Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 27 Sep 2011 14:51
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - pugswhdi

I'm interested to find out what is generally considered best practice for using air conditioning. My car is a 1.7 petrol honda FRV, I'm not concerned about mpg but am interested to learn what approach is most sympathetic to the air conditioning system.

To put this into context our car is used mainly for local urban journeys with occasional longer runs at the weekend. We fortunate to live close to work, schools and church and most journeys are less than 5 miles/15 mins each (Yes we do use bikes when we can). We don't have any specific need to run the climate control all of the time although a wet pram in the winter will increase the need.

Does the on off nature of our driving mean we should generally leave the climate control on or off.

Cheers.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 27 Sep 2011 14:57
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - madf

our driving mean we should generally leave the climate control on or off.

Cheers.

I leave mine on all the time. Most of my journeys are short. The only time it is working hard is in summer .. and then the engine is warm so fuel economy is largely unaffected.

My average fuel consumption deteriorates in winter due to cold starts.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 27 Sep 2011 20:37
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - daveyjp

+1 - on both our cars it never gets turned off.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 29 Sep 2011 17:12
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - pugswhdi

Thanks for the replies folks - I'm going to leave it on all the time.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 7 Jan 2013 22:44
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - pugswhdi
January 2013 update. Air con went from perfect to knackered in about 5 mins I reckon. Sounds like a faulty bearing but the local place have suggested a new compressor, full system flush... Compressor for the FRV is £850! So I'll try to refurb my old one.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 7 Jan 2013 22:55
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - elekie&a/c doctor

Have you checked with Honda if there is any goodwill on this?Crv models have had issues with the a/c pump and offer an foc repair if the car is up to 5 years and 100k .If not,try these people.www.compressortech.co.uk/

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 7 Jan 2013 23:00
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - pugswhdi
Our car is a 2004 model. Do you knw of the company at the link you provide?i called them today and they suggest that will remanufacture my existing pump for no more than £250 but so far I'm struggling to get the local specialist into refurbished units. I'll try to speak to him again tomorrow. I'm in Belfast.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 7 Jan 2013 23:09
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - elekie&a/c doctor

I have used this company on many occasions where a new unit is an un-economic repair..Interestingly ,my local Honda dealer uses them where there is no makers warranty left,hth

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 28 Jan 2013 16:51
Honda FRV - General advice for air conditioning - Mirageair

It is advisable to us the a/c at all times regardless of outside temperature, but if you tend to leave the a/c off for long periods of time, then it is advisable to switch it on for 10 minutes each week so that the lubricant in the system and compressor is circulated, this will prevents compressor seizure and a/c leaks.

<a href="http://www.coldstar.co.uk">coldstar</a>

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....