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Honda Passport Air Conditioning Defect - The Comprehensive Thread and Poll

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Hi Everyone, I'm starting a new thread on the A/C Issue many of us are experiencing with our Passports. The old thread was filling up with complaints, but also a lot of conflicting and inaccurate information. I thought I'd put together a full description of the issue, as I experienced and had it remedied on my 2019 Lunar Silver Passport EXL.

Please read the description of the problem and participate in the survey here:
Honda Passport A/C Defect Survey

So far 18 cases have been confirmed on this forum. I will update that number and this top post as info develops. If you have this problem, please keep records, take the survey, and post your experience in this thread.

Description of the Problem:
-AC System did not work at all from the time a customer took ownership. “Tried my A/C for the first time today and nothing happened.”
-Some customers report losing A/C functionality suddenly or slowly over time.
-In almost all cases, the refridgerant had leaked from the system entirely and in some cases partially.
-Almost all dealers are aware of the issue and being proactive to fix it.
-So far, it seems mostly early production (Winter 2019) Passports are affected. This could be due to the problem being resolved from the factory, or from dealerships being aware and fixing the issue when the vehicles are delivered and checked in to the dealership.
-The issue is being repaired under warranty but there is no official recall or technical service bulletin.

My A/C issue was resolved by my local dealership for now. I thought I’d pick the service advisor’s brain about the repair and report what I learned.

First off, my dealership has 40 sets of parts on backorder for this repair and I was super lucky to beat the rush (May 2019). I live in a town of 80,000 so you do the math on cars affected if you live in a city. I was told it affects Pilots, Ridgelines, and Passports. Honda has not issued an official TSB or recall and is so far only fixing cars based on customer complaint. If you have this issue, go to your dealer now or you’ll have a hot summer! I imagine the tsb or recall are imminent, but you don’t need them for the repair to be approved so beat the rush!

Secondly, the issue is the condenser, not the evaporator which is a relief. Evaporator is inside the dash in the heater core so it would require the whole dash to be removed. The condenser is the little ac radiator that sits in your front bumper.

They did have to remove the front bumper and realign the honda sensing radar sensor after the repair, but they did a good job.

They replaced the entire condenser assembly along with some o-rings, refrigerant, and compressor oil. This was a relief as I feared running it dry could cause problems long term. The service advisor said they totally redesigned the condenser assembly as the line connection to it did not fully seal.

I’ve attached my work order for reference. Good luck Passport team!

Image
 
#4 ·
My car has just over 1k miles on it and 2 weeks ago I notices the AC was not keeping the car cool. I bought my 2019 passport to the dealer this moring and they confirmed I had a leak and diagnosed the issue as a leak from an O-ring on the high pressure side of the AC. Replaced said O-ring and refilled the system. Its working for now. Fingers crossed
 
#6 ·
Air conditioner was not working at all when picked up from dealer , should have been detected at dealership prep. Dealer dropped off a loaner at work and had my Passport back and air conditioner repaired in the afternoon and I work 60 miles away from dealership. So far so good.
 
#8 ·
buckfifty said:
My ac is blowing relatively cold air but there isn't much of a difference when I'm at low or 60. Should I have taken to the dealership?
Click to expand...
You’re not gonna notice much of a difference between 60 or low, you’re talking just a couple degrees between the two settings. As long as it’s blowing cold and you don’t have the AC leak at the condenser you should be fine. Make sure to use your recirculate button if you want the interior temp to be colder with ac (or warmer with the heater)
 
#9 ·
Jermboy777 said:
You’re not gonna notice much of a difference between 60 or low, you’re talking just a couple degrees between the two settings. As long as it’s blowing cold and you don’t have the AC leak at the condenser you should be fine. Make sure to use your recirculate button if you want the interior temp to be colder with ac (or warmer with the heater)
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll keep an eye on it. It doesn't seem to blow air as cold as the '09 4Runner I had before. Maybe it's just this Houston summer has been unreasonably warmer than usual
 
#10 ·
#12 ·
Before prospective Honda Passport buyers are scared away, let me state I have not had any problems with the A/C on my Passport and I'lm sure there are hundreds of others who have not had this problem. As it states in my signature, I purchased in March and it was number 155 off the assembly line.
 
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#13 ·
swenpaylay said:
Hi Everyone, I'm starting a new thread on the A/C Issue many of us are experiencing with our Passports. The old thread was filling up with complaints, but also a lot of conflicting and inaccurate information. I thought I'd put together a full description of the issue, as I experienced and had it remedied on my 2019 Lunar Silver Passport EXL.

Please read the description of the problem and participate in the survey here:
Honda Passport A/C Defect Survey

So far 18 cases have been confirmed on this forum. I will update that number and this top post as info develops. If you have this problem, please keep records, take the survey, and post your experience in this thread.

Description of the Problem:
-AC System did not work at all from the time a customer took ownership. “Tried my A/C for the first time today and nothing happened.”
-Some customers report losing A/C functionality suddenly or slowly over time.
-In almost all cases, the refridgerant had leaked from the system entirely and in some cases partially.
-Almost all dealers are aware of the issue and being proactive to fix it.
-So far, it seems mostly early production (Winter 2019) Passports are affected. This could be due to the problem being resolved from the factory, or from dealerships being aware and fixing the issue when the vehicles are delivered and checked in to the dealership.
-The issue is being repaired under warranty but there is no official recall or technical service bulletin.

