I have a 2003 Honda Accord EX. Let me start out by saying that I know very little about cars, but thought this might be a good place to start learning more. I just got the car used in November, and it has 81,000 miles on it. I am unsure about previous maintenance on the car b/c there were no service records with the car when I purchased it from the dealership. The car has the type of air/heat where you set the exact temp you want (i.e. 72 degrees) In the winter I noticed that the heat didn't seem to get as warm as it should, but thought I was being paranoid. Now that summer is on it's way and the weather is getting warmer I noticed that the air conditioning isn't blowing nearly as cold as it should. I was wondering if there is an internal thermostat that could be going bad? or if anyone has other ideas before I take it to a shop or pay to have the AC recharged. Any help would be appreciated. I tried googling the topic and didn't have much luck with searching through the results.

 

I am not familiar with the exact setup of the climate control in the newer accords.

I know that if the a/c charge is low, then you have a leak somewhere that will need to be repaired. I wouldn't add R134a without locating and repairing the leak. You may also want to lightly spray water on the a/c condenser to remove any dirt buildup that would prevent the R134a in the system from cooling properly.

The air-mix door may not be working properly, and that should be controlled by a motor. Also the input via any temperature sensors may fool the system to think that the proper temperature air is flowing through the vents.

The sensors will change resistance according to the temperature. If the sensor is within range it is ok. I don't know the proper resistance for a certain temperature or the sensor locations.

It would be worth the $20 investment for a Haynes manual for your car at an autoparts store to get that information. On the Acura TSX, there is a way to get any HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning) codes on the navigation screen. The accord may have the same features.

 

Before you have the AC charged, turn the temperature dial way cold. If the AC is capable of cooling, then look for problems in the ACC control.

The 2003 is the first year for the CAN bus & more computer control for everything. A Honda scan tool can display errors for the climate system but I suspect an AutoZone tool can't.