While driving down the highway, I heard an odd, continuous noise that made me think that it was my ac. I immediately switched off the ac, but the noise continued briefly and then was followed by a loud bang from the engine compartment and the sound of something breaking loose and flapping around the engine compartment. When I could safely stop, I turned the ac back on. The fan ran but the air was not cold. When I called Honda service, the representative told me he knew what the problem was as he had the same thing happened to him. He said the compressor clutch broke and because of the system design, the breakage sent metal shards throughout the ac system, requiring replacement of the entire ac unit except for a couple of hoses. He quoted $2900 for the repair. My vehicle has had the recommended service maintenance and had in fact been serviced just prior to the breakage. As failure seemed premature and the ac design flawed, I searched the internet for similar complaints. I found a discussion topic at edmunds.com devoted solely to this problem (townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.F0D3fbb.F0D3fb5/0). as Honda has offered a courtesy repair to some customers, they are obviously aware of the defective compressor.

- Melrose, FL, USA

There was a loud rattling noise coming from my air conditioner. My husband took a look at it. When he turned the air conditioner on and went around to the front of the car. The ball bearings in my compressor failed and the compressor exploded. Shards of metal flew from under the car. From the research I have done there have been a lot of Honda crvs doing the same. If anyone was standing near the car at the time of explosion, they could have been hurt.

- Beaufort, SC, USA

Heard a clunk type noise in engine area of car. Reported this to mechanic and he diagnosed the compressor of the ac had locked up, the shaft had twisted off, & the outer clutch plate was missing. This was a 2002 Honda CR-V with 62,212 miles with a repair bill of $1729.83. The car had not been abused or wrecked.

- Huntsville, TX, USA

I own a Honda CRV minivan and recently the compressor in the air conditioning system suddenly failed. The Honda dealer said "it exploded and contaminated the whole ac system" and that the entire system needed to be replaced! a Honda employee told me that he has come across this same problem with several CRV's ac systems which had failed and that I should talk to Honda usa customer service concerning the A/C problem. Customer service told me it would cost $2,500 dollars for the new system, and refused to acknowledge that there was a problem with the systems when I suggested this appeared to be a manufacturers' defect. In the end, they gave me "a deal" and only(!) charged me $1,900 to replace the system, which I paid. I searched the internet and found dozens of A/C failures in the Honda CRV! I also spoke to a fellow employee who had a failure at 24,000 miles, and noted that among the internet searches many of the similar A/C problems occurred in crvs with very low mileage. One of the websites was edmunds.com "? inside line forum at: townhall-talk.edmunds.com/webx"ed_searchresults@622.xxdscjhotyj.1@.ef026C3!keywords=allin%3amsgtext%20limit%3A.ef026C3%20ac&count=20 I can send for your review some of research which shows many examples of the same problem occurring at different mileages, but I'm sure you have better sources. In my view, Honda should issue a recall, resolve this problem, and refund money for those expenses to all who had the same problem. It would also seem to me that an exploding compressor would be a safety problem, especially if the contamination were to breach the system! I'm filing this complaint to bring this problem to your attention, and would greatly appreciate your looking into this problem and ensuring that Honda resolve it! I look forward to your assistance.

- Palm Harbor, FL, USA

I was driving home in my 2002 Honda CR-V ex when I heard a loud noise from my vehicle. A few yards further up the road, I heard a thunk. So I pulled over and looked underneath and in the road, but I didn't see anything. However, when I started driving again, the A/C was not working. The next morning as I was driving to the dealer to have them look at the vehicle, I heard a thud from underneath, looked in my review mirror, and saw a part spinning in the road. I picked up the part and took it to the dealer, where they confirmed it was the clutch from my A/C that just fell off as I was driving down the road. This is not a small part and could easily have caused me to blow a tire, caused engine damage or have caused someone else on the road swerve into danger. Luckily, I was not going that fast and there was no one behind me. From the internet, I see that other people have had the same thing happen. Parts falling off a vehicle in motion is a safety issue! the A/C failure spewed metal throughout the entire A/C system and it all had to be replaced. A/C is not just a comfort item as it is needed to defog windows.

- Marietta, GA, USA

Normal day to day driving....air was cooling....we heard a loud noise from under the hood....no more cool air....air conditioner went completely out on my 2002 Honda CRV....total cost to repair was 1800.00....there is a known problem with the air conditioners but Honda has not issued a recall....according to roebuck Honda we did not have an extended warranty, we took the car to a Honda certified repairman (who previously worked for roebuck Honda) after getting a quote from roebuck Honda....we contacted Honda America for some type of reembursement since there is a known problem and the car is only 3 yrs old with less than 60,000 miles....we have been given the run around....enough of these complaints get issued maybe Honda will do something for their consumers.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

The air conditioner in my 2002 Honda CRV failed completely. I understand that there is a defect in the compressors. The factory has an updated unit. Honda has not recalled the air conditioners even though they are aware of this defect. This repair can run up to $3000 retail. This is not a clear safety issue unless the compressor failure causes the power steering pump to go.

- Pollock Pines, CA, USA

Air conditioner compressor had completely failed. A few days after the compressor failed, the serpentine belt snapped. The vehicle was in motion when the A/C went out with no warning. The vehicle made a tapping noise and smelled like burning rubber along with smoke coming out from the hood when the serpentine belt was found snapped.

- Perris, CA, USA

The car stalls when coming to a stop. Stalls when taking off from a stop. We use to get almost 320 miles to the gallon, we are now down to 100 to 180. The car bucks like it is not getting any fuel. The V-tec does not want to kick in all the time anymore. Loss of power. It has been to the dealer on several occasions, when they cannot duplicate the problem. We have had all these problems since the A/C unit went out last July and the car has not been right since. We spent $100 on spark plugs that we were told would fix the fuel problem, that has not changed. We are not notified of any recalls we have to find them ourselves.

- Topock, AZ, USA