I had some cooling issues with a 2000 accord Ive owned a good while now. Its had some work done on it from a local garage in the past. Its was having trouble cooling in the extreme conditions when the temps are in the 90's (F) but they have added refigerant one year and 2 years back replaced the thermal expansion valve. Well it acted up agin this year so a friend mentioned another garage they had good success with and was reasonable. They looked it over and said it had a leak at the compressor and the system would need to be replaced. $680, new compressor dryer and lines and refrigerant with UV dye added to test for leaks in the future. After they did the work I drove it home and it was better than before for sure.

But, the lest few weeks here have had temps in the high nineties and the car is parked in the sun. Whenever I drive it in the afternoon I first lower the windows and drive a few blocks to let out the heat. Then I raise the windows and let it ride full blast with recycle air on. I also have a thermometer in the vent and it cools to 60 for a good portion of the first 10-15 minutes of driving, then it lowers to 50 eventually. It just feels stuffy and not very cool.

I took it back to the shop and mentioned what I was experiencing. They kept it a few days and said its fine. It blows 50 sometimes even 48 and the fans are all working and all and there are no leaks. I have a 96 accord that I also tried the thermometer in the vent tested the same conditions as the 2000 accord and its blowing 30 degrees when it is running several miles.

I dont know if what refigerant I have in my 96 is better than the r134a that the 2000 has in it....i thought it would be the same. Ive owned the 96 since the year 2000 when it had 67k on it. I have never had issues with the ac in it and to my knowledge it would have whatever it would have had from the factory in 96.

Whats reasonable to expect here?

 

anyone?

 

All AC is supposed to cool to 40-45 degrees coming out of the vent. It should be constant at that temperature. If not, something is up.

 

Also, the refrigerant in older cars is MUCH better. However, it kills polar bears, so we switched to 134a which is better for bears and worse for you.

 

Yes. This is according to specs from the OEM Honda manual for this model anything in this range is to spec, if you get better nice for you, if worse start looking for problems.

However remember this spec is for typical summer conditions in the USA...another words about 85-95 F temps and with 40- 55% humidity.

 

Actually what's slightly better is that the molecules of r12 are slightly bigger than those of r134a so you will lose LESS refrigerant over time with the R12 which gives a system more longevity without refilling or topping off over time.

 

I have a couple of suggestions that made a HUGE difference for me.

1 - go behind that glove box and replace the cabin filter. I'll bet it has not been changed in years if ever. I changed mine and it was the original. The difference in volume of air coming out was at least doubled after being clogged with leaves and crap for so long.

2 - Get the best tint you can (which is think is ceramic), and then get the clear ceramic tint and put it on your windshield. This changed the subjective feel in the car to where now the air conditioner can never run full blast because it gets too cold in the car. Those two things changed my car completely. Even in 103 degree heat yesterday I only ran about level 2 and 3 on the dial, starting at 3 for about 5 minutes before switching down because it was too cold again in the car. You won't regret it. People are always commenting how cold it can get in my Accord. Having that tint deflects like 80% of the heat coming into the car.

 

Glad to have this topic come back up.

I had about 10,000 miles ago had another garage do some work on the AC. They had to replace the Thermal expansion valve they said was the issue with the AC at the time. I bought the 2 cabin filters and paid them to install them since they were going to have the dash apart anyway. So the filters should be good I would think.

This is interesting about a clear ceramic tint. Ive not heard of this. Difficult to DIY?

Update since last year is this. In late May this year the car was not cooling at all really. It was 70 degrees at best in the car with AC full throttle for over 30 miles. I took it back to the garage that did the work last time and they checked and said it had no refrigerant left. So there is a leak, But they have the UV dye in the system and havent seen where its coming from. They said its probably the evaporator. I said well isnt the work guaranteed you didd last year replacing the system? They said the evaporator was not replaced. They said it would mean taking the dash apart and checking it. I may try this myself. They charged the system again and its blowing cold for now. So aggravating.

 

Tinting a windshield is not something I would DIY unless you are already a tinting specialist.

Suntek is the brand I had used. It has a lifetime warranty. I've had it on cars for over 10 years without issues. About 5 different cars, all with great results on cooling.

However, that doesn't sound like it will fix a leak problem.

I think you can replace the evap yourself. You might still need to take it for proper fillup afterwards, depending on air in the system, but you can do this with basic tools and some time.