Hi Folks,

I have a 2009 Honda Fit w/ MT. It was running smoothly up till now, but the AC Compressor just destroyed itself this past Friday. Sounds like this is a common problem for the car?

Either way, the dealership shop is quoting me $1,600 to replace the compressor, clutch, serpentine belt and for an AC recharge. Does this sound about right? Or am I getting hosed?

Thanks!

 

Do you need all that work or are they just throwing in extra things that they say need to be done? Have you tried calling around to other dealerships to get an estimate? What about reputable garages/mechanics/repair shops?

 

Looks like my compressor is going south as well. With AC running, it almost feels like an engine miss. No problems with the ac off. My guess is compressor is starting to go. Autozone has a new one for $389 and one without a clutch for $289. I'm considering buying it and finding a reputable shop to do the install and recharge.

Sorry, this is for a 200720not aa 2nd2nd gen

 

Rockauto shows $212.00 or $300.00 for the replacement compressor KIT. It includes the compressor, clutch, drier, and expansion valve. Add to that a couple of cans of R-134 (around $20.00 from Walmart) maybe $5.00 for oil and about 2 hours of labor. Depending on how the compressor failed you might also need to flush the system so add another hour if needed.

So I looks like you are looking at $350 for parts (including shipping) and 2 or 3 hours of labor.

If you were around me and wanted to do the work yourself, I would tell you to bring it over and we could do it in an afternoon.

 

Hi DWils,

I spoke with the folks at the dealership and asked them what was included in the quote. Here is the breakdown:

Parts - $1,200
1. Compressor
2. Clutch
3. Coil
4. Evacuate and Recharge

Labor - $400

3 year/36,000 mile warranty

I called other shops to get additional quotes, but everyone told me the same thing: aftermarket parts are not available, only Honda OEM parts. So pay up. But looking at this thread, it looks like RockAuto does offer aftermarket options. Should I buy the parts from there and take it to the mechanic? I do that with oil, why not the AC.

Thanks

 

Hi n9cv,

Wish I could take you up on that offer! I would love to learn how to do this myself. Trouble is I don't have tools or a garage, or any idea as to where I should start.

Seems like the dealership is charging me a heavy premium on the parts. This is my first real repair experience, so I guess I'm fresh meat to them.

Appreciate your help.

 

Well I'm looking at AutoZone on line nad they have the compressor for $393, $305, and $268.. So whomever said that aftermarket part are not available is not telling the truth. I did not check Oreilies, advance or NAPA, but I'm sure they all handle them. I strongly suggest that you replace the drier and expansion valve at the same time. These are very cheap and this is where the shaving for the previous compressor will get caught when I self destructed. Mot compressor manufacturers will nto warranty their replacement compressors if the the drier and expansion valve were not replaced.

The quotes you got are very high. The 1200 part quote is out of sight but the mechanic is making about 40% of that in profit. I feel the labor rate is high. I have not looked in the flat rate book but 3 hours labor to replace evacuate and recharge the system is a reasonable estimate.

Find someone else if you do not want to do the work yourself.

Oh I forgot to tell you that those compressors are also available on ebay in the $200 range. I bought one there to try them out several years ago., It was new Chinese made, not a reman, and being distributed out of Texas by a native English speaking American. It now has around 125,000 miles and many years on it. I ordered another one a couple of years later for another vehicle and it also is still going strong.

Another option for you is to get the parts and install them yourself. Then take the car somewhere, have it evacuated, and recharged for $60 to $100.

So you have a lot of options out there. Good Luck.

 

It is not difficult work, but without some around to ask questions to it could be challenging. It is little things like the replace the green o-rings on any hose you take loose. Coat the o-rings with refrigerant oil. The other problem is once you remove the compressor you can not drive the car until a new one is installed because the serpentine belt needs to be back in place.

My daughter is a 33 year old college grad with a masters. She does almost all of her own automotive work. She learned by doing starting at around 15. She could pay someone to do things but she is too cheap, like me, to over pay for most stuff.

I like to tell the story about the time she took her car in for a front end alignment. The guy came out and said we can not align your car because the ball joints are worn out. It will cost you around $600. She said "Which Ones?" He said "all four". She said "That is strange because I just replaced the two lower ones last week end. That is why I wanted it aligned. Take my car off of your rack and I'll go to someone else who knows what they are doing and won't try to cheat me."

 

I bought a new-to-me 2013 Fit three months ago.

About two weeks, our weather finally improved and I was able to turn on AC for the first time - and it blew out nothing but hot air. Yada yada yada (I googled this forum to figure out for myself what the problem was, and yep - a rock pierced the compressor).

Long story short, I took it back to Honda dealership. They are charging $1,021 to install a new compressor, which apparently reflects a $225 credit (the diagnostic charge I'd have to pay regardless of any other service).

After several expletives, I decided to leave it with the Honda folks. They at least should do the job right, and given the stupid diagnosis charge I doubt I'd save $ by taking it to my local mechanic.

From what I understand this is a MAJOR DESIGN FLAW of the Honda Fit; there is absolutely no way to keep it from happening again. The Honda mechanic said "Some people try to rig up a mesh screen or something, but I've never seen it work."

Long story short - I will NEVER fix the AC again. Thanks a lot, Honda.

 

Thanks for the price break-down. That looks similar to what they jotted down and flashed at me yesterday, at the Honda dealership.

 

Go to an independent shop. At least, get an estimate.

Our GD had a bad, noisy compressor clutch last year (2016). It was cheaper to have the entire compressor replaced at an independent shop than to have just the clutch done at a dealer.

The total cost then was just north of $600 USD.