Last time most Continental cars have to remove dashboard because the coil is located in the middle. I guess the idea is to have balance air pressure on both sides. Meanwhile Japanese cars mostly behind glove compartments and easy to access. Nowadays, Japanese cars also have those in the middle behind dashboard.

In olden days, there is no air filter before the coil, thus easy to get dirty and need to complete dismantle for proper cleaning. Nowadays, I think all cars have cabin filter thus keeping the coil clean. You just need to replace filter if it gets clogged up. No more removing coil required.

The cooling coil leak is something hardly happened. Not sure what brand Honda use but so unlucky of you. My Nissan 15 years also only once refill gas because I think less cool but I was told very little need to top up.

Actually in between part behind dashboard especially along air-cond ducting, there are foams to seal and stop/muffle squeaking between part. After 5 years, these foam decayed. Sometime your air-cond blows out part of the foam which is like black rubbery dust. So, when opening, the pro shop will replace all these foam and no more squeaking sounds