Category: Life with Pratts

2002 Honda CRV A/C Black Death

Honda of America — 800-999-1009 — had no record of the dealer calling about the diagnosis of the 2002 CRV air conditioner failure, which has been termed “Black Death.” Honda of America now says they want only the customer contacting them. Very strange. Bernardi Honda of Natick, Massachusetts is a Honda dealer, and you’d think they would have a better communication path than me calling the 800 number. Obviously, this is all done to discourage consumers from trying to get satisfaction. Anyway, the case supposedly has been forwarded to a regional manager, who will contact me in the next day or two, to discuss the situation.

I sure hope Honda comes up with a reasonable response, because A/C Black Death is a common complaint with second generation CRV’s. As the good guys say in Star Wars when dealing with the Empire, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” But I should point out that there are FOUR of these CRV’s on our street alone, and I would hope Honda of America is savvy enough to have a database, and check it, before they leave me high and dry.

2002 Honda CR-V A/C Death

I mentioned recently that the air conditioner died in Carol’s 2002 Honda CR-V. The local Honda dealer says it’s not just dead, it’s really dead. The compressor has been “disintegrating over time” and putting metal shavings into the coolant lines. The entire system has to be replaced. Obviously, this not the result of normal wear and tear. The compressor was junk.

We have a case number open with Honda of America, and we’re waiting to hear from the dealer what they’re willing to do about this. My plan is to give Eric my ’98 Accord next year (after he gets his license, of course!), then I would take the CR-V, and Carol would get a new car. Depending on the resolution of the A/C problem, we may, or may not, continue to be a “Honda Loyal” family. I’ll let you know.

Happiness Is a Warm Gunty

Sorry for the bad pun, but I couldn’t resist. When I first saw the eBay auction for this Morty Gunty postcard from The Funny Company TV show, I thought it was just like the one I had way back in late ’64.

Funny Company postcard with Morty Gunty

But looking at it now, I realize it’s not likely the same one. That postcard was printed in blue, including the autograph. Further, I don’t recall the words “Keep Smiling” being on the card, but my recollection could be faulty on that point.

So the mystery deepens. Based on my memory, there must have been at least two different printings, if not two different postcards.

A Summer Weekend

Sorry, I haven’t written in a bit. Been taking a break.

One of our neighbors had their big, annual cookout. The husband was Eric’s math teacher two years ago. He always rents one of those inflatable fun houses. Eric thinks the drawings on it are funny, and I agree.

Inflatable funhouse
Inflatable funhouseInflatable funhouse

Looks like a hardhat theme, but the black guy isn’t wearing one and he’s winking. Hmm. I think they should have gone for an all-out Village People motif. One of the faces looks sort of like a young Dubya Bush, and the other like Rock Hudson. Bizarre.

The air conditioner on Carol’s 2002 Honda CRV blew. Online there are many complaints about the same problem. We’re taking it to our trusted local independent garage, and depending on what they say we’ll call Honda of America. Loud noises and things sounding like they’re falling off indicate a defective part, and not normal wear-and-tear.

Let’s see, what else is going on? I mowed the lawn, I ran seven miles today, we went out to dinner tonight, and oh yes. I won an eBay auction recently, and I’ll be blogging about that item as soon as it comes in.

Lights in the Sky, TV in the Mirror

The fireworks show in Boston last night was like a 1964 Beatles concert — short and loud. It was a big 20-minute display, which seemed like the right length. We were watching from the Cambridge side of the Charles River, on Memorial Drive in front of M.I.T. The blimp belongs to Hood, one of the bigger dairies in the Boston area. For a minute it looked like the blimp was flying into the fireworks, but as you can see it was a safe distance away.

[flv:/Video/2008/JUL/Fireworks2008.flv 440 330]

Another interesting sight awaited us at the hotel, down the road near Harvard, where the bathroom mirror had a built-in LCD TV.

[flv:/Video/2008/JUL/TVMirror.flv 440 330]