The aircon in our 6.5 year old Honda MY15 CR-V has broken down for the third time.
The first 2 times, it was a leaking evaporator under the dash. This time the compresser has seized and we have been advised that the condenser and the TX valve will need replacing due to metal fragments from the seized compressor going throught the system, but that the evaporator should be OK as it is only 2 years old.
A genuine Honda compressor is a mere $1,041.60 and a genuine Honda condenser is only $432.30, both of which have to come from Melbourne.
I arranged with the aircon service business which diagnosed our vehicle that we would obtain the compressor and condenser, and that they will supply the TX valve and install everything.
I have found an Australian based eBay seller who can supply a new compressor with a 5 year warranty for a mere $259.00 with free delivery and a China based eBay seller with stock in Sydney who can supply a new condenser for $224.00 including delivery.
We could buy 4 compressors for the price of one Honda one but of course labour and regassing will not be covered if they fail.
Of course, Honda has been the subject of a number of class actions over their defective aircons so I have very little faith in their genuine parts.
I have found warranties offered by ebay sellers to be generally risky. The sellers are often opaque entities and move on every few years so you have a failure and a 5 year warranty but nobody to talk to. If the ebay seller is a bricks and mortar shop that has been around a few years I would have more trust, and there are some like that.
Personally I would be more comfortable paying a bit more and buying from a known parts supplier like Repco, Burson, or specialist importers.
We have long used non-genuine replacement parts in a range of vehicles. I donât think that I bought any from eBay or China though. All have worked perfectly. The only thing missing is the marque badge; something we can well do without.
The other option that we have sucessfully used a couple of times is to source second hand parts from wreckers (if you trust your mechanic to vet the parts for you). We have replaced compressors etc in a Corolla Ascent for example, and again it worked perfectly. It is a bit of a gamble because with some parts you just donât know how long they will last. But it is significantly cheaper than new.
At the end of the day, what matters is the guarantee period.
I have bought after market parts for our old Honda off EBay but will only use it for major parts such as CV joints when it is from Australian manufacturers. Things like globes and similar I donât really care if they are China, US, UK, Eu, India etc based.
So if you canât find an Australian (and a real one at that) supplier for the compressor on EBay then hit up suppliers like Repco (as @PhilT notes) that have a history in Australia or as @meltam notes try 2nd hand from wreckers.
There may also be refurbishment services available that may be able to remake the compressor.
Did you ask them for a quote for a non-OEM replacement partsâŠas I would take this option first even if it more than sourcing the parts youself.
Providing parts for a repair is fraught with challenges when something goes wrongâŠno-one will take responsibility and will blame the other party (customer supplier or the installer). There will also be a warranty.
This would be the second option, if one is willing to forgo $259 if something goes wrong. Why, see first option.
I would be avoiding this oneâŠif something goes wrong, you potentially will be on your own if the part fails outside the eBay buyers guarantee.
They said that they could not source the non genuine parts so that they could only supply genuine Honda parts.except for the TX valve, which they said that Honda no longer supplies.
It is still only around half the price of the genuine Honda item which has been the subject of a number of class actions.
This seller has only had 1 negative review in the past 12 months with the buyer claiming that he was mislead that it was an Australian seller, thought their eBay site clearly shows that they are based in China with stocks held in Sydney.
It might seem off topic but I donât think so. Once upon a time my daughter asked my opinion about a certain used car, from afar. I told her she could afford to buy it but not to own it (insurance, maintenance, petrol). I asked if she was going through the motions and would buy it anyway. She admitted that was the case. Good luck @Fred123 I think you are asking for reinforcement more than advice. Cheers and may the parts be top quality and long livedđ
A comment I believe attributed to Henry Ford that manufacturers could afford to give away their cars and still make huge profits from just selling spares.
My rip off story relates to the âtyre mobility kitâ in our new Hyundai electric vehicle.
The car - which we love - has no spare tyre or jack or wheel brace and recently I had the misfortune to get a puncture. Thanks to our NRMA membership, the puncture was temporarily fixed with the supplied tyre mobility kit - a 200 mls plastic cannister of sealant and a small air compressor which runs off the cigarette lighter.
The following day I contacted a Hyundai dealer to buy another cannister of sealant. The quoted price $269. I was assured this was for the sealant alone, not the whole kit. A second dealer quoted $244! When I mentioned I could buy a brand new, quality tyre for far less than that I was simply told that was Hyundaiâs price.
Unfortunately, the Hyundai cannister is a particular shape to fit the compressor and after market sealant cans (at around $14) will not fit.
I have emailed Hyundai Australia about such rapacious pricing but no reply has been forthcoming.
I was not aware that there were any four, or more, wheeled motor vehicles that did not have a spare, albiet even one of those stupid âwheelbarrowâ wheels.
Way back in the1970âs, there were pressure packs of tyre inflator available for a few dollars a can.
And of course if you were travelling in the outback, where rusted on Holden fans used to claim you could buy Holden parts in any and every whistlestop, what chance would you have of actually being able to buy this Hyundai repair kit.
Kindly name this Hyundai model so as to help other consumers being caught out.
Welcome to the community @dwroden and receive some well deserved empathy.
