NHTSA Complaint #10278978 — 2002 HONDA CR-V

I PURCHASED MY 2002 HONDA CR-V EX NEW & HAVE HAD ALL OF THE RECOMMENDED SERVICES PERFORMED BY MY LOCAL HONDA DEALER. AROUND 7/12/2006, MY A/C STOPPED WORKING AT 57,023 MILES. THE POWER SWITCH MADE A STRANGE CLUNKING NOISE & THE A/C FAILED TO START RIGHT AWAY. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED THE SWITCH OFF & BACK ON. THE FAN CAME ON, BUT ONLY BLEW OUT HOT AIR. I TOOK IT TO MY REGULAR HONDA DEALER & PAID $153.40 TO HAVE THEM CHECK THE A/C SYSTEM OUT. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS THE A/C SYSTEM WAS DEAD & IT WOULD COST ME ANOTHER $1,600 TO REPLACE THE COMPRESSOR, COIL SET & CLUTCH SET. I SHOPPED AROUND & HAD ANOTHER SHOP THAT ONLY WORKS ON HONDAS AND ACURAS DO THE SAME WORK RECOMMENDED BY MY HONDA DEALER AT A COST OF $1,203.52. THEY USED GENUINE HONDA PARTS TO MAKE THE REPAIR & GAVE A 12 MONTH, 12,000 MILE WARRANTY. MY CAR NOW HAS 95,000 MILES. ON 7/11/2009, MY A/C WAS WORKING FINE WHEN I PARKED MY CR-V. THE NEXT AFTERNOON, THE A/C WAS ONLY BLOWING WARM AIR WHEN I TURNED MY CAR BACK ON. I STARTED LOOKING ON-LINE TO SEE IF THERE HAD BEEN ANY RECALLS FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM. THAT IS WHEN I REALIZED I HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM ON MY HANDS. THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. ON 7/30/2009, I CALLED AMERICAN HONDA TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY RECALLS. THEY BASICALLY DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY PROBLEM. BECAUSE MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY, THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING FOR ME. I EXPLAINED THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN 95,000 MILES THE A/C HAS GONE OUT. HE SAID THEY CAN'T HELP ME BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE THE 1ST REPAIR DONE BY MY HONDA DEALER, EVEN THOUGH THE MECHANIC WHO DID THE WORK WAS CERTIFIED BY MACS & ASE IN REFRIGERANT RECYCLING & SERVICE PROCEDURES AND USED GENUINE HONDA PARTS. ON 7/30/2009, I TOOK MY CR-V TO MY HONDA DEALER TO GET AN ESTIMATE. THE COMPRESSOR IS DEAD AGAIN. THE ESTIMATE IS APPROX. $1,600 TO FIX IT. THE SERVICE MGR. IS GOING TO TRY TO WORK WITH HIS DISTRICT MANAGER TO SEE IF THEY CAN GET AMERICAN HONDA TO HELP ME. I AM STILL WAITING TO HEAR. *TR