In this heat wave (106F) I had to drive 5 hrs in the Fit today (2012 MT Base). The A/C could not keep up. The air coming out - such as it was (not very strong for recirc on 4) felt mildly cool but not cold. Not only that, it started to drip inside the car on my passenger's left foot. Not a lot, but enough to notice - and it got wet under the mats, too.

When I got home in the cooler garage (at last!) - I went by the car after about an hour or so. There was an unusually large puddle of water coming out from behind the front wheel on the passenger side. I know running the A/C will leave a bit of a puddle, but this was so much it reminded me of times in the past when my house's A/C unit would freeze up and then, when it gave out, subsequently melt, leaving a large puddle.

So ... Is it too much to expect it to put out cold air when it's that hot outside? Before you say yes, they sell them in Texas, don't they? And consider the symptoms above. I feel like this may be in need of a warranty repair of some kind.

Thanks for your thoughts
cspan

 

Sounds normal to me. When its that hot you have to recycle the air inside the car. Leave a window open 1/8 inch and then the A/C doesn't have to work so hard. It sounds like the condenser froze but that is normal in very Hot and Humid air. When the A/C has to take the air from outside it over works and does not cool that good.

In my old truck, I would have puddles on the passenger floor. Check the cabin air filter but I think you had the settings wrong.

 

Thank you for your reply, but please note what I wrote above: I did have it on recirculate, fan on 4.

Air outside was 106F (or more on the concrete highway), I'm not sure how cracking a window help it to "not have to work so hard." How would that help? THanks.

PS 2000 miles on car; seems doubtful the cabin air filter could be clogged that quickly but I will check in the AM.

 

I believe leaving it on recirc is what causes the excessive condensation. You're cooling already cool air, making it easier to pull the moisture out of that air. In general, you want to leave it on recirculate only long enough to get the temperature in the car down. Once there, then switch to fresh.

The one other thing to check is for the drain hose being plugged. With low miles, I doubt you've done something that would clog the drain, but its plausible.

 

Sorry I missed that, but having the window open very little allows the air to circulate better and the fan does not have to work so hard. My A/C in my car did not work that good either but did work better when I recycled the air. I need a new cabin filter though.

Take it in to your dealer and keep the records and if you can take pictures of the water and wet spots that will help later if it continues for proof to Honda if needed.

I also cycle the air conditioner after the car cools off I will shut it off for a few minutes but I do that mainly for mpg and if I need to pass on the highway.

 

Shouldn't make a difference, if it's not cooling adequately take it in and have it looked at.

 

It is amazing that Honda gets AC to work at all with a 1.5 liter engine driving it and all of the big glass up front. Recirculation will help a lot since an AC evaporator will usually reduce the air temp going through it by about 35 degrees at best.

That means at 106 degrees you would only see about 71 degrees out. Also the air is dehumidified buy the evaporator and condensed into water as the air flows through the evaporator. The water is suppose condense, flow down the coils and out the drain. When you use recirculation mode the air entering into the evaporator is cooler to start with and already has had some of it's moisture removed on the previous pass(es) through the evaporator. There is a requirement it the US to have a certain amount fresh air enter the system at all times so even in recirculate there will always be some new moisture laden air from the outside going through the system.

If you have water dripping on the carpet you probably have some kind of blockage in the evaporator drain. It is also possible that you have moist enough air going by some of the cooler / cold duct work. The moisture then condenses on the outside of the duct work and is dripping on to the floor. To determine if this is the problem you are either going to have to get under the dash and look, or take it into the dealer and complain.

 

The Fits ac is marginal in severe heat until you're moving for a bit. The worst case is when you're short hopping for the first trip of the day and you're stuck in traffic. OMG- that's tough. What I do always on severe hot days is before going anywhere, I open all five doors for a couple minutes and let the heat out. This is an absolute must and it will drop the temp substantially. Then I keep it on recirc/blower on high with all four windows cracked a little for a bit. Then I close all windows and switch to outside air. After a bit I turn the blower down to 2. Initailly, the best you can hope for is that the car is moving uninterrupted during your drive, which will keep the ac working the best it can. Once the cabin is sufficiently cooled down, it's maintains well, ime.

 

Take it in. It's not draining properly. It shouldn't be dripping on the floor of the car.

