I think it's noisy too, but this is a characteristic shared with all Hondas (road noise) to some extent.

I value efficient reliable A/C (it's an emotional dependency here in the south). Luckily I'm also a cheap bastard and the Fit feeds this need. But they're at odds with each other.

 

I might have to get my A/C service lately it has been working fine occasionally it could be a little cooler but it seems lite most people in this thread had to have it recharged. Road noise does not seem too bad I think new tires which I will need later this year as I approach 30k on my 12 Sport will greatly improve this issue.

 

Just got back from the dealer and they found no problem with my 2012 Fit Sport's AC but I am not convinced.

I suppose it could be a possibility that it's because it just can't keep up when it's hot and humid outside and the sun is shining in the car, but the air just didn't feel that cold after I was on the road awhile.

So the workaround is to turn it off for awhile and back on? Should I turn it to heat and suffer for a little? Or just turn it off? I need to tell my wife because she is planning a long road trip in a couple of weeks.

 

Turning up the heat doesn't help much as the heater core is after the evaporator coil; any heat introduced will not be routed through the evaporator. The temporary solution for freezing is to turn off the A/C switch which turns off the compressor, but leave the fan running. It'll defrost that way.

Mine was freezing up whether I had it on recirculate or fresh air, but using recirculate will help it cool better, plus it won't have to dehumidify as much.

 

Thanks. I'm glad I won't have to turn on the heat or advise my wife to.

I was using full recirculate and it still happened.

My only question remaining is... how long to leave the AC off? Is 1 minute enough?

 

Overnight should do it.

Kidding. If it's freezing up there should be reduced airflow. The fins transferring heat from the air to the evaporator coils literally get frozen-up with the air spaces between filled with ice from condensate freezing. Turning off the A/C until the airflow is normal (15 minutes?) should thaw it out.

It's subtle when it starts happening. On a long trip it's obvious, but otherwise you might not notice the reduction in cooling and airflow.

When I had this happen, it was after about 2 hours use. I'm not sure how the dealer at my destination diagnosed the problem. They recharged it but also replaced a high pressure switch and clutch relay. It could be they recreated the problem, or maybe they just did whatever they thought might be the solution. Maybe all it needed was recharging. They did run it at idle for a long time (hours?), but I'm not sure if this recreated the problem. It worked fine on the trip back so I'm happy...

 

Steve, we basically feel the same way about the Fit. Also, this Yankee is a proud cheap bastard. Being from Georgia you must be familiar with Clark Howard. He's got a good website with forums if you're interested.

 

I'm a tree-hugger from Seattle and married to a Boston girl. GA has been home for the last 16 years. It hasn't quite sunk in.

 

It's not "cheap bastard". It's called "frugal".

 

I went to another dealer (AutoNation) for my first maintenance (at about 8300 miles I was still at 15% oil life) and told them about the AC problem since my wife later experienced the same thing after the first dealer checked out the AC and didn't find anything wrong.

They could not reproduce the problem (not sure how long they tried for) but they did evacuate the system and replace the relay or something, mentioning possible moisture in the system as a possible cause. If I am reading the notes right, it had .40KGS of refrigerant when spec is .37KGS to .42KGS so that was fine. My service adviser even said there was a technical service bulletin or something about this, but I'm not sure that was really the case.

Anyway, I don't plan any long trips anytime soon but I hope that resolves the problem.

 

lends weight to Honda's replacing the relay and HP sensor on mine. It's working better than ever this summer (replaced in June), and no issues on the 12 hour trip back after fixing. Good luck with yours.

 

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead.

I've been noticing condensation above the 2 center vents(above the radio) in my GD3.
The AC blows cold and I've never had a problem with it so far. I'm at around 142k on it.

Is this normal or is something wrong. I haven't noticed any water in the passenger floor or anything abnormal from the drain hose.

I do leave it on recirculate but with at least the drivers window slightly open, because I smoke in my car, and I can't stand to not get some fresh air. I just can't leave the windows rolled up and drive.

I'm worried about the condensation affecting the radio and other electronics hidden behind.

Whats the issue?

 

Even on recirc there is a steady income of fresh air for safety reasons but you are bringing in more by opening the window so you can smoke. Bringing in more fresh loaded with water condenses more water and it condenses on your vent as well as the a/c condenser. So it normal but not good as yes it is condensing water in your radio. Whether there's enough to be harmful its hard to say.
Try not smoking and closing the windows and see what happens.
cheers.

 

When you say condensation are you talking about liquid water dripping down the dash or white smoke (heh heh heh) coming out of the vent?

Unless you need extra cooling, don't leave it on recirculate, especially since you smoke. Drawing in fresh air will exhaust the fumes. Since you leave a window open the air will tend to exit from this, but also through exhaust vents under the rear bumper (at least I think that's where they are, all cars have them). Don't know if this will help avoid condensate around the vent exits, it might, as you're allowing moist air to enter via the open window with the A/C selection on recirculate.

 

Still does it, it being causes a moist spot behind the vents that when wiped away with your finger or napkin will still come back.

Its just that forms on the dash. I have a picture but my phone isn't talking with my computer.

When a window fogs up, it's not dripping water but its stagnant water on the window. Its like that. Just water that forms and can be wiped away.

For the time being, I took my radio out and used a plastic sand castle shovel to funnel the water off the radio into a paper cup ziptied to the wires.
I did this because I wanted to see the amount of water that gets in there. If it's barely any, I wont worry about it. If theres alot in the cup I'll be worried.

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Side note:

The condensation is there with or without the recirc. I checked the temp blowing out of the vent and it registered at 47 deg. The temp in the car was about 65-70. The AC ran for 20 mins and then the thermometer was set in the vent.

I got the system refilled and leak checked last year during the midwest drought. I've had my bumper off a few times and there's no major damage to the condenser. A few small rock hits but nothing too huge, less than the diameter of an average cigarette.

Im the only owner of the car, so its never been touched other than to recharge the system. My mechanic did install steel caps on the system and removed the plastic ones.

The condensation is only present on full air, meaning the fan setting is at 4, and the coolest I can go on the knob, again with or without the recirc.

I'll be checking in a few days the cup behind the radio. It's never done this before, until the last 2 months.
I mean for the AC to be blowing 47 degrees out of the vent, it's working well I'd venture to guess.

The radio is half out of the dash so it's easier to check the cup in a few days.

I'll see what happens

 

um yes please, post pics if you can. Water running down your dash isn't normal.

47F exit air temperature is well within the normal range, depending on ambient air temp and humidity. (see page 2)

 

Check your spare tire well in the back of the hatch or other places on the carpet. If you have a water leak and the carpets are dump this puts more moisture into the cabin and airflow doesn't get rid of it.