Honda City and Amaze AC not cooling: the causes, in the order we check them

Honda Cars India puts its owner's manuals online, and the specification pages give the A/C refrigerant and the charge in grams. For the 5th-generation City, the 2022 manual lists R134a at 395 to 445 g for the petrol car and 355 to 405 g for the diesel. The 2019 Amaze manual lists R134a at 355 to 405 g. These are reference figures from those specific manuals. Other generations and years, such as the older 4th-generation City, are not covered by figures we would quote, and the label under the bonnet on your own car decides.

The same City generation is sold with two refrigerants depending on the market. The 2021 to 2022 manual lists R1234yf for Turkish-market cars and R134a for every other market, India included. That is why the label outranks any chart, and the refrigerant guide explains the difference.

The City and Amaze are both sold with manual A/C on some grades and automatic climate control on others. The compressor is engine-driven through a magnetic clutch, the condenser sits ahead of the radiator behind the bumper opening, and the condenser fan is electric. The City e:HEV hybrid has an electrically driven compressor and a high-voltage system, which is a different job. Tell us the model and fuel type when you book so the scope can be confirmed.

A common sequence on cars in Indian conditions runs like this. The cabin filter is never changed, so airflow drops. The owner runs the blower on maximum to compensate. The blower and, on a manual A/C car, its resistor run hot continuously, and the resistor fails, usually leaving only the top blower speed working. The owner then comes in about the fan when the filter was the cause. Checking the filter at the same visit is the difference between one repair and the same repair again next year.

The condenser is the part most often skipped, because it is not electrical and not exciting. On a car in Chennai it collects dust and insects from traffic, corrodes with monsoon and coastal exposure, takes stone damage through the bumper opening, and depends on a fan that has to turn when asked.

1. Airflow: cabin filter, blower and resistor

Weak airflow at every speed points at the filter or the blower. Only some speeds working on a manual A/C car points at the resistor. The filter is checked in the same visit whatever else is found.

2. Condenser blocked, corroded or its fan not turning

Poor cooling at idle that improves at road speed is a condenser airflow problem until proven otherwise. The traffic cooling guide explains the pattern. The condenser is cleaned from the engine side outward at low pressure, so that debris leaves the way it went in. High-pressure washing folds the fins flat and can turn a cleaning job into a replacement.

3. Evaporator and drain

A musty smell at start-up suggests a fouled evaporator, and water on the front passenger carpet is a blocked or displaced drain. The cheap work comes first: clean the filter, clear the drain and treat the housing. See the smell guide and the water leak guide.

4. Refrigerant charge and leaks

If the earlier checks are sound, pressures show whether the charge is low. A low charge means a leak, and the leak is the repair. The charge goes back by weight against the figure for that car. See the gas leak guide.

5. Automatic climate control inputs

An automatic system takes a target temperature and decides blower speed, mixing and recirculation itself. A faulty sensor input does not usually stop it working. It makes it cool, but not properly, because the module is following a wrong reading. On these cars the module's own data is read before the gauges are trusted.

6. The compressor and its clutch

The request, the permission (relay, fuse and the pressure switch), the clutch, and then the compressor, in that order. A low-charge cut-out looks like a dead clutch, so the pressures are checked first. See the clutch guide.

• Run the blower through every speed and note which speeds work and how strong the air is.
• Note whether the cooling is weak only at idle or in traffic.
• With the engine on and the bonnet open, check the front fan turns when the A/C is on. Keep hands clear of it.
• Look at the front of the condenser for packed dust, leaves or white corrosion deposits. Do not use a pressure washer.
• Look at the cabin filter if you can reach it, and check for a damp passenger-side carpet.

The system is run with gauges on and the vent temperature recorded against the ambient temperature, at idle and on the move. The filter, blower, condenser and fan are checked. If the charge is low, the refrigerant is recovered and weighed, the system is held under vacuum and tested for leaks, and the charge goes back in by weight. On an automatic car the module data is read. The evaporator, expansion valve and drain are diagnosed before anything behind the dashboard is quoted.

• Burning smell or smoke from the dashboard: switch off the blower and A/C and have it checked before driving on.
• A compressor that grinds or squeals: stop using the A/C. A failed compressor can send metal through the system, and a new compressor fitted into a contaminated system fails early.
• Topping up with a leak untouched: the same repair, repeated.

The free 30-point A/C and electrical checkup takes about fifteen minutes and ends with a written report you keep, whether or not you have the work done here. Anything beyond the checkup is quoted in writing, and nothing paid starts until you approve it. How the quote is built is explained on how we quote.

Call +91 84280 00085 or message us on WhatsApp with the car model, year and what it is doing.

See Honda A/C and car service in Chennai, car A/C not cooling and cabin filter replacement.

Read next: what each A/C noise means, how often to service your car AC and why a compressor cuts on and off.