$1700 for a/c repair

The a/c compressor in our daughter's '09 Fit died(in the middle of their 155* heat wave out in NM). She just got a quote of $1700 to fix it. They said they could do it for $1200, but if they don't replace all the parts - not sure what's included - it wouldn't be under warranty. 
 

They got several good reviews on the place from people they know & she had the oil changed there the last time we were out. They gave her estimates for several other things they suggested: spark plugs, brakes bled, cooling system & fuel system flushes, etc. The car has over 200k on it, so none of that would be out of line. Their prices certainly weren't cheap for any of it, but all totaled everything they suggested was still under a grand. 
 

I checked prices on an a/c compressor & it's around $300-$400, so the $1700(or even the $1200) quote seems a bit high. What do you guys & gals think?

Is the fit at all like the old CRVs, where a compressor failure can send shrapnel into the entire system?  If so, that seems like a decent price.

For lack of time and space, I paid my local Honda dealer $1100 to replace the AC condenser and recharge the system on our 2010 Odyssey. Paying service department price for parts is painful, but sometimes it's the right choice.

If they replace everything, it's not a small job, per se.  I did a few components on my '02 Silverado and had to take it in to get it vacuumed down and refilled which was $200 by itself.  My son's '08 Fit has A/C issues and factory lines were like $100-150 each.  So, that and the compressor, you're looking at $650-900 for the parts.  If the evap core needs replacement, that might require some of the dash to be removed (not sure how hard it is on an '09). 

I assume, to remove you bringing it back multiple times, they're quoting you to just replace it all.  Which isn't a bad suggestion.  Rather to replace it all v. just the compressor and it coming back in a week later for another part that fails now that the compressor works well. 

-Rob

Yeah, not a honda, but I spent near that for an A/C repair on my X3 a while back.  It was mostly just labor that killed me, as they had to replace some plumbing under dash, which got stupid expensive.  

Worked as a service writer for several years.  $1500-2000 is normal for AC work if the compressor went out and a shop is doing it.  Generally they like to replace the accumulator/drier, any filter in the system, as well and flush the system.  From what I remember about it, the drier has a desiccant in it so as soon as you open it up it is a time bomb, here in Florida with the humidity they recommend replacement as soon as you open the system. 

That being said labor is always the killer, if you just have a drier or some other component go out it isn't as bad, but the compressor is almost always a pain.

Compressor is going to be $500. Add a drier, labor and freon $1200 seems legit

Yeah, sadly that's about right. Welcome to the reason anything without cold A/C in Florida is a $1000 car.

You can procrastinate and your problem will go away for 6-7 months.  

Sounds about right. Most aftermarket suppliers either wont give you a warranty or shorten it significantly if you dont service the full system. My guess is they priced you a compressor, condenser and expansion valve. Most ac repair nowadays is fix a leak or change most of the system.

Im surprised they even gave you the option to not do all of it, most places wont because people chose the half repair and when something else failed the customer comes back very mad

Im not saying its the right way to do it but if you went to an equally reputable shop youd probably get the same answer.

If you do the repair yourself, youd save a bunch of money on labor and their parts markup.

If the compressor failed, the system is full of shrapnel. You have to replace the accumulator, condenser, orifice, and any other expansion valve in the system, as they can not be successfully flushed. Otherwise, the compressor manufacturer will not warranty the compressor. It will fail if you don't replace those parts. It's just a matter of time before all the metal works its way through the system and into the new compressor. 

You can probably do it yourself for around $500-$800 in parts and several hours of work. 

Ok good deal, thanks everyone!

Un/fortunately the car & I are 1250 miles apart so I'm definitely not tackling this repair :)

My wife got a quote like that to replace the leaky evap coil in her Mazda CX-7. They claim that the dashboard had to be opened up. It's a slow leak, so I may be periodically topping it off for the next year till we replace the entire car.

The quote for my F-150 was $1700.  I did it at home for about $90 and a couple hours of work.  I rented a vacuum pump and gauges from a parts store, which requires a $350 deposit but is fully refunded when you return the tools.

I was able to locate a leak in one of the lines, and I was able to verify that the compressor was working properly, so I knew I wasn't going to get in super deep.  My wife's Honda Pilot is next.  Similar deal, compressor works fine but the system leaks.  Just gotta locate the problem now.

