NHTSA Complaint #10397939 — 2006 HONDA CIVIC

MY '06 HONDA CIVIC HAS HAD THE SAME AIR CONDITIONING PROBLEM TWICE ALREADY. THE 1ST TIME THIS HAPPENED (SUMMER OF '09) THE DEALERSHIP SAID THAT A PEBBLE HIT THE (APPARENTLY EXTREMELY FRAGILE) CONDENSER UNIT, CAUSING A LEAK. THEY SAID IT WAS CAUSED BY ROAD DEBRIS, SO THEY WOULD NOT COVER IT UNDER WARRANTY. THEY WANTED TO CHARGE ME OVER $1300 TO FIX THIS PROBLEM (THE FIRST TIME). I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND TONS OF THESE CASES WITH HONDA VEHICLES. APPARENTLY THE CONDENSER IS NOT PROPERLY PROTECTED AGAINST DEBRIS LIKE IT SHOULD BE. THIS IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNLESS HONDA HAS A RECALL TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WHEN I SPOKE TO HONDA AMERICA, THEY LIKENED THE FAILURE TO A CHIPPED WINDSHIELD. DURING COMMON, EVERYDAY, FREEWAY DRIVING, THE DAMAGE SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS A CHIPPED WINDSHIELD. THE WINDSHIELD IS A PROTECTIVE DEVICE, AND THEREFORE DEFLECTING PEBBLES AND OTHER ROAD HAZARDS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT'S DESIGNED FOR. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. IMAGINE, PEBBLES ACTUALLY HITTING A MOVING VEHICLE A FEW INCHES OFF THE GROUND--AS IF THAT'S AVOIDABLE! MY QUESTION IS, DID HONDA FORGET THAT PEOPLE TEND TO USE THEIR CARS ON ROADS?? OR DID THEY SIMPLY FORGET WHAT ROADS ARE MADE OF? I COULD GO TO HONDA'S SERVICE DEPT TOMORROW AND HAVE THE [XXX] THING FIXED, DRIVE AWAY AND THE SAME PROBLEM COULD HAPPEN AT ANY TIME. AS FOR MY CURRENT PROBLEM, I NOTICED SOMETIME IN LATE MARCH OF 2011 THAT MY A/C, YET AGAIN, NO LONGER WORKS FOR THE SAME REASON PREVIOUSLY STATED. I'VE BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO FIX THIS ON MY OWN. I ALREADY PAID OUT OF POCKET FOR THE REPAIR THE 1ST TIME. I CANNOT DO IT AGAIN. I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA AND THE TEMPERATURE IS ON THE RISE, AND WITH SUMMER AROUND THE CORNER IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. I CAN'T GO TO INTERVIEWS DRENCHED IN SWEAT. NO ONE IS GONNA HIRE THE SWEATY CHICK WITH WINDBLOWN HAIR! PLEASE HELP!! *TR INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR