29th Aug 2007, 15:15

I was driving in 100 degree weather a few days ago (it's August 29th), and my vents made a grinding sound for about 10 seconds. Thanks to this forum and others such as Edmunds.com, I found this is a persistent problem.

Sure enough the dealer tells me it's the clutch on the compressor. $1510 bill. I was told by the service manager this is a very common problem at the dealership, and I should contact American Honda. I did and two days later I heard back from the contact there. He had me fax in my invoice and said it would be reviewed to see if the "goodwill warranty" is applicable. I'm crossing my fingers. I would love to buy another Honda again; it's been a great car until this experience.

30th Aug 2007, 23:09

I live in Southern California and today was one of the hottest days of the year. I was driving my 2003 Honda CRV when a brief rattle noise came from under the hood, shortly after my a/c started blowing hot air. I will check with the dealer about covering the cost, but I am not optimistic.

31st Aug 2007, 13:44

My 2002 CRV AC just went out this past week. I had an independent service center take a look at it first, and gave me a price (almost fainted). I have just over 86,000 miles on it. They told me that another customer had the same problem, and contacted Honda about it. Honda is covering costs to replace the AC up to a certain point. Up to 60,000 miles, total coverage. After 60K, labor costs are upon the owner. Total cost of $2700 - but labor to me @$700 - but I am going to work toward getting that covered through another call to Honda of America!

3rd Sep 2007, 01:04

Well, I am the latest victim I guess, to the Honda CRV Compressor problem. My air quit today, here in Phoenix AZ. It was only 109 degrees. My dealer is quite a drive away, so I pulled in to a Sears. They looked at it, and told me it was probably my compressor. The repair man told me that Honda has a major problem with their AC compressor. He advised me to call Honda America even before contacting my dealer. (Which I can't do until Tuesday, due to the Holiday). Then of course I come home tonight and serch the net, and find page after page of complaints about Honda's CRV's and the compressor. = So, I guess I need to brace myself for a possible fight. And fight I will!- Honda should have recalled, or have a standing order to fix all of them at no cost. They obviously know they have a problem. I will contact the news stations and an attorney if I have to pay one dime. Will keep y'all posted. -

4th Sep 2007, 15:08

Yup... me too! Air compressor blew up and contaminated the system on my 2004 CR-V. Have been calling Honda of America since August 12... no help or info from them yet... (currently Sept 4). When I first called I said: "I'm calling about an expensive problem with my CR-V... can you guess what it is?" He said "uhhh... the air compressor?".

At the dealership they claimed never to have encountered this problem before..."Well, gosh it happens sometimes... I've never seen it... etc..." Made me think that it was like getting struck by lightning or hit by a meteorite... very rare... just my bad luck.

Then you enter "Honda CR-V air compressor complaints" into a search engine and you can find 180 identical complaints in 2 minutes...

I am a peaceable 'live and let live' sort of guy and have never sued anyone before... but if Honda doesn't step up on this it is time for a class action lawsuit.

It should not cost me 15% of my car's value to repair an air conditoning problem that was caused by a known faulty design.

Turns out this is the number one complaint of CR-V owners. They had been selling these cars with this defect for at least 3 years to unsuspecting drivers. They never issued a recall or advisory.

5th Sep 2007, 09:45

I bought my Honda 2002 new and I am also a victim of the Honda A/C compressor blow up. The first time this happened I had about 55,000 miles on my car and Honda "fixed" my compressor in July 2005 at minimum cost to me. Now 2 years later and 90,000 miles on my CRV the compressor has blown again. This time I am looking at $1200. This is my 4th Honda and I will not buy Honda again.

5th Sep 2007, 15:31

Maybe there are only 180 complaints out of some 500,000 plus CRV's. Kind of like the McDonalds lady suing over coffee.

5th Sep 2007, 19:05

When driving down the interstate in Kansas this weekend, my car began to squeal; then a clunk, clunk; then no cold air out of the A/C. I didn't think an A/C could cost so much money, but a local mechanic quoted me $1200-$1300 to repair the problem. He said he already had called the local dealer to check on parts for me (he wasn't up to fixing the problem) and they said it was a common problem, but they could offer no help on the cost of repairs.

I was on the fence about whether to trade in my 2002 Honda CR-V with 110K miles for a new car. I was waiting until my husband who is away in the military could return and help me with the car buying decision. Ugh!

I don't want to put any money into this car that is not worth $7K in "good" condition, but how am I going to get anything for trade with a huge mechanical defect like this?

Would be all for organizing some sort of nationwide effort to take Honda to task for such a shady business practice. I won't be buying another Honda in the future.

5th Sep 2007, 19:49

2002 Honda CRV...61000 miles blew AC on 9/4/2007. Checking with dealer and corporate office now.

TM Norman Oklahoma

7th Sep 2007, 00:51

Bought a 2002 Honda CR-V EX from a local Lexus dealer this summer with just under 31,000 miles. Today the return trip home from work was horrendous, with temps in the high 80's, I had no a/c for the 1st time. Stopped by my mechanic who told me he thought there might be a problem w/the compressor clutch. So I called the dealer. Am awaiting a reply... the future does not look too good, given all the problems everyone else has had w/their Honda a/c's. A recall is in order! Where are you Honda America?

Cleveland, OH.

7th Sep 2007, 20:30

Cost me $459.86 for new AC system-Honda paid the rest of it, always call corporate Honda and get a quote/answer before repairing thru dealership.

10th Sep 2007, 22:23

I live in the California desert and one of the things I truly liked about my 02 crv was the a/c. Not anymore! before hitting the road last week, I turned on my a/c and it responded with a funny noise from the hood for a few seconds. I turned to a concerned facial expression and to my dismay, hot air started blowing from my vents. Neatless to say, my whole mood changed from decent to bad. I started thinking repair costs, how to deal with typical 100+ degree temps and how my 2 1/2 year old son will react to this oven on wheels. I'm active duty military stationed in 29 Palms, Ca. By reading these comments, I'm realizing how much the cost is to fix this problem, and I don't know how I will come up with the money. I bought this car because of its good reputation and the safety of my son came first. I just hope Honda can take the responsibility for this serious issue since its so prevalent in 02 crv owners. Wish me luck.