Car a/c intermittent failure

[Dan Murphy]

The fact that it cools normally and then does not, I would think that it would not be the refrigerant but rather something intermittently mechanical.

 

[jimmymc]

A few things to check yourself:

• Turn the blower on full and cycle the system from floor to dash to defroster and back
• Cycle the temperature from hot to cold and back
• With the temperature set all the way cold, turn the AC button on and off. It should get cold after a minute of two of being on. It happens faster if you're driving around.

If the first two aren't working, then there is an issue with the HVAC module doors and you probably need to see a mechanic. If the third one doesn't work, then either the compressor is not engaging, or the system is leaking and low on refrigerant. The compressor won't engage if the coolant temperature is too high, so also make sure that system is filled and the temperature isn't getting too high.

 

[tvguy]

Once again, not everything operates the same across the country as it does in CA.

Take it back to the shop saying "it's not fixed"? Sure.
Assuming a future repair is covered under warranty? Not so much.

Wow, I would NEVER use a repair shop that doesn't guarantee their work.

 

[_19disnA]

How old is the car? If the AC works, then could be a problem with the controls and/or electronics. I doubt any of those are thing you can fix by yourself at home. Need to find a reputable shop to diagnose what is wrong (assuming the place you previously took it to can't find/resolve the issue).

 

[sam_gordon]

Wow, I would NEVER use a repair shop that doesn't guarantee their work.

I take a car to the repair shop with a problem. They try "fix A" because that's what I selected as the cheaper option.

Take the car home, and the problem still exists. Go back to the shop. Are you saying the cost for "fix a" should cover the cost for "fix b" because of a warranty?

Just to be clear, A MIGHT fix the problem and is $50, B WILL fix the problem and is $1000.

 

[tvguy]

I take a car to the repair shop with a problem. They try "fix A" because that's what I selected as the cheaper option.

Take the car home, and the problem still exists. Go back to the shop. Are you saying the cost for "fix a" should cover the cost for "fix b" because of a warranty?

Just to be clear, A MIGHT fix the problem and is $50, B WILL fix the problem and is $1000.

OP wasn't given two diagnosis. Just one. OP was told by the shop there was no leak. They misdiagnosed it. I would expect them to cover further diagnosis time under their warranty. I would expect any labor and parts to complete "fix b" to be at my expense.
That is a common practice at new car dealers and independent repair shops. And that trickles down to the mechanic because many shops make the mechanic do further diagnosis without pay. That's why mechanics hate "come backs".

 

[Mouse Tracker]

OP was told by the shop there was no leak. They misdiagnosed it.

Not if there's no leak.

We had it into the shop about a month ago and they checked for leaks and recharged it.

Thus Plan B or go to a better shop.

 

[mom2rtk]

We're having a similar problem and taking ours to be looked at tomorrow. Biggest problem seems to be when we are stopped (like at a long light or in a drive thru).

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We're having a similar problem and taking ours to be looked at tomorrow. Biggest problem seems to be when we are stopped (like at a long light or in a drive thru).

That's when my heating would most often drop out ... stopped at a long light. It looks like the intermittent AC can also be associated with head gasket, just like my heating issues were. I hope it's not that for either of you, it is an expensive repair.

 

[tvguy]

Not if there's no leak.

Then why is the freon low again a month later?

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Then why is the freon low again a month later?

Intermittent AC is not necessarily indicative of low freon. There could be many things causing this, not just a freon leak. In fact, if it were low on freon, you would probably expect more consistent degradation of the coolness of the AC, not an intermittent problem.

 

[sam_gordon]

Then why is the freon low again a month later?

We don't know it is. That was my GUESS, but could be many other issues.

 

[tvguy]

We don't know it is. That was my GUESS, but could be many other issues.

And if it is a different issue, I would expect to have to pay for the REPAIR, but not the DIAGNOSIS.

 

[sam_gordon]

And if it is a different issue, I would expect to have to pay for the REPAIR, but not the DIAGNOSIS.

And if they charge you for the diagnosis? Go to another shop?

