“I gotta get rid of this car before 2030.”
One minute you’re cruising down the road in a conditioned cabin. The next all you’re getting is hot air.
That’s what the owner of a 2020 Honda Civic says happened to him. He says he later learned that the problem may keep happening even after he gets it fixed.
TikTok creator Dee (@autizzyskrr) posted a video that explains what happened and what he learned.
“I just found out my car is going to become a lemon in three years,” Dee says to start the video. “I have a 2020 Honda Civic LX, base model. The A/C on the driver’s side went out.”
Dee works on cars, so he decided to first replace the blend door actuator, which is the motor that powers the climate control system in the vehicle.
Unfortunately, that replacement didn’t fix the problem.
“Three billion Reddit posts later, come to find out this is a common problem on Hondas, because the oil and refrigerant that they designed for the Civics is corrosive,” Dee says. “And it’s such a common problem that Honda went ahead and assigned a 10-year extended warranty for the condenser when it fails.”
According to a service bulletin, Honda did extend a warranty impacting Civic model years 2016-2020 due to the A/C condenser not being manufactured to specification. Due to that design flaw, corrosion can develop in the condenser tube, which causes the formation of tiny holes that let the refrigerant leak out.
This is slightly different from the explanation Dee provided, which focused on Honda’s R1234YF refrigerant. That kind of refrigerant is more eco-friendly and used in Honda’s newer models, but it’s not clear that there are any service bulletins directly tied to it.
Dee says, “So if you got your car in 2020, you can only keep getting that condenser switched out up until the year 2030. Then you have to pay for it.”
They concluded, “I gotta get rid of this car before 2030. Before this I was rocking with my Civic so hard. This AC issue was the first issue I’ve had on this car.”
One person in the comments said, “I have a 2016 Honda Civic and had the same condenser issue. My warranty is up now. I’m sick, because lately it’s only ever gone two years without the A/C failing.”
What are the odds that an A/C condenser actually breaks again after replacement? A Reddit user asked this question in a post to r/civic two months ago. “Unfortunately, pretty high,” wrote one person in the comments. “The extended warranty is only 10 years and usually once one of those parts goes either some other part does also or not too long after. It’s rough, but unfortunately that’s how it is with that generation of Civics.”
A second person said, “I’ve had mine replaced twice.” And a third person said, “Same. Gave up and just upgraded after it failed the third time. I miss my 2017’s body styling, though.”
Someone else said, “My 2016 still blows cold in 2026. I’m guessing I was just a lucky one. Never been replaced.”
Motor1 contacted Dee via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. This post will be updated if he responds.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motor1.com?
– The Motor1.com Team