[lemichaelj]

Ok I replaced the stator clutch on the AC compressor last year at a cost of $750.00 with the stealership, this year almost 1year to the date lol, the compressor goes bad. Now stealership wants $1600.00 for new compressor, clutch and stator coil, and drier, plus new freon of course. so I paid the $96.00 (w/tax) diagnostic fee and found someone to do it for $1100.00. Just curious if anyone else has paid to replace the compressor. and how much they might have paid dealership or otherwise. By the way anyone know which is a good headlight bulb besides silverstar bulbs that are bright but dont last at all maybe 10 months if I am lucky and I dont touch the bulb either when installing. sorry if this is too much in one thread. I have done search on bulbs but no clear answer and the posts seem old. any new stuff out yet? thanks ahead of time

 

[Dirkdaddy]

Dang dude, that's a ton of miles on your '05. My '06 (Jan) only has 56k, but we just got it.

I'm in Houston hear you on the AC. Dang, I'm surprised it failed on you. Does this system have the "black death" AC failure some hondas would have? I hope not! Something in the compressor would burn up and coat the entire system, causing it to need to be replaced - everything!!!

google honda black death. Hopefully they learned.

 

[lemichaelj]

I guess with 132,000 miles on her, it was time for something to give. but I think it has somehting to do with where the compressor is located at the bottom of the engine near the passanger tire and shroud, but I dont see the plastic shroud protecting it much. so water, road debris, heat, wind and whatever else gets to the compressor giving it a shorter life span. Now this is my logical guess but I have seen it before on other vehicles. anyway I found someone to do it for $1100 so I am somewhat satisfied about the price. but not happy I paid $750 last year for a new clutch and stator at the stealership. The new mechanic told me I should have never just replaced just the clutch with as many miles my van has on it. but now my 99' oddy has 297,000 miles on it with no compressor problems but for info, the compressor is not on the bottom but yet on top near the hood on the 99' model

 

[yatesd]

My air conditioning went out this weekend on my 2005 with less than 80K miles.

The dealer said I need a new compressor and quoted me $1,700. They need to order the part so it will give me a chance to think about it this weekend.

What is a reasonable price for this service? It seems very expensive!

 

[homer's van]

Hmm, seems like somewhere I read that $1100 is a fair price . . LOL. Shop it, dealer labor is a fortune, you can save 40% easily, and even OEM parts come by mail for a large discount versus full retail list at the dealer.
BTW, you can always search out the cost elsewhere and tell your dealer you'll walk unless they charge X (make it reasonable) or unless they install your own OEM compressor unit that you bought for much less online plus X for labor. Whatever.

 

[gmannn]

My compressor went out approx 2 months ago. I called the dealer and they were too expensive so I found a new compressor on ebay for ~$300 and paid $250 to get it installed.
The compressor is not OE but made in the US (texas I think) and brand new (not rebuilt). Got the serpentine belt from the dealer and had them install it for free while at it. So far no problems.

My ody is a 2005 and the compressor went out at ~75k miles. The mechanic said these Honda are known to have AC coil problems.

 

[yatesd]

Thanks, I am trying to compare apples to apples. So far I only received a broad quote for $1,700 and intend to get a breakdown of the charges on Monday.

I would really like to hear feedback about the specific costs involved. So far, it appears the OE compressor lists for about $650 new. I'll also consider other options, but what else is normally done?

- Labor?
- Is the serpentine belt replaced at the same time?
- I see from the diagram that there is also a clutch pack? Is this included in the cost of the compressor or a separate expense?
- How much do dealers typically charge to capture and reuse the freon?

Essentially I am hoping to understand:

- Normal cost of doing things right with new OE compressor at dealer
- Normal cost of doing things right with reputable brand or rebuilt compressor
- If anyone has been successful with getting goodwill from Honda, and if so what were the circumstances?

This is my first Honda, but I never had to replace a compressor on another car below 100K. That being said, my van is over 5 years old. The service manager is telling me the compressor is leaking oil so it does need replaced.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[lemichaelj]

My Dealer was $1600 for New Compressor and clutch, and drier.

Mienike (muffler shop) who had done air work on my neighbors vehicle a couple of years ago and did a good job. Charged me $1100.00 so I went to them, for new complete compressor, drier and expansion valve as well. Plus vacuum and new freon.

 

[yatesd]

Thanks for the details!

 

[cnn]

My 2007 Ody LX with 34K miles had the failed AC clutch.

Parts + Labor = $600.
Good-will (car is 37 months old and 34K miles so kind of out of warranty), so Honda Split it 50-50.

I paid $300.

I wonder if Honda quality goes down!!!

