RDX AC Compressor Clutch Service Bulletin - Acura service bulletin for air conditioning compressor clutch warranty extension, symptoms blowing hot air, resolution. 2007 - 2012 RDX.
June 2014, my husband, son and I stopped at the bank. Husband gets out of the car to use the ATM while we wait inside the car. Car suddenly starts to shudder and releases air from underneath the engine so as to blow the dust on the concrete in every direction away from the car, then the AC starts to blow warm. We turned the car off, investigated and couldn't find anything wrong. Turned the car back on and AC was blowing cold so we drove out of the parking lot and continued to our next destination. Stopped at a light and it happened again.
We figured it had to do with pressure building up from the AC some how so we turned the AC off and took the car to the mechanic about a week later. Mechanic took out the refrigerant, refilled it and it seemed to run just fine so we drove towards home but it did it again, so we took it back about an hour after we left their office. They did the process again but added some dye and the next time it did it they found it was venting from a valve underneath the car, releasing pressure that was building up. They figured out it was the relay, charge me $6.00 for the part and $300.00 for the AC refill and troubleshooting.
I am reporting this a year after it happened because I am having trouble with the AC again (April 2015), but this time there is no shuddering or pressure release, just blowing cold until the afternoon when the weather outside gets warm (about 75 degrees), then it blows hot until the evening time when the weather cools down again and it starts blowing cold once more. We took it to the mechanic who says my compressor has gone bad and I'll need to pay about $1,200.00 to $1,400.00 to fix it, but I really hope this is not the problem and I have decided to purchase another relay from Autozone to see if this fixes it before I commit to replacing the compressor.
Normally I do not subscribe to websites like this but I decided I should because I could not find many problems on the internet about this particular year and model of Acura when I was researching my purchase before hand. I just want to let other people who are considering purchasing this vehicle know about the issue. Also, I was not aware that this car only takes premium gas, synthetic oil, and fancy spark plugs causing it to be expensive to own even if it doesn't have any mechanical issues.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
June 2014, my husband, son and I stopped at the bank. Husband gets out of the car to use the ATM while we wait inside the car. Car suddenly starts to shudder and releases air from underneath the engine so as to blow the dust on the concrete in every direction away from the car, then the AC starts to blow warm. We turned the car off, investigated and couldn't find anything wrong. Turned the car back on and AC was blowing cold so we drove out of the parking lot and continued to our next destination. Stopped at a light and it happened again.
We figured it had to do with pressure building up from the AC some how so we turned the AC off and took the car to the mechanic about a week later. Mechanic took out the refrigerant, refilled it and it seemed to run just fine so we drove towards home but it did it again, so we took it back about an hour after we left their office. They did the process again but added some dye and the next time it did it they found it was venting from a valve underneath the car, releasing pressure that was building up. They figured out it was the relay, charge me $6.00 for the part and $300.00 for the AC refill and troubleshooting.
I am reporting this a year after it happened because I am having trouble with the AC again (April 2015), but this time there is no shuddering or pressure release, just blowing cold until the afternoon when the weather outside gets warm (about 75 degrees), then it blows hot until the evening time when the weather cools down again and it starts blowing cold once more. We took it to the mechanic who says my compressor has gone bad and I'll need to pay about $1,200.00 to $1,400.00 to fix it, but I really hope this is not the problem and I have decided to purchase another relay from Autozone to see if this fixes it before I commit to replacing the compressor.
Normally I do not subscribe to websites like this but I decided I should because I could not find many problems on the internet about this particular year and model of Acura when I was researching my purchase before hand. I just want to let other people who are considering purchasing this vehicle know about the issue. Also, I was not aware that this car only takes premium gas, synthetic oil, and fancy spark plugs causing it to be expensive to own even if it doesn't have any mechanical issues.
- acrua owner, Denver, CO, US