Air Conditioner Problem with Honda Odyssey

I'm the owner of a 2002 Honda Odyssey. With less than 15,000 highway
miles, the air conditioner quit working last month so I took it to
the dealer for diagnosis. I was told that an object (probably a small
stone) flew into the opening of the grill and punctured the condenser.
The condenser was not repairable and had to be replaced at the tune of
$478.72.

When shown where the (radiator like) condenser is located, in front of
the engine coolant radiator, just behind the large front grill openings
with no protection and close to the ground, I could see that this was
poorly designed and that this would occur again and again. The dealer
stood behind the vehicle's design and said that the problem was due to
a road hazard and not under warranty.

Not getting any satisfaction from the dealer, I called American Honda
customer service, whose rep. listened to my problem and gave me the
address in Torrence, CA. She admitted that the company has received
other calls with this same problem. I followed up the phone call
with a letter explaining the situation. Two weeks later a
representative left Honda's response to my letter on my voice mail,
reiterating the dealer's decision.

Attempting to do a little investigative work on my own, I checked out
the Honda Odyssey newsgroup, but mostly saw positive experiences
posted. That's surprising, because it's unusual for people to take
the trouble to post messages praising something. Seems like most
postings initiating a thread are generally posted by people being
motivated by wanting to complain about something. Makes one wonder
if most these positive postings or replies aren't initiated by people
with obligations to Honda, i.e., sales rep's, dealers, employees, etc.

My questions is: Has anyone else out there had their condenser
damaged by objects coming through the grill -- and what kind of
support did you get from your dealer and/or Customer Service? Any
suggestions on how to pursue this problem? Thanks for any help!

 

If your condenser was punctured by an impact from something off the road,
you should be able to put in an insurance claim under the comprehensive part
of your policy. I have done this when a rock punctured a headlight lens
($160 part) and they paid it without any problem. That is what this
coverage is for - damage caused by other than collision. I don't know of
any car that screens off the condenser/radiator from road debris. A
functional grill in the front of the car is a thing of the past.

They used to sell sheets of window screen to put over the front of the
radiator to keep bugs off. This might be a way to protect your condenser in
the future.

 

This is a common problem and condensers are being made more and more
fragile in the quest for lightness. I don't know about other makes of car
but it's also been bad enough with Acura RSXs that some people have been
fabricating their own screens which they attach to the inside of the
"grill" opening. Check with a search in the forum at <www.clubrsx.com> for
pictures of how to.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

Our '95 Odyssey came with a piece of window screen already installed in
front of the rad / condenser. I'll be doing that on our next vehicle
too. Everything stays cleaner, and since it's a few inches away from the
coils, small projectiles have most of their inertia absorbed before
contacting metal.

'Curly'
--

To REPLY: You must remove two underscores from the return address to
reply directly . . . . . .

Regarding stage performances: When everyone else has finished playing,
you should not play any notes you have left over. -