2015 Honda CRV - Heat/air conditioning works intermittently

Hi-- my 2015 Honda CRV with 28K miles is having the AC and heat work intermittently. Sometimes no air will come out at all and sometimes everything works perfectly. I was given an expensive quote to replace the AC condenser due to small holes in it and to replace the blower.

The blower makes sense to me, but if the condenser was having issues, wouldn’t there NEVER be any cold air? As is… sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Just wanted other opinions to see if this diagnosis made sense before spending the money.

The next time no air will come out, with the ignition switch on, set the blower speed to high.

Reach under the passenger side of the dash, and with the handle of a screwdriver rap on the blower motor.

If the blower starts working, replace the blower motor.

Tester

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I agree with OP on the condenser issue. It wouldn’t be intermittent once the refrigerant leaked out thru the “holes”.

If tapping on the blower motor doesn’t help consider a bad blower motor relay.

The no-airflow into the cabin symptom seems more like a blower motor or electrical power problem, but could be a vent door problem too, especially if you can hear the blower motor spinning when this is occurring. Try switching the blower speeds; if the blower is spinning you’ll hear the sound-pitch change. My guess on the condenser is the tech noticed some damage to the condenser upon doing a visual inspection & is recommending replacement b/c from their experience with that amount of visible damage failure seems imminent. If so, better to do it in the winter than the summer. No way to assess that over the internet obviously, but asking another shop for a second opinion makes sense as replacing the condenser can be pretty pricey. Suggest to focus your initial att’n on the no air flow problem, and once that’s solved you can make a decision on the condenser.

Check also the power and ground at the plug in the blower motor.