My A/C issue was resolved by my local dealership for now. I thought I’d pick the service advisor’s brain about the repair and report what I learned.

First off, my dealership has 40 sets of parts on backorder for this repair and I was super lucky to beat the rush (May 2019). I live in a town of 80,000 so you do the math on cars affected if you live in a city. I was told it affects Pilots, Ridgelines, and Passports. Honda has not issued an official TSB or recall and is so far only fixing cars based on customer complaint. If you have this issue, go to your dealer now or you’ll have a hot summer! I imagine the tsb or recall are imminent, but you don’t need them for the repair to be approved so beat the rush!

Secondly, the issue is the condenser, not the evaporator which is a relief. Evaporator is inside the dash in the heater core so it would require the whole dash to be removed. The condenser is the little ac radiator that sits in your front bumper.

They did have to remove the front bumper and realign the honda sensing radar sensor after the repair, but they did a good job.

They replaced the entire condenser assembly along with some o-rings, refrigerant, and compressor oil. This was a relief as I feared running it dry could cause problems long term. The service advisor said they totally redesigned the condenser assembly as the line connection to it did not fully seal.

I’ve attached my work order for reference. Good luck Passport team!

View attachment 2845
Click to expand...
I purchased passport 1 month ago, and ac was not blowing out cold enough air and was not cooling car down on a 90 degree day, nor a 73 degree day. They told me nothing was wrong w it and that I can have a “master mechanic “ look at it tomorrow. I then I asked to speak to the manager and he told me it is blowing cold air and I said let’s go sit in the car. I asked him if he was aware of the passports problem w the ac and he said no not at all. I told him he then should look it up then and I showed him these threads. He tests it at the coldest setting first and it blew out 49 degrees, and he said that was cold enough. It was 73 degrees out and I told him it should be blowing out 43. Might not notice difference now but when it is 95 degrees outside you will. I then asked him to turn it to 72 which is where I usually comfortably sit in my old car and many other cars. At a setting of 72, it blew out 88 degrees. Finally, did the MANAGER say that wasn’t right. They gave a loaner car and told me the master mechanic could fix it (I am not pleased that a mechanic could not trouble shoot my air conditioner properly — seems like a simple serious of things to try when my complaint is that the ac is not blowing out cold enough air)

Anyways, I was told that the “ac was overcharged “ and that they reset it and drained and added new refrigerant . The work order says “failed part 38810-5j6-a22”. I had to google what that was and it is in fact the compressor.

I was also told that there was a recent recall on the audio system and would I like to fix it (by the way it took two hours to complete the fix, which was a software update ) I included this because I see many complaints about the audio system freezing up on this thread) .

Ac seems to now be working fine -
Image
 
#14 ·
Lrepper said:
I purchased passport 1 month ago, and ac was not blowing out cold enough air and was not cooling car down on a 90 degree day, nor a 73 degree day. They told me nothing was wrong w it and that I can have a “master mechanic “ look at it tomorrow. I then I asked to speak to the manager and he told me it is blowing cold air and I said let’s go sit in the car. I asked him if he was aware of the passports problem w the ac and he said no not at all. I told him he then should look it up then and I showed him these threads. He tests it at the coldest setting first and it blew out 49 degrees, and he said that was cold enough. It was 73 degrees out and I told him it should be blowing out 43. Might not notice difference now but when it is 95 degrees outside you will. I then asked him to turn it to 72 which is where I usually comfortably sit in my old car and many other cars. At a setting of 72, it blew out 88 degrees. Finally, did the MANAGER say that wasn’t right. They gave a loaner car and told me the master mechanic could fix it (I am not pleased that a mechanic could not trouble shoot my air conditioner properly — seems like a simple serious of things to try when my complaint is that the ac is not blowing out cold enough air)

Anyways, I was told that the “ac was overcharged “ and that they reset it and drained and added new refrigerant . The work order says “failed part 38810-5j6-a22”. I had to google what that was and it is in fact the compressor.

I was also told that there was a recent recall on the audio system and would I like to fix it (by the way it took two hours to complete the fix, which was a software update ) I included this because I see many complaints about the audio system freezing up on this thread) .

Ac seems to now be working fine - View attachment 3876
Click to expand...
That’s odd that they replaced the compressor yet said that the issue was an overcharged system.
 
#15 ·
Jermboy777 said:
That’s odd that they replaced the compressor yet said that the issue was an overcharged system.
Click to expand...
Update — ac stopped blowing cool air after about a day. I returned to dealership less than a week after repair and was told there is nothing they can do after comparing it to another passport in the lot that behaved the same way, and calling headquarters a suggestions for a fix. There were no suggestions from headquarters, and I was told to maybe bring it somewhere else there is nothing more they can do. Apple Honda in riverhead ny is okay w the rear blowing out 104 degrees when the interior setting is set at 73. They confirmed those numbers and said there is nothing to do but make it lower or run on “auto” as it blows truer to temperature on that setting . I am appalled that no one is going to bat for me and demanding this be fixed . An appointment w the regional service manager was made for me to discuss - I would like her to tell me that blowing 104 out the rear when it is set at 73 is normal. Where else can I go for help w this ? They are just telling me nothing is broken and there is nothing to fix. I can’t believe apple is okay w this and allows this, I can duplicate these number any time— but I am told this is normal operation... help!!
 
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