question for Honda civic owners

[MissWaverly]

My sister has a 10 year old Honda civic, she just had the Freon replaced, it had cool air for 10 minutes, now it
is blowing hot air again, it is 100 degrees during the day, could it be something else or is it the hot weather?

[flvegan]

1. Did a mechanic do a full diagnosis of the a/c system, determine

it just needed a charge, and then filled it?

[MissWaverly]

2. no, it was jiffy lube

he said that when cars get old then the freon needs replaced.

[flvegan]

3. It needs to go to a qualified mechanic with experience with

a/c systems. Then, when they diagnose it, take the new invoice to Jiffy Lube and demand your money back. Cars do need to have the material replaced, but only after a diagnosis, pressure test, etc.

Matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, if they put freon into a leaking system, they just broke the law (not you, Jiffy Lube).

[MissWaverly]

5. thanks very much

I appreciate all help with this problem

[CreekDog]

11. i second that post!

:applause:

[MissWaverly]

12. thanks, the problem is you have car trouble and

it's hard to know what to do, now I know to have a diagnostic test run or it's a waste of time.

[CreekDog]

23. i only trust the jiffy lube guys to fill the oil and the washer fluid

and i'm leery that they will put those in the proper place in correct amounts!

anything else, go to an actual mechanic or dealer (a *good* mechanic is usually cheaper and a better value than the dealer).

good luck. :hi:

[MissWaverly]

24. yes, you are right, the problem is they have no incentive to care

they are just putting in time

[MissWaverly]

7. Have to go, thunderstorm has come up

appreciate the help

Miss Waverly

[triguy46]

4. You have a leak. Probably a seal on the compressor...

if all they did was add freon, it was treating the symptom, not the cause. Go to a real mechanic you can trust and hold on to your wallet.

[MissWaverly]

6. thank you, she will take it to her mechanic

you have saved the day, it's hard to know what to do in this situation.

:-)

[cloudbase]

8. Just adding refrigerant doesn't always work,

especially if all the refrigerant has leaked out. The system has to be evacuated of all air with a vacuum pump, and the system checked for the ingress of air, which will be shown by loss of vacuum in the system.

Jiffy Lube would be the last place I'd go for an oil change, let alone anything else.

[MissWaverly]

13. she is going to go to her mechanic

I know about Jiffy Lube, when I was a new driver I went there and they didn't even fill up my windshield wiper
fluid with their checkup service. But thanks for the tip on the air test, it's a lot easier to lose air than
freon and cheaper too not to mention the enviromental impact.

[krispos42]

9. If it need more Freon, how did it lose the Freon in the first place?

Although it's not actually Freon anymore, it's R-134a. But I digress...

The refrigerent doesn't "wear out" or otherwise get used up. It got escaped. Some cars (like my 20-year-old beater) have a small leak, so I can periodially touch it up to get all the cold air I need.

But if it was working fine last fall and now it's dead, that points to a larger leak. You need to bring it someplace where they can put in a special kind of R-134a that has a dye in it so they can find the leak.

[MissWaverly]

15. well, I think it's driving in DC

our capital now resembles a war zone, with barriers everywhere and roads with every type of rough surface, they ought
to make a survivor episode on commuting in DC.

[scarpa43]

10. The leak can be found

A mechanic or dealer can charge the system with coolant mixed with a dye that can be seen with a black light.

You let the system run and then use the black light under the hood and they will be able see where the leak is. It could be as simple as replacing a small hose, or it could be the entire A/C compressor.

[MissWaverly]

16. well, I will hear back from her this weekend

I sent her an e-mail with everyone's good tips so she will have a better understanding of the problem.

[DarkTirade]

14. Sounds like a leak to me.

I thought I had one of those when my old accord started blowing hot air... but then I realized the fuse to the compressor had just blown. D'oh. :P 15 cent fix as opposed to paying a pro to find the leak and fix it.

[MissWaverly]

17. well, let's hope it's something simple like a fuse

she has an old civic so could be time to replace the fuses, the car is 13 years old.

[DarkTirade]

19. Well, if the fuse is blown it wouldn't have started blowing cool air at first.

[MissWaverly]

20. well, yes, your logic trumps mine

that is quite true and it is probably a leak.

[DarkTirade]

22. Curse that insidious logic...

:P

[MissWaverly]

25. well sometimes logic is valuable

If they had it in Washington Bushco would have been gone years ago.

[Breeze54]

18. I don't know. Mine is a '93 and I haven't had that problem... but

:shrug:

But my hard top convertible leaks on the drivers side.

How do I get that fixed and how much? :shrug:

[littlebit]

21. You have got a leak somewhere.

It's going to cost a few dollars to get fixed. Just don't take it back to Jiffy Lube. Those guys are mechanic school dropouts.

[MissWaverly]

26. yea, I know the problem is my sister was looking for a bargain

there is no bargain when you need something done