Air Conditioner stopped working

[chaz]

I had my RL fixed at the dealer today. Definately a hole in the condensor. Anyway, my Insurance covered the repair under my comprehensive coverage and I only had to pay $100 deductible instead of the $500 for accident coverage. They also reimbursed me for car rental.
I was lucky.

[brich]

Good to hear.... Thanks for the follow up...

[Garv]

I have a similar issue. Just got a call from the dealer and it's going to cost one thousand dollars to replace . With a condenser costing under $300 + $100 for the diagnostics, looks like labor costs and replacement / disposal of refrigerant is costing me $600. Seems steep although I really don't know what's involved with replacing the condenser.

I didn't think about calling the insurance company... I'll have to do that and see if they can pickup some of the costs. Thanks for the tip!

[ericrwalker]

I am not going to read the who whole thread, but just in case someone didn't mention it, there are 3 fuse boxes. Under the hood there are 2, one is easy to spot on the passenger side, then there a small on on the drivers side under the hood near the battery.

The other is under the dash near the parking brake.

[ChrisM]

Originally Posted by Garv

I have a similar issue. Just got a call from the dealer and it's going to cost one thousand dollars to replace . With a condenser costing under $300 + $100 for the diagnostics, looks like labor costs and replacement / disposal of refrigerant is costing me $600. Seems steep although I really don't know what's involved with replacing the condenser.

I didn't think about calling the insurance company... I'll have to do that and see if they can pickup some of the costs. Thanks for the tip!

$600 for refrigerant is a little steep. I would look elsewhere.

[chaz]

It cost $635 to replace my air conditioner condensor. This included the new condensor, labor, recharge and a rental car for one day. The insurance company reimbursed me $535. I have $100 deductible with my comprehensive coverage.
I suggest trying another dealer.
My refrigerant leaked out. There was no disposal.

[HondaTech]

Air conditioning repair is a very lucrative segment of the repair market. As a tech, I cannot control anything in regards to the parts costs. They are what they are. Generally, r134a refrigerant is somewhere around 15-25 dollars per pound. The Ridge's capacity (it's in grams) is somewhere around 2 pounds (to me it's foolish that refrigerant is still sold in 30lb tanks... we should have embraced the metric system years ago).

As for labor... replacing the condenser is not really all that difficult. You remove the front bumper cover, unbolt the two lines going to it and unbolt the brackets securing the condenser to the core support. Quite simple. The profit comes in the diagnosis, and the evacuation and recharging. Every A/C job requires the use of an A/C evac recharge machine. Basically, you hook it up, enter some info, and press start. Then you can walk away and work on something else for the 20 min or so it takes. It is again a situation where the repair facility has a captive customer. The average consumer does not have the knowledge or equipment to fix it themselves. In addition, many states prohibit unlicensed persons from working on A/C systems.



HT

[Andy-Montreal]

The most common failure of a vehicle's air conditioning condenser is piercing due to impact from road debris. The second most common failure is outer abrasion caused by chafing or rubbing the soft aluminum piping against a harder steel component such as a condenser support, header plate, etc...

Failure of a component due to road debris excludes the mfr's liability and/or rsponsibility in replacing the given part under warranty. Failure of the same part due to the use of poor engineering practices during the design and testing should be the responsibility of the mfr.

On another note, as of 2011 R-134a will no longer be used in all european-mfd vehicular air conditioning systems. California will also be enforcing new stringent measures in the handling of this refrigerant as it's now believed that R-134a does possess ozone-depleting substances and can contribute to global warming.

[Garv]

Just an update...

I called my insurance company and they said they would cover it under comprehensive. (I have a $500 deductable though)

I went to the dealership and told them I would be using insurance instead of paying cash. They said they had a different rate they used with insurance companies. I was thinking it would be more expensive, but it turns out the quote was cheaper!

The quote follows: “using motor (blue) guide 2008”
Part# 80110-SJC-A01 – Condenser $292.40
Add refrigerant $30
Labor – Evac / Recharge 1.4 Hrs @ $98.75
Labor – Condenser 2.1 Hrs @ $98.75
Hazardous Refrigerant Disposal $15
+NJ Sale tax for a grand total of $730.83
Add in about $100 for the initial diagnosis.

[ChrisM]

Originally Posted by HondaTech

Air conditioning repair is a very lucrative segment of the repair market. As a tech, I cannot control anything in regards to the parts costs. They are what they are. Generally, r134a refrigerant is somewhere around 15-25 dollars per pound.
HT

I remember when they had R12 on closeout at Nationwise Auto Parts (now advance auto parts) on closeout for 89 cents/lb. I bought 2 cases. By the time I finally ran out, R12 was over $90/lb. and you had to have a license to dispense it. (which I had at the time)

99% of that $90/lb price was all taxes. From what I understand now, it is over $100/lb even if you buy it in bulk.