The Lemon Index$1,800 middle bill · most between $1,200 and $3,000
Higher than the $1,400 middle bill owners of all 72 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 73,000 miles (37 reports).
Honda CR-V owners reported paying a median of $1,800 for a AC compressor replacement, with the middle half of bills between $1,200 and $3,000. That's from 44 owner reports (42 complaints to NHTSA and 2 YouTube videos). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5009%
- $500–$1,00014%
- $1,000–$2,50043%
- $2,500–$5,00034%
- $5,000 and up0%
Share of the 44 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2002 Honda CR-V10$2,200 middle bill
- 2003 Honda CR-V13$2,000 middle bill
- 2004 Honda CR-V11$1,800 middle bill
- 2005 Honda CR-V1too few for a middle
- 2007 Honda CR-V1too few for a middle
- 2008 Honda CR-V3$1,200 middle bill
- 2017 Honda CR-V1too few for a middle
- 2018 Honda CR-V2too few for a middle
- 2002–2006 Honda CR-V (YouTube)2too few for a middle
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2004 Honda CR-V87 complaints name it17% of that year's complaints
- 2002 Honda CR-V57 complaints name it11% of that year's complaints
- 2003 Honda CR-V55 complaints name it12% of that year's complaints
- 2008 Honda CR-V20 complaints name it2% of that year's complaints
- 2005 Honda CR-V16 complaints name it3% of that year's complaints
- 2009 Honda CR-V14 complaints name it4% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a a/c compressor. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Engines in these years
Engines with a page of their own that this model was sold with in the years above. Owners don't always say which engine they had.
Keep going
- Honda CR-V reliability by year
- AC compressor replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Honda CR-V owners reported
Fuel injector replacement (61) · Steering rack replacement (52) · Brake repair (20) · Head gasket replacement (15) · Door lock actuator replacement (12) · Transmission replacement (12) · Timing chain replacement (11) · Fuel pump replacement (10) · ABS module replacement (8) · Spark plug replacement (8) · Engine replacement (7) · Wiring harness repair (7) · AC condenser replacement (6) · Heater core replacement (6)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11540221, 11534287, 11510439, 11474892, 11128260, 10914539, 10568182, 10467048, 10459327, 10416265, 10416088, 10414731 and more.
Quick answers
How much does AC compressor replacement cost on a Honda CR-V?
Honda CR-V owners reported a median of $1,800, and the middle half paid $1,200 to $3,000, from 44 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Honda CR-V AC compressor replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Honda CR-V middle bill of $1,800 is higher than the $1,400 owners of all 72 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Honda CR-V repair costs come from?
From 42 complaints to NHTSA and 2 YouTube videos: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Honda CR-V years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2004 (87), 2002 (57), 2003 (55) Honda CR-V named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.