My 2003 has about 90K kilometers on it, and starting a couple days ago, when I make a left, i hear this water (almost sounds like sand, but it's obviously not) swishing to one side.. WHen that happens the blower motor goes slower.. Then today water droplets starting coming out of the vents, and the radio went quiet.. Anyone encountered this? Recall of some sort? I can't see that much condensation accumulating somewhere? Thanks guys

 

Your need to get your ac drain plug drained. It is cogged. This is a known problem with our cars. Eventually so much water will build and you will have a waterfall on the passenger front floor board from the vent when you turn.

 

Hello JohnnyK,

Not sure if you managed to get this fixed. I had the same issue. The dealer quoted $700.00 to fix it!!! Here's what I enede up doing - and it works perfectly now:

(note that all references to "left" and "right" are from the perspective of sitting in the driver's seat, facing toward the front of the vehicle)

- I pulled back the carpet on the front, left side of the console (driver's side in NA)
- That allowed me to see the drain tube from the HVAC box, going to the firewall
- it comes out of the left side of the air box. and makes a right angle turn toward the firewall (this makes it very difficult to get anything into it to clean it out)
- Using that as a reference, I was able to locate the drain on the firewall, in the engine compartment
- The drain exits the firewall beside the steering shaft, directly behind the lower engine mount, on the left side of the center tunnel (there was no tube attached on my car)
- There is a section of insulation that hides the location of the drain - lift it up to see where the drain exits the firewall - the drain pipe is flush with the firewall, and surrounded by a soft, spongy padding/insulation/sealer.. It is tricky to locate, but it's there!!
- Next, I cut a 4 foot length of 1/2 inch garden hose, and attached one end to a ShopVac (duct tape works great )
- I turned on the vaccuum and worked the other end of the garden hose down to the drain, and sucked all the crud out of the box!!! (cut the hose at an angle to help make a good "seal" around the drain pipe)
- To be sure I had gotten all the crud, I removed the plenum cover under the glove box (between the HVAC box and the blower motor - 4 Phillips screws, 1 bolt, and 1 nut - 8 mm socket)
- I had a friend pour about 2 gallons of water into the heater box from a watering jug, while I used the ShopVac to suck it out the other end
- Then I poured another gallon or so through it, without the vaccuum
- Now the system drains as good as new!!
- The shopVac had a TON of crud in it!! Nasty!!

I hope this will help others who have the same problem. I photo documented the process, so if anyone is interested, drop me an e-mail and I'll send them to you - jimmy_dean0@yahoo.com

My next project will be installing the cabin filter this weekend to prevent this issue occurring again.

Hope this helps,

Jimmy

 

Hello,

I have received several requests for the photos, so here’s a link, plus step by step instructions:

Please note: All information is provided "as is", and I accept no responsibility for any problems that may occurr if you attempt this proceedure. I make no claim as to the potential success of this proceedure (except that it worked for me ).

Please be very careful when working around any mechanical parts. Make sure the engine is off, and has had time to cool down, so as not to burn yourself. Plastic parts may be brittle, and could break. Use care when working with any parts. Be careful not to strip the threads when removing/re-attaching the plenum cover.

Ok, now that the disclaimers are out of the way , here are the photos, and the steps I used:

Photos:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jimmy_...HSaGFBOYDwiqBw

1. Pull the carpet back on the left side (driver's side in North America), and you will see the drain tube (see DrainTube1.JPG).

2. Note the location of the drain tube where it intersects the firewall, next to the steering column.

3. Open the hood, and locate the exit of the drain tube in the engine compartment, next to the steering column. It is a small hole in the firewall, about the size of a quarter (maybe a little bigger), behind the lower engine mount. Reach down with your hand, and you should be able to feel the hard plastic tube in the hole. My car had a soft, spongy material around the tube, inside the hole.

4. Use the ShopVac and garden hose combination to suck the water out through this drain hole in the engine compartment. If you cut the end of the garden hose at a slight angle it may make it easier to "seal" the garden hose around the drain hole, to get a good suction. There was a lot of crud inside that was plugging the hole, and quite a bit of water, so expect the vaccuum hose to dance around a bit as it sucks it all out .