 

[leebee]

The car is a 2003 Honda CRV. The fan and everything seem to be working just fine. However, sometimes the compressor comes on and sometimes it doesn't. Tested it this morning. I went out around 11:30am and started the car. I turned on the fan and it came on, pressed the a/c button. I could feel the compressor kick in- there was a momentary reduction in power- and within about 30 seconds, cold air was coming out. I drove into Bangor to go to Sam's (so about a 10 minute drive) and it was fine; we were SO comfortable! Shopped for about 40 minutes, came out, started the car in the same way I did earlier in the day. Nothing. No compressor kicking on, no momentary reduction in power, no cool air. We took the "longer" way home to avoid the highway, so we could keep the windows open. We have an appointment to take the car back into the shop on Wednesday (and yes, we trust them, we've been with them for 20 years, know the owners from around town, etc. Never had an issue with them.)

 

[tvguy]

And if they charge you for the diagnosis? Go to another shop?

I likely would. But I would be surprised if they did. Just not good business. Just looking at a couple local independent shops known for ac repair, one plays up that they stand by their work with a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty. So if they mis-diagnosed something, I would expect they would track down what the new problem was for no charge, and only charge for the actual additional repair/parts.

 

[EACarlson]

I likely would. But I would be surprised if they did. Just not good business. Just looking at a couple local independent shops known for ac repair, one plays up that they stand by their work with a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty. So if they mis-diagnosed something, I would expect they would track down what the new problem was for no charge, and only charge for the actual additional repair/parts.

The shop checked for leaks and recharged it. They did not do a comprehensive diagnosis from what OP has stated in this thread.
I would be looking at having whatever they charged me for the leak check and recharge, I'm assuming less than $200, taken off the final bill.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

we trust them, we've been with them for 20 years, know the owners from around town, etc. Never had an issue with them.)

Good deal, I bet your taken care of.

 

[firefly_ris]

The car is a 2003 Honda CRV. The fan and everything seem to be working just fine. However, sometimes the compressor comes on and sometimes it doesn't. Tested it this morning. I went out around 11:30am and started the car. I turned on the fan and it came on, pressed the a/c button. I could feel the compressor kick in- there was a momentary reduction in power- and within about 30 seconds, cold air was coming out. I drove into Bangor to go to Sam's (so about a 10 minute drive) and it was fine; we were SO comfortable! Shopped for about 40 minutes, came out, started the car in the same way I did earlier in the day. Nothing. No compressor kicking on, no momentary reduction in power, no cool air. We took the "longer" way home to avoid the highway, so we could keep the windows open. We have an appointment to take the car back into the shop on Wednesday (and yes, we trust them, we've been with them for 20 years, know the owners from around town, etc. Never had an issue with them.)

If the compressor sometimes comes on and sometimes doesn't, maybe there is a wiring issue? You drive it around, wire is making contact, after a while, wire gets jostled enough and loses contact, no power to the compressor again.

This is ultimately (sort of) what happened with my old van -- at first it was intermittent then over time permanent -- I lost A/C, and also lost power to my radiator fan, so I had no A/C and was overheating if I drove more than a couple miles on a warmer day on top of it (so on hot days I was blasting additional heat into the cabin to keep the engine a little cooler, super fun times). Thought it was bad fuse at first, but it turns out wiring was no longer making connection due to corrosion. In my case the labor was going to cost more than the vehicle was worth to fix -- 18 year old minivan in Buffalo was basically rotting away from the inside at this point, after I had stopped yearly rust-proofing 5 years prior and taking everything apart, new wires, connections and fuse box and putting everything back together again was going to be a lot on a vehicle that was worth about $1000 at that point.

On a vehicle that doesn't have 18 years of Buffalo winters I would assume (?) it would be easier to find and fix wiring connection issues. Maybe it's just that. I'm not sure if a bad compressor works sometimes until it fails or if it just fails once and that's it, I don't know enough about it.

Maybe it's just a bad thermostat too.

Hope you get it straightened out and it's not an arm and a leg.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Intermittent AC is not necessarily indicative of low freon. There could be many things causing this, not just a freon leak. In fact, if it were low on freon, you would probably expect more consistent degradation of the coolness of the AC, not an intermittent problem.

44 years in the business, it's probably low on gas.