Perhaps the strategy is part of the up market standing that Hyundai aspires to. Your vehicle is not the only one to not have a spare wheel.
Numerous BMW models have come with run flat tyres, good for a modest 100km before you might need to walk. Assume that out west or north or south or east there is now a chain of 24hr BMW service centres with a full range of replacement BMW tyres? Not!
The Porche Cayenne 4WD like your Hyundai also comes with a tyre inflator kit and no spare.
The email I received regarding the condenser was not clear. The price of the condenser was actually $259 and the price of the compressor was $379 including shipping.
I ordered the 2 parts on 26.03.2021 and I received a email from AusPost on 29.03.2021 to say they had received the shipping information followed by another that day to say that they had the items.
The tracking info showed it reached Melbourne from Wangaratta on 31.03.2021 and Brisbane on 02.04.2021 then nothing further until yesterday.
I guess they had to rest the camels over Easter but the items were finally delivered yesterday.
The compressor is a Jayair brand unit which seems to be sold by a great many vendors and the condenser is a Koyoair brand unit.
I Googled Jayair and one hit was for Supercheap Auto who offered the compressor for a mere $713 and the Jayair condenser for $286, both noted âSpecial Orderâ.
Almost double the price for the exact same compressor which they do not even have in stock.
My old man had the same thing with a Daewoo Kalos! The compressor was making a very load noise I recon the bearings must of failed! it going to cost around $800 for a new compressor and dealer told him!
That couldnât be fixed or reconditioned! He was going to consider putting on a shorter accessory pulley but after doing some research I managed to find a reconditioned compressor for $300! Then of course the side view mirror lens was pinched it was going to cost $600 to replace the whole mirror as lens wasnât sold on its own, it was cheaper just to makeup perspex lens instead!
It seems, Fred, that almost every modern high performance car has no spare.
I drive mine to a regional centre regularly to visit family and I bought the cheapest legal tyre which is the correct size and rating for the car ($85, I kid you not) which I carry every time I go visiting. I especially am at risk when I do a track day at Goulburn - so easy to roll a tyre over the rim and bugger it when you have a bit of a rush of blood to the head.
When you do the sums, you will be stuck in some town or other for at least two days if you wreck a tyre. Bang, I ran over some debris on the road and holed the sidewall of a tyre. Call the flat top tow and now Iâm in town. No 19" tyres there of course so on the phone and source one from a tyre place in Sydney. Delivery? Sure, weâll contact the couriers. By now itâs late - no chance of delivery tonight. It might even take another whole day so I could be stuck for three days. Hence I carry another tyre to be fitted.
Where the spare used to be is full of amplifiers and sub woofers coz Euro 5 regs forbid any exhaust noise so they use the huge sound system to give you your engine noises. Truly they do. So my tyre sits in the boot. Amazing isnât it?? I do like the sound though!!
Japan has demonstrated itâs also possible to silence motor cycle exhausts to the same degree.
Subjectively.
Does the outcome depend on whether one is sitting in a vehicle, or standing at the pedestrian lights at an intersection?
Partly from experience.
Is the ideal track day car more likely to be towed to the event on a suitable trailer? In which instance a suitable supply of fresh rubber can be readily accommodated. Euro 5 Regs are less important. The consequences of parking the family wagon on itâs roof are also avoided.
One also has the option of a more appropriate choice of rims such that rolling a tyre off the rim is less of a risk. I canât attest first hand to the last point.
P.S.
Similar thinking applies encouraging the transportation of electric golf carts to the course. The alternative of driving to the course in one is just not acceptable to other road users.
I enjoy hearing a sporty sounding exhaust. I donât mean deafening, just a nice sound. I enjoy it inside or outside the car.
Very few of my motor sporting pals can afford to have a track car towed to the track. The possibility of a crash on the track is mitigated by training and maturity to avoid the âred mistâ. Most of us love going as hard as we can on the track but we are adult enough to know our own limits. Many of them are faster than me, I know that but still enjoy going as hard as I can.
There is no such thing as a rim which will not allow the tyre to roll off in certain circumstances - think sliding sideways across the ripple strip for one. Think also of a small off with a large lip on the edge of the track which you cross to get back on the track - tough on your tyre sidewalls.
When I dropped our vehicle off at the repairer yesterday along with the compressor and condenser I bought online, they called me shortly after to say that when they went to replace the TX valve under the dash, they saw the evaporator had green dye on it so it must have been leaking.
They ordered an aftermarket unit delivered today by courier for $352 in comparison to another garbage genuine Honda one for around $800.
The vehicle has now had the complete aircon system replaced except for the pipes at a total cost of under $2,000 in contrast to a total cost of around $3,350 if genuine Honda parts had been used.
After the replacement of 3 evaporators in a mere 6.5 years, I would not touch the genuine Honda part with a barge pole even if they were not outrageously overpriced.
And over $1,350 is much better off in our bank account that Hondaâs bank account.
Thanks phb. Love your expression âloyalty taxâ. Someone very familiar with the motor industry said that such a price was âan idiot detection testâ, which Iâm glad I passed. Disappointing, however, that OEM parts should be priced in such a way by car manufacturers
