. (The refrigerant isn't disappearing into the Twilight Zone.) Find the leak and fix it.