It is not "normal" for the evaporator to freeze up, or leak on the floor. The condenser is on the front of the car. If it's freezing up you have a problem. Modern cars have exhaust vents, usually in the back under the bumper. It's not necessary to drive around with the windows open. sheesh. SB, where do you get this stuff? Your grandma?

The output is limited by a thermistor (which also helps prevent the evaporator from freezing).

In 106 degree weather I was comfortable (3 or 4 on recirc) but not cold. It's adequate but not more. And it didn't leak on the floor.

 

Thanks, Steve244. I had a hard time believing it was normal to have condenser water dripping on passenger's feet. Think of the mold issue that would create over time.

And while I can understand a really hot sunny day would quickly neutralize cold air coming from an AC, the air coming from the AC should still be cold.

I plan to call in tomorrow; I hope they can get me in soon.

I may look into window tinting to help improve the effectiveness of the AC once fixed. I welcome tips on that idea as well - thanks again.

 

Not sure how well tints will help, but a windshield sun reflector is a favorite by those who use them. I think they make custom ones that fit the windshield. Might be a thought. Good luck with the ac. I agree, there's a problem to be fixed.

 

When there is high temp and high humidity the a/c will remove water by the bucket. Literally. And if the water can't drain easily from the catch pan, you will have spillage in the cabin.

One thing I think you should check is the drain. If that hose is in any way clogged or kinked you will get water dripping in the cabin under the dash and when youi stop the catch pan which is full (thats when it spills over in the cabin) and staying in one place will leave a large water puddle. See if you can clear the hose from underneath with a tube brush rather than a blunt or sharp device.
Final;ly, make sure the drain hose tilts backwards and not forwards so airflow doesn't act as a resistance to water draining out but instead acts as a siphon.

 

Oh, I've got one of those from College Hills Honda, but I've found it obstructs my view a bit in highway driving.

But seriously ... my thoughts on tinting were as much to do with its ability to help keep the car cool in motion as well as at rest. My big "fail" was with the car in motion.

Can't wait to call in the AM.

w/r/t the fellow who recommended a tube brush to the (evap pan?) drain hole, do you have a photo or schematic image showing where it is located? I can only find a half dozen things under the hood, and that's not one of them.

FWIW, I did check the cabin air filter. With the exception of one small fly, it's pristine (as one would expect at 2000 miles). It is interesting how much you can see behind the lower glove compartment though - much more than in the older Fit.

 

What you described has not happened to my Fit but it did happen to my old Protege right after we moved to Arkansas. After a 5 hour drive the passenger footwell was soaked. The dealer found nothing wrong and decided to put a longer drain hose on. I never had the flooding problem again. Having said that, I haven't had any problems with the Fit's A/C, although I agree it's marginal when it's 105 out.

 

doctorz, thanks for that background. I may inquire about a longer drain hose if they can't find anything. I actually would be a bit surprised if there's a pluged evaporator pan drain ... with just 2000 miles there's really not been time to accumulate crud to clog it up, unless something flew up from underneath and lodged itself there.

I strongly suspect there's a leak in the system and it froze up, and the part nearest the passenger footwell got warm enough on the exterior surface of the frozen-over part to start melting and dripping. That would explain the wetness inside and the ineffectiveness of the system generally, assuming it works on roughly the same principles as a home A/C system.

I got an appt for Wednesday morning. Kind of surprised they're open on Independence Day but I'll take it - all the easier to get a ride home.

 

The drain tube is located under the car near right foront wheel, right where you noticed the puddle. No, its not easy to reach without jacking the front or on a lift.
One note, if its blockedd by a leak or some flexible stuff watch out when its relieved; you'll get a faceful of cold, dirty water.

 

Dealer service dept says it never had enough refrigerant in there from the factory. They claim they ran a dye test and determined there weren't any leaks, so that wasn't the reason for the freeze up.

Kind of surprised they're open on Independence Day but I only have 90 min left to go get it. So I gotta go. Hopefully that's all it is ... so, if any of you experience these kind of symptoms, well, the claim is at least one came out of the factory out of spec.

 

Hopefully that takes care of it. Thanks for the update.

 

OP--post an update; let us know how things worked out.

 

If there was no refrigerant, freeze up not possible. To check for leaks pull a vacuum on the system; leaks will show up very quickly simply by the rersistance to evacuating.