u/RaticleYT

I have a 2006 Acura RSX Base automatic and I’m having a weird issue with the AC. I recently recharged the AC with R-134a last weekend because the AC wasn’t working properly.

Now whenever I turn the AC on, I hear a really noticeable noise coming from behind the dash. I’m honestly not even sure if I would describe it as a hissing sound or more of a grinding/buzzing type of noise. It’s hard to describe, so I attached a video so you guys can hear it for yourselves.

The noise starts when I turn the AC on and continues constantly while the AC is running. As soon as I turn the AC button off, the noise stops.
I can hear it pretty clearly from inside the car and it sounds like it’s coming from somewhere behind the dash, not from the engine bay.

What’s confusing me is that I just recharged the system last weekend. I’m wondering if this could be something with the expansion valve, evaporator, or possibly a refrigerant leak. I’m not sure if this is something normal that I’m just noticing now or if there’s actually something wrong with the system.

Has anyone with an RSX experienced a noise like this before? Does the video sound more like refrigerant/expansion valve noise or something mechanical?
I’m not planning on adding any more refrigerant until I figure out what’s going on.

Video attached for reference. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Hey everyone,
I’ve been chasing an HVAC issue on my 2006 Acura RSX for a while and I think I finally found one of the problems,
but I’d like to get some opinions before ordering parts.

Symptoms:
-A/C wouldn’t get cold.
-Heat control basically didn’t work correctly.
-Air temperature stayed around slightly warm no matter where I turned the temperature knob.
-Fan speeds seem a little strange (1st and 2nd don’t feel right).
-Vent modes also seemed a little odd.

At first I thought it was an actuator or an electrical issue, so I ran the HVAC self-diagnostic. Turns out I misread it originally. The two blinks were just part of the startup sequence and the self-test actually finished with NO fault codes.

After pulling the lower driver’s side dash apart, I found what I think is the real issue.

The small plastic coupler/bushing that connects the white rectangular shaft to the metal arm is cracked, so when I turn the temperature knob:
-The white rectangular shaft rotates.
-The metal arm doesn’t move because the plastic coupler is broken.
-The blend door gears don’t rotate at all.

I’m attaching:
-Pictures of the broken linkage.
-A comparison picture showing what it’s supposed to look like.

To verify, I manually turned the blend door gears by hand.
-When I moved them toward HOT, the air became very hot, so the heater core is definitely working.
-When I moved them toward COLD, the air got noticeably colder than before, but it still wasn’t as cold as I’d expect.

So now I’m wondering if I actually have two separate issues:

1. The broken blend door linkage/coupler.
2. A separate A/C system issue (low refrigerant, weak compressor, etc.).

My questions:

1. Is this the common RSX blend door linkage failure?
2. Can I buy just the plastic coupler/linkage, or do I need a whole actuator or HVAC assembly?
3. Does anyone have a part number, 3D-print file, or seller they’ve used successfully?
4. Is replacing this an easy DIY job once I’m already under the dash?
5. After fixing the linkage, should I expect the A/C to get much colder, or does it sound like I probably have a second A/C problem as well?

Thanks in advance! Hopefully the pictures and video make it easier to see what’s going on. Any advice from someone who’s repaired this exact issue would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 2006 Acura RSX with HVAC issues, and I ran the built-in climate control self-diagnostic. The attached video shows the results.

The recirculation light blinks 2 times, then the A/C light comes on.

My symptoms are:
No cold A/C.
Heat never gets fully hot or fully cold—it’s always slightly warm.
A/C button light is intermittent (sometimes it lights, sometimes it doesn’t).
Some climate control backlights are dim or don’t work.
Fan speeds don’t seem correct (1st and 2nd speeds seem backwards).
Vent modes act weird (air comes out of vents it shouldn’t).

I’ve already checked the connector on the back of the climate control unit and didn’t see any obvious corrosion or bent pins.

Can someone confirm what Code 2 means on an RSX and whether it could cause all these symptoms, or am I likely dealing with multiple issues (climate control unit, blend door, blower resistor, A/C system, etc.)?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,
I have a 2006 Acura RSX, and for a while now I’ve just been dealing with the fact that the heater doesn’t get hot in the winter and the A/C doesn’t get cold in the summer. I never really looked into it because I just lived with it, but
now I’m wondering if it’s more than just an A/C issue.