 

[Henryzx7]

My compressor just went on my 03 CRV w/68k. Originally quoted $2,000 to replace compressor/drier andany labor. I decided not to and I'm so glad I did. I did a quick search online and read about many other failures like mine. I made a call to American Honda and the very next day received a call from a case worker. He was pretty cool. Told me that they have been noticing a trend and that the original compressors seem to be trouble. Offered to pay about half and I agreed. I ended up paying $625 and the car was done in a couple of hours. Makes me wonder though. How many people they get with the first high estimate. Seems a little shady to me...

 

[yatesd]

Well, my quote from the dealer was originally $1700. I called a local independent (Blue Seal ASE trained) and they quoted me an estimate of $895 using a remanufactured compressor. Which I thought was a decent price.

I dropped off the van and had them look at it to confirm what it needed and they came back with a $1,377 estimate...and said it could be more!

Supposedly the condensor is clogged from compressor debris so the extra expense is for a new condensor and a full system flush.

They warned me that there are some other components that might be clogged and if so the charge could even be higher.

Anyone have a similar issue? Since my van is over 5 years old with almost 80,000 miles I don't think Honda would have done anything. I did inquire about goodwill from the dealer originally and they claimed the only real problems they were aware of were with CRV's. Well...too late now to go back to the dealer. I just hope my new garage isn't finding things that are not there...

 

[lemichaelj]

I have never heard of a condsensor being clogged through compressor debris but I guess it is possible, but all the years that I have worked on cars "of my own that is" I have yet to hear of that but i cant fully say its not possible. Now my compressor did go out but nothing was wrong with the condensor at all. they just said they had to replace the drier and expansion valve in order to warranty the NEW compressor for 12 mnths or 12,000 miles. so that I understand. but even all that with tax was only $1099.97

 

[Dirkdaddy]

Your condenser being clogged with debris is a BAD sign of "black death" - google that and Honda and you'll see a tale of woe regarding AC. Some sort of teflon that gets burned up and the debris makes you have to replace EVERYTHING which can be horribly expensive.

Moral - try to not use AC if it starts to fail, if you burn it up the whole system may go with it.

 

[yatesd]

Your condenser being clogged with debris is a BAD sign of "black death" - google that and Honda and you'll see a tale of woe regarding AC. Some sort of teflon that gets burned up and the debris makes you have to replace EVERYTHING which can be horribly expensive.

Moral - try to not use AC if it starts to fail, if you burn it up the whole system may go with it.

Has anyone with a 2005+ Odyssey experienced this problem?

 

[New Dad New Van]

Not common for the Odyssey.

The 2002 CR-V compressor is a KEIHIN brand from Japan and Great Britain. The 1999-2004 Odyssey's compressor is a different part and is a DENSO brand. The 2005+ Odyssey's compressor is also a different part and is manufactured in the USA.

 

[yatesd]

Not common for the Odyssey.

The 2002 CR-V compressor is a KEIHIN brand from Japan and Great Britain. The 1999-2004 Odyssey's compressor is a different part and is a DENSO brand. The 2005+ Odyssey's compressor is also a different part and is manufactured in the USA.

Thanks for the additional details. I purchased my Ody in November 2004 and it has about 80,000 miles on it. Being an early model I suspect there is a greater chance for me to see problems first although there are quite a few people with higher miles.

I guess whenever someone faces a very expensive bill that requires unexpected parts, it is normal to question the validity of the diagnosis. Although my shop seems reputable and I have used them before, it isn't the first time the repair was more expensive than I anticipated.

At this point, it would almost be reassuring to find at least one other person who had the same issue!

Of course, if the repair stops at the condensor I could almost justify replacement since it is probably beat up from stones due to the way it was designed.

 

[shall36]

Here's a good tutorial page on AC systems:

AC Systems

If you read the page, you will note that in several places he talks about replacing the condenser if you ever have a compressor failure. Now, the type of compressor failure we are talking about here has to do with internal failures that cause metal debris to go throughout the system. Stator (compressor clutch) failure does not warrant a condenser replacement.

In some other reading I've done on condensers, the thermodynamic characteristics of R134a required a redesign of condensers relative to the old R12 systems to achieve satisfactory performance. The tubes in new condensers apparently are either smaller or double back on themselves or something with the result that they cannot be flushed satisfactorily to get all the junk out.

The webpage also talks about adding an inline filter after a compressor failure and replacing the expansion valve. The latter is common but adding a filter is less so, at least in automotive applications.

Hope this helps someone.

 

[yatesd]

Thanks, very helpful article and makes me feel better about replacing the condensor at the same time as the compressor.