Yesterday I noticed the A/C was not delivering cold air, so today I went to the service center at the dealership where I bought the car, which has 33,000 miles. The tech told me the A/C condenser had a hole "probably from road debris" and would have to be replaced. This repair, around $800 before tax, would not be covered by the warranty.

I expressed incredulity that road debris would do such damage. He said he has seen it happen before, that there are always "little rocks bouncing up from the road," and that I "probably never noticed anything, maybe just heard a little ping sound." I said that if the condenser is that easily damaged, and in such a vulnerable location, shouldn't there be a screen or shield to protect it? He said, well, it's not that common. I told him to go ahead with the repair, but when I got off the phone I began Googling, and quickly found that in May 2012, Honda settled a class action lawsuit that included a high number of Odysseys with condenser road-debris damage. This is from topclassactions.com: "Odyssey Settlement Members may receive 100% reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses made to repair 'Condenser Road Debris Damage,' where the repairs were or are performed within the original 3-year/36,000 mile warranty period. This damage is defined as damage to the condenser that was caused as a result of rocks, pebbles or other road debris striking the condenser. Honda will also make available a screen that will protect the air conditioning condenser in Class Members’ Odyssey from road debris damage. Honda will reimburse Odyssey Sub-Class Members for the purchase price of the screen (up to $35.06) as well as reimburse $20 of the labor costs associated with installing the screen if it is purchased and professionally installed on an Odyssey Sub-Class Vehicle." (My Honda tech did not know of any screens available for the Accord.)

Google also directed me to this very useful website, where I noted a high number of road-debris condenser damage in Honda's other than Odysseys, including many Accords. I then called customer service for Honda North America (800-999-1009, extension 7), gave the fellow my VIN, explained my circumstances, told him what I'd seen in my Internet searches and asked if there were any service advisories related to what appears to be an unresolved problem. None, he said. In fairness to Honda, he was very polite, as was the tech at my local dealership. (When I asked if there were any discounts available, he got the service manager to approve 10 percent. Gotta appreciate that, and I remain a Honda devotee. Nonetheless, I think they are wrong on this matter, and I may pursue it further.

In taking my car in for a 2nd time for not cooling properly; I was informed my condenser was damaged by a small particle and would have to be replaced at my cost. This was not covered under warranty or even the 7 year, 70K mile extended warranty that I purchased when I bought the vehicle (brand new).It makes me wonder how good that warranty is; which was recommended by the dealership. I was told it was a "road hazard and therefore, not covered"! I was astonished, appalled and furious that this APPARENTLY very vulnerable and I might add expensive part of the car, has not been provided with some kind of safety screen or device to prevent such a minute particle from destroying a condenser.

As this is an obvious flaw in design for such a vulnerable yet important function of the car;s design, I have written a letter to Honda and asked for a recall. Anybody want to jump on that band wagon?!!!

I posed the question as to what could prevent this from happening again; as there was a pile of condensers (with the same problem) lying in the floor that the terchnician pointed out to me.

The mechanic suggested some type of screen or mesh loose enought to let the condenser breathe.I went out and bought a 12x12 metal "grill that the mechanic installed which may not totally eliminate the problem but hopefully I won't be back in the next few months with the same problem.

The other day I noticed that when my a/c was on only warm air was coming out. I called my local Honda dealer to make an appointment to bring it in. When I called to make the appointment, I was told over the phone by the service technician the most likely problem was a small rock or debris hit the a/c condenser. If that is the case it would not be covered under the warranty and the cost would be about $800. So I took my 2012 Accord to a local independent service mechanic. He confirmed that a small rock must have hit the a/c condenser and caused it to leak. He could fix it for about $540. He also suggested that I go to Home Depot and buy a mesh screen or something to cover up the front grill to prevent it from happening again to the a/c condenser.

Update from Apr 15, 2013: I went to Honda World in Downey. They said that this is not covered under the warranty but replaced the condenser for free. I made a screen to put over the open space in the front bumper so a small rock wont hit it again.

The A/C of my 9-month old Honda Accord (2012 model) stopped cooling while I was driving on a local way that was a normal city road. I took it to the dealer, assuming they would repair it without charging me anything. But, I was told that a small rock had punctured a small hole in the condenser, resulting in leakage of freon, and this type of environmental damage was not covered under warranty. It cost me $605 for repair. I was shocked because I thought if a car could not survive a hit by such a small rock on road, where the car was designed to run? I was very angry and determined to fight against Honda. There is a news on the internet that in May 2012 a federal judge has approved a class action lawsuit settlement for current and former owners and lessees of more than 1 million Honda Odyssey, CR-V and Acura TSX cars that allegedly suffered from broken air conditioning systems. I am pretty sure a lot of Honda Accord also suffered from the same problem. I want to join the owners of those Accord to suit Honda. Can someone advise me what I should do and which agency I should complain to?