5. Optional, but highly recommended - Remove the plenum cover (see PlenumCover2.jpg) under the glove box on the passenger side. The cover sits between the fan on the right, and the plenum box on the left. There are 4 Philips head screws (the "+" type head), one 8 mm nut and one 8 mm bolt (locations are circled in the photo). The two screws towards the front of the car, closest to the firewall, are difficult to locate, especially the one on the left. Use a stubby Philips for that one. You may be able to get away with taking out the two rear screws, closest to the passenger seat, and "twisting" the cover down. Be careful not to break it!

6. Have a friend pour water slowly into the plenum (see PlenumCover.jpg) in the spot circled in yellow in the photo. This will help to flush out any additional debris that has accumulated in the plenum.

7. To prevent the problem from coming back, install a cabin filter (available at the Dealer - $58.00 in Canada, including the reusable bracket). Cut out the plastic behind the glove box, and attach the filter with 2 screws. I'll be doing this on the weekend, and will take photos of the process. I'll post them once I've completed the job. See the CabinFilter.jpg photo for the location of the filter. You'll need to take out the glove box to reach this.

Hope this helps,

Jimmy

 

Update - Photo's added

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jimmy_...HSaGFBOYDwiqBw

The saga continues - Installing the cabin filter, and drying the carpet

Cabin Filter:

- we picked up the cabin filter from the dealer - part number MR500360
- after removing the glove box, I used a 1" wood chisel to cut out the plastic "blanc" behind the glove box
- CAREFULLY work one corner of the chisel into the plastic blanc, along the outer edge
- you could also drill a hole in each corner, and then use a fine hack saw blade to cut out the blanc
- the plastic is quite thin in this area, as it is designed to be cut out
- using care, I moved the chisel along, at an angle, cutting a small amount of plastic at a time
- once the blanc is removed, smooth out any rough edges, and slide in the filter
- use 2 screws to secure it in place

Drying the carpet:

After fixing the drain problem, and installing the filter the last problem we have is the nasty smell of the wet carpet on the passenger side. I tried using a wet vac to suck it out, but that was pretty ineffective - the carpet was very wet, and the backing has what appears to be a plastic, waterproofing on it. Here's what I've done to resolve this

- remove the plastic sil-plate from the passenger side door opening
- BE CAREFULL!!! As you can see in the photo (Carpet2.JPG), I managed to break off one of the clip retainers
- there is a single Philips head screw at the top, front corner that must be removed (just below the dash)
- after completely removing the sil-plate, pull the carpet back, over the passenger seat (Carpet3.JPG)
- the insulation on the back of the carpet will most likley be SOAKED (this seems to be the source of the smell)
- I used a wet-vac to dry this out as much as possible
- it was a warm, sunny day today, so I left the carpet like this, with the front doors and windows open
- to speed up the process even more, I put a small fan in the passenger footwell, blowing over the carpet
- we also sprayed Fabreeze on the carpet to help get rid of the smell.
- we plan to disinfect the carpet with a strong disinfectant spray too, to prevent any mold and mildew from forming.

With any luck this will be my last posting on this subject. I hope this thread will help others who may experience this problem.

If anyone has any questions, or would like clarification, on any of the posts, feel free to drop me a line - jimmy_dean0*Yahoo.com.

Thanks,

Jimmy

 

I've had quite a few inquiries on this issue, so just bringing it back to the top of the list

The link to photos on Yahoo will expire at the end of Sept. I'll try to find a new home, and post another link.

Jimmy

 

ok i been having a similar problem. but the carpet in the driver side and backpassenger side is completly wet. i hate it cause is causing a nasty moisture smell. but this happens wen it rainsi check the the bottom part of the car in case there is some breaks in case of rustyness. but there is nothing where doyall thinkthis water is coming from?

 

This sounds more like a leak around thewindshield, in thecowl. Check to see if the drains in the cowl area are plugged (pour water slowly into the vent area at the base of the windshield - water should drain out under the car). Run a hose over the windshield to see if water gets in. Pull back the carpet on the drivers side, and look atthe the inside of the firewall to see if you can see water running down.

 

That sounds crazy. I hope you fixed it.

 

New link to photos:

http://cid-5b2a6e30d8c06fda.spaces.l...0D8C06FDA!107/