Here are the symptoms:
Heater doesn’t get properly hot.
A/C doesn’t get cold at all.
The lights on the climate control panel are weird—some are dim and some don’t work at all.
The A/C button light is intermittent. Sometimes it lights up when I press it, sometimes it doesn’t.
The fan speeds don’t make sense. For example, speed 1 actually feels stronger than speed 2.
The vent selector doesn’t seem to work correctly. If I select feet only, air still comes out of other vents. Other vent settings also seem to blow from the wrong places or with different strengths.

The whole HVAC control system just feels “off,” almost like it’s not controlling anything correctly.
Could all of these issues point to a bad climate control unit or an electrical problem instead of just low refrigerant or a bad compressor? Has anyone had similar symptoms on an RSX before?

Any advice on what I should check first would be appreciated. Thanks!

It looks like my alternator is failing, so I’m planning to replace it soon. I have a 2006 Acura RSX Base automatic, and I’m looking at the options on RockAuto. There are several brands available, and I’m not sure which ones are reliable and which ones I should avoid.

For those of you who have replaced your RSX alternator, which RockAuto brand would you recommend? I’m willing to spend a little more for something that’s dependable, but I don’t want to overpay if there are good aftermarket options. I’d also appreciate hearing which brands you’ve had bad experiences with.

I have a 2006 Acura RSX Base (automatic) with about 170k miles. Today while I was driving, the battery warning light suddenly came on. I pulled over, shut the car off, and started it back up. The light disappeared, but then it came back while driving. I repeated the process one more time, and since then the battery light hasn’t returned. Even though the light is currently off, I checked the battery voltage with the engine running and it was only around 12.0 volts or even slightly lower, which makes me think the battery isn’t being charged.

I’m suspecting either the alternator or something related to the serpentine belt system. The belt area has also been making a strange noise, so I’m attaching a video of it running in case someone notices something abnormal. Does this sound like a failing alternator, a bad belt tensioner/idler pulley, a slipping belt, or something else? What should I check before I replace the alternator? Any advice would be appreciated.

Long story short, my friend owns a 2021 honda civic LX. he recently got a hamster and his girlfriend wanted to take him on a joyride even though my friend was agaisnt it. they went to a store really quick and came back to the hamster gone. he chewed out of whatever crate/box he was in. after hours and hours of looking they gave up. a couple days later a very bad smell started to arise and get stronger over time so he knew the hamster had unfortunately passed away in the car. he’s not mechanically inclined so he called me to come help him and after hours of removing everything i could possibly remove from the passenger side glove box area (that’s where the smell was strongest), I found a whole on the frame of the vehicle with some wires passing through. in that hole, there was chewed up foam that smelled significantly worse and stronger than the rest of the car. a couple moments later i spotted a large maggot near that hole so i knew it was most likely in there. i tried to stick my camera in there but couldn’t see anything except for another maggot. by the smell i’m almost 100% the hamster crawled in there and passed away. but im pretty sure there is not way to get in there to remove it other than cutting the frame of the vehicle open and then welding it back. what can he do in this rough situation? the smell keeps getting worse and i’m sure more and more maggots will keep showing up.
(first picture is the hole from the outside on the passenger side near where the glove box usually is, second picture is a screenshot from a video i took of inside the hole showing the maggot)

Hey everyone, looking for help diagnosing a noise on my 2006 Acura RSX Base Automatic with about 170,000 miles.
I’ve owned the car for about a year, and this noise started roughly a week ago. There are no check engine lights or warning lights on the dash.

The noise seems to be coming from the rear of the car, possibly the rear passenger-side wheel area, although I’m not completely certain. The sound is rotational and directly related to vehicle speed. As the car speeds up, the noise gets louder and faster. As the car slows down, the noise slows down as well, and it completely disappears when the car comes to a stop. There is no noise at idle or while the vehicle is stationary.

The most relevant recent maintenance is that I replaced the rear brake pads and rear rotors myself. Because of that, I’m wondering if the issue could be related to the brakes, such as a dust shield rubbing the rotor, loose brake hardware, improperly seated pads, or something similar. However, I’m also considering the possibility of a wheel bearing or another suspension/drivetrain component.

I spoke with a mechanic friend, and after hearing the noise, his initial opinion was that it could be either a wheel bearing or an axle-related issue, although he wasn’t able to inspect the car in person. So far, I’ve visually inspected the area but haven’t found anything obviously loose or rubbing. The video attached captures the noise pretty well. Has anyone experienced a similar speed-dependent rear-end noise on an RSX? Based on the sound in the video and the information above, what would you check first?