AirConditioner Civic 2006 unprotected
 

Hi Guys,
Recently i read in the Toronto Star (12 May 2007) of a Civic 2006 owner that complained of poor design.The airconditioner was not protected and a pebble has gone thru and damaged the condenser tube.He even reported it in a website:

Component: AIR CONDITIONER
Details: HONDA COMMON SENSE FAILURE. HONDA PLACES THEIR AIR CONDITIONER (A/C) CONDENSER AT THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WITH NO PROTECTION, IE A SCREEN TO DEFLECT PEBBLES, RESULTING IN AN EASY TARGET FOR PEBBLES TO PUNCTURE THE FRAGILE CONDENSER TUBE. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A WIDESPREAD ISSUE THAT HONDA IS REFUSING TO DEAL WITH. THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE SAID THAT IN HIS THREE YEARS WORKING FOR HONDA, HE PERSONALLY HAS DEALT WITH ABOUT 100 OF THESE FAILURES. HOWEVER. HE DID NOT SEE THIS AS A PROBLEM AND LIKENED THE FAILURE TO A CHIPPED WINDSHIELD. KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS AT A SINGLE DEALERSHIP, WITH A SINGLE REPRESENTATIVE AMONG SEVERAL. DURING COMMON, EVERYDAY, FREEWAY DRIVING, $657 DAMAGE SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS A CHIPPED WINDSHIELD. THE WINDSHIELD IS A PROTECTIVE DEVICE, AND THEREFORE DEFLECTING PEBBLES AND OTHER ROAD HAZARDS IS EXPECTED. I DON'T THINK THE A/C CONDENSER SHOULD FALL UNDER THE SAME CATEGORY AS MY FORMER HONDA DEALER HAS IMPLIED. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO REMEDY THIS SITUATION EXCEPT TO BE RECOMMENDED TO MAKE IT AN INSURANCE CLAIM OR PAY THE $657 OUT OF POCKET. A $657 REPAIR MAY BE EXPECTED WHEN BUYING A USED VEHICLE, BUT WHEN THIS SORT OF DAMAGE IS SUSTAINED DURING EVERYDAY DRIVING WITHIN THE 1ST YEAR OF PURCHASING A NEW VEHICLE AND IS NOT THE RESULT OF NEGLIGENCE BY THE DRIVER, IT SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT BE TOLERATED. RECALL. *AK

The link is:
http://www.mycarstats.com/safetystation.asp

On checking my own car,i noticed a few places where the cooling fins were indented with stone/pebble impacts.I hope my a/c is ok but if does fail,it's gonna be expensive to repair and Honda ain't paying for it.What about you guys?Anyone with a damaged a/c??