I think the warranty work on my mustang ac would have been around 2500 out of pocket. They "replaced" everything according to the service order. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

The a/c compressor in our daughter's '09 Fit died(in the middle of their 155* heat wave out in NM). She just got a quote of $1700 to fix it. They said they could do it for $1200, but if they don't replace all the parts - not sure what's included - it wouldn't be under warranty. 
 

They got several good reviews on the place from people they know & she had the oil changed there the last time we were out. They gave her estimates for several other things they suggested: spark plugs, brakes bled, cooling system & fuel system flushes, etc. The car has over 200k on it, so none of that would be out of line. Their prices certainly weren't cheap for any of it, but all totaled everything they suggested was still under a grand. 
 

I checked prices on an a/c compressor & it's around $300-$400, so the $1700(or even the $1200) quote seems a bit high. What do you guys & gals think?

You can probably buy a compressor cheaper than they can, and this is probably also because they have a set standard for components that they are willing to use, because they have to stand behind their work.  If you do the repair yourself and the cheapo eBay mystery compressor takes out the rest of the system, you have nobody to complain to but yourself.  If they do that, they have to eat the cost of everything the compressor killed, so it makes negative sense to use anything less than a high grade component.

They may also be replacing the condensor, too, if the compressor failed by frag.  Lines can be flushed but modern condensors are kind of capillary tube like inside the tubes -the "tubes" are actually a mesh of hair-fine microtubes.  This is a good chunk of why condensors are so expensive nowadays, too.  At least, OE spec ones that the A/C system was engineered around.  Cheapo parts may not be, and they also won't perform as well.

Don't forget labor, which is usually in the $150-200/hr range nowadays.  Because of that, I really doubt they are replacing anything deeper than that - the evaporator alone is probably $600-1000 in labor to get at, plus parts and the A/C servicing.

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

I work at a honda dealer. Evac and recharge is around $220. They are going to quote out honda reman parts normally, so $1200 is inline for replacing a honda AC compressor

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :

I'll bet it's a bit more than several.  I'll guarantee it's a flat bastard.  

I paid $1700 for a full system replacement for my 04 Ralliart wagon this year. 
 

I've got parts for a complete Sanden conversion on order from Classic Industries for the GMT400. AC isn't cheap,  I also don't consider it optional here in FL. There's times when you need it if you except to be able to see out of the windshield. 

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

And, here I thought I was the only one...

In the summer of '20, I too was given a huge , nearly $2k, quote to fix the AC on a Prius.  So, being the middle of covid and having more cars then I need I switched to daily driving my $1k Prius which does have working AC.  Then, when winter hit I went back to driving the newer Prius w/o AC.  

Here it is summer again and I am back to daily driving the 206k Prius with AC while the 160k Prius without AC sits.  

In GRM fashion,  I have entire running cars with AC that have cost me less than the price of one AC repair. 

Wait until you get one of these new cars with the 1234yf refrigerant. That $1700 bill will be referred to as "the good old days".

I'm in exactly the same boat with my '99 Swift.  The cost of getting the AC fixed is more than the value of the car.  Unfortunately I've got a 1000 mile trip coming up in five weeks and I know if I don't get the AC fixed it'll be beyond miserable.   Compared to the current price of renting a car (whose prices appear to have tripled thanks to Covid ramifications) I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth it...

I just spent $1400 to fix the AC in my suburban. The rear AC had a leak at rear of one of the hoses and evaporator. It was a saga and rear AC lines are awful to replace but the value of a car with no AC these days is questionable and I took it on a 500 mile trip last weekend and have another 1000 mile trip this coming week. Hard to take those with the windows down (for me).

ddavidv said:

Wait until you get one of these new cars with the 1234yf refrigerant. That $1700 bill will be referred to as "the good old days".

And I am seeing Civics/CRVs with compressor failure (seal leak) in as little as 19,000mi.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

I paid $1700 for a full system replacement for my 04 Ralliart wagon this year. 
 

I've got parts for a complete Sanden conversion on order from Classic Industries for the GMT400. AC isn't cheap,  I also don't consider it optional here in FL. There's times when you need it if you except to be able to see out of the windshield. 

I was about to order that conversion, but instead opted for the scroll-type R4 compressor for my 91 Silverado.  It's basically a Sanden-type compressor in an R4 case.  No complaints so far and it was a reasonable price from RA.  Working AC in a car is a necessity here in FL.  Both my 30 year old beaters have working AC.