How to get the longest life out of my Honda's Air Conditioner?
Posted by CelestialBeing138@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 25 comments
My 3-year-old Accord recently needed a new AC compressor. I am retired, and I want this to be my forever car. Several people, (including a redditor who claimed to be a Honda tech) have said that using the Eco driving mode cycles the compressor which causes it to wear out faster. Um, OK. /shrug. I turned off the Eco mode, but I still live in a really hot dry desert where I need A/C like 8 months per year. So I'm wondering, does putting the AC on MAX put more stress on the unit? What about using dual zone, where the passenger (my wife) likes it 20 degrees hotter than me? I usually like it really cold, so I frequently have it set to 58. Will it last longer if I set it to 65 and just deal with it being a little too warm? If I want my AC to last forever, what is the most effective way to pamper it? I park outside in covered parking, so I usually start the car about 2-5 minutes before I drive, because it is always too hot here.
jrileyy229@reddit
I can't speak to eco mode in a Honda, but generally yes, repeatedly cycling is worse for it than just staying on
CelestialBeing138@reddit (OP)
Do you have any tips for getting the longest life out of an A/C unit?
jrileyy229@reddit
did the dealer not cover it under warranty?
CelestialBeing138@reddit (OP)
The dealer did cover it under warranty. But the warranty expired last week, so I'm making plans for the next 15 years.
jrileyy229@reddit
There is nothing you can really do about it. Honda has had a bunch of recalls.around air conditioning stuff over the last decade... I can't speak to it specifically. But overall, just chalk it up to the cost of living and be comfortable.
Even if it costs $1k repair every 3 years... That's like $1 a day.
Next time you use your car for saying 20 minutes to go to Costco, and you're miserable and sweating when you get out of the car... And then the same thing on the way home for 20 minutes.... Then get out and ask yourself if 40 minutes of being uncomfortable was worth effectively $1.
CelestialBeing138@reddit (OP)
Thank you for sharing. If you have anything to offer on the headline question, I'm all ears. How to get the longest life out of my Honda's A/C?
Ok-Business5033@reddit
He did offer something for the headlining question.
"There is really nothing you can do about it"
AC compressors don't generally fail that early. It was either a poorly designed unit and they replaced it with a redesigned unit- or it was just bad luck.
AC is designed to run 24/7, nothing you do on the interior controls broke it, it broke on it's own.
What they said is correct, $1 a day worse case scenario. Odds are, the second one won't fail nearly as soon. So its probably closer to $0.25 a day.
If $0.25 a day bothers you, you shouldn't be driving a car because they cost significantly more than that to operate.
Reasonable_Royal7083@reddit
fresh cabin filters always use recirculate button
rscottyb86@reddit
That's a shame. And probably a strange anomaly. A 3-year-old AC compressor should not fail.
TheReaperSovereign@reddit
Hondas do. Their ac oem is garbage.
CelestialBeing138@reddit (OP)
Which is why I'm wondering if I have done something to push it too hard. Certainly living in a hot desert is the first step, and that isn't going to change. But I'd like to know if other things I do stress the unit and contributed to it failing, like using the dual-zone. Does that affect the longevity? Does setting it low affect the longevity? Does running it while idling before getting in affect anything? Pretty strange it failed after 3 years, so I want to understand how to avoid a repeat.
molehunterz@reddit
Honestly, I would guess that you got a fluke, or anomaly as they put it, failure
I am not well versed on the new air conditioning systems, but the old 134 and R12 systems held the lubricating oil in suspension in the refrigerant. When the system is not in use, that oil tends to come out of suspension and sit at the bottom of various places in your AC system.
I cannot tell you if it helps or not, but I've heard that not running your air conditioner for long periods of time is worse for it.
The system itself operates on the same principles as your home refrigerator or air conditioner. I would be surprised if Honda didn't build that to be run continuously. In other words build it for continuous duty.
I live in Seattle where it rains quite a bit from fall through spring. Every once in awhile on a dry sunny day I will turn the air conditioner on because there are times you can go months without actually wanting it. But I do think it's good to cycle it.
Anecdotally, my 1989 Ford still has the original R12 charge to it. I might be doing something right, or it may just be an anomaly 😂
Autobacs-NSX@reddit
My 22 year old Toyota still blows ice cold a/c on the original system and I live in a pretty hot area of SoCal so it gets plenty of use. Toyota uses the same compressor supplier as Honda (Denso). The reason yours failed so fast in my opinion is a production issue. Something was out of tolerance, bad batch of materials, contaminants left inside the unit, etc. What I’m saying is, you were the unlucky 1%. What you should do is blast the AC as hard and often as you want and the compressor should outlive you. In my opinion.
HalfBlindKing@reddit
Hopefully it was a freak occurrence. I owned a 2016 Accord from new that was 5 years old and 185k when it got hit, still had flawless AC.
SteelFlexInc@reddit
I have a 16 accord as well and keep my AC on lowest temp most of the time and Econ off tho most of the time. 119k and so far fine. Civic owners of this era are known for AC problems tho
Avalanche325@reddit
Just use it. You got a bad one from the factory.
obxhead@reddit
What exactly was the failure? Was it explained at all?
Potential-Anything54@reddit
AC compressors, window regulators, brake rotors. Three items that have been Honda Achilles heel for decades.
ImpliedSlashS@reddit
AC compressors always cycle. Nothing to do with eco mode. Just got a shit specimen.
ruddy3499@reddit
Speaking as a technician for over 30 years. Truth is there’s way too many variables. There’s no way to know many cycles your compressor has before failure. Keep the condenser free of bugs to help thermal transfer and if eco cools you down enough good, if it doesn’t turn it off. Being retired you’re probably not putting a massive amount of miles on it anyway. Relax pushing a button on your car should not be a source of anxiety
Impossible_Month1718@reddit
I would run it at medium most of the time and max for limited periods of time. The on off cycling is harder on it. It shouldn’t happen again. That’s unusual
Fancy_Chip_5620@reddit
My 95 Tacomas ac lasted 2 years before the compressor locked up
Than was untouched from 1997 to 2019 blowing ice cold air the whole time after that
robbobster@reddit
Currently own a 2015 with 115k miles and a 2018 with 130k miles.
I keep my cars a long time and run my AC 24/7. I never gave AC issues.
RelationNo9374@reddit
Hondas aren’t great AC cars in my experience (my wife’s ‘06 civic coupe being the outlier). I recommend a Ford or a Lexus if strong AC is a must.
Dmaster223@reddit
Sounds like you should move out of the really hot dry desert if you enjoy 58 degree AC.