Air Conditioner Noise & Leak?

[skysos]

Got a similar response from Fremont Toyota at the Auto Mall. The service guy was arrogant and not helpful at all. The car was 1-month and 2000 miles out of warrantee. I will never go to those guys again I've owned 7 toyotas and this may be my last one. There are lots of reliable options out there -- why would I want to take a chance on them again?

I hope there is some recall issued for this. The car is going to my son and I don't want him to have to deal with this.

[DonM]

I have a 2008 Sedan and fortunately, I have not had this problem crop up yet but I am wondering (feel free to correct me I am wrong) if this would not work.........using a wet/dry shop vac - insert the hose that is located in the passenger seat floor area into the hose of the shop vac and turn it on - would it not be able to suction out the blockage and the water?

[jameseddy]

2008 had same problem $1700 repair

[Steveh27]

Today my 2010 with only 16,000 miles and still in warranty started making a sloshing noise. When I got home the passenger floor matt was soaked. I took it out & put a towel in to catch drips. I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow & they already said it wouldn't be covered if it was just debris blocking it.

I just found the black tube & squeezed it from the top to the bottom. Water is draining out from the bottom of the car now. Do I need to remove it & try to clean it out more & the area above where it is attached? Should I still go for the appointment? I do need to go in for the oil change.

CTScott I have had the cabin air filter for 2 years & here we are.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Steveh27

Today my 2010 with only 16,000 miles and still in warranty started making a sloshing noise. When I got home the passenger floor matt was soaked. I took it out & put a towel in to catch drips. I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow & they already said it wouldn't be covered if it was just debris blocking it.

I just found the black tube & squeezed it from the top to the bottom. Water is draining out from the bottom of the car now. Do I need to remove it & try to clean it out more & the area above where it is attached? Should I still go for the appointment? I do need to go in for the oil change.

CTScott I have had the cabin air filter for 2 years & here we are.

What came out of the hose that was keeping the water from draining?

[Steveh27]

I did not detach either end of the hose. I just started squeezing it at the top & worked my way down, numerous times. Almost like milking it maybe. I did not feel any obstruction. Perhaps the pressure just forced something out. The water drained under the car & I didn't see any obvious debris in the brief look I made. It could have been a pint or 2. I wonder if I should remove the tube to see if it needs further cleaning? And then try to check if there is debris above the upper hose attachment?

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Steveh27

I did not detach either end of the hose. I just started squeezing it at the top & worked my way down, numerous times. Almost like milking it maybe. I did not feel any obstruction. Perhaps the pressure just forced something out. The water drained under the car & I didn't see any obvious debris in the brief look I made. It could have been a pint or 2. I wonder if I should remove the tube to see if it needs further cleaning? And then try to check if there is debris above the upper hose attachment?

You may have actually just pushed the obstruction up and temporarily out of the way or it may simply have been a clump of pollen or mold that broken up and flowed out with the water. The cabin filter helps immensely, but it is not an absolute fix, as some particulate does pass through it. Also, frequently running an AC system on recirculate will tend to grow molds in the airbox.

[Steveh27]

So you think I have to detach the hose? If so, does it just pull out, twist out, pop off, unscrew or ??? Or what else should I do? I think this may have been the first leakage on the mat.

Thanks.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Steveh27

So you think I have to detach the hose? If so, does it just pull out, twist out, pop off, unscrew or ??? Or what else should I do? I think this may have been the first leakage on the mat.

Thanks.

It just pulls off, but you can also just go up the hose with a large cable tie.

[Steveh27]

Does this hose drain the water coming in the vents below the windshield? My 2010 has fine mesh screening the debris from going in there.

Does it also drain the AC condensate?

I'll pull it off & check in a bit.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Steveh27

Does this hose drain the water coming in the vents below the windshield? My 2010 has fine mesh screening the debris from going in there.

Does it also drain the AC condensate?

I'll pull it off & check in a bit.

The hose only drains the condensate. The vents by the windshield drain to the wiper tray. The air entering the A/C system goes down through those holes, back up and then straight back through the firewall. That path keeps water from entering.

[Steveh27]

Thanks CTScott. I'm at the dealer right now. They're doing the oil change & will check to make sure the bottom of the hose drain is clear & will show me where that is.

[Steveh27]

The dealer said there were many spider webs under the car & that 1 one of them may have gotten in the drain & been the clog. They did clean it out from the bottom - no charge with the oil change.

That makes sense as I've had the cabin filter for 2 years to prevent stuff getting sucked into the airbox.

They said to wash off the bottom of the car frequently to keep the spiders down.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Steveh27

The dealer said there were many spider webs under the car & that 1 one of them may have gotten in the drain & been the clog. They did clean it out from the bottom - no charge with the oil change.

That makes sense as I've had the cabin filter for 2 years to prevent stuff getting sucked into the airbox.

They said to wash off the bottom of the car frequently to keep the spiders down.

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought of little critters going in the out door.

[Tj05]

I have the 2005 hatch, and have the same issue of water draining over the front passengers feet.... It only started after driving through deep pools of water along a rural highway, during a very heavy rain storm a year ago... It's been happening every time after a storm since then, so i'm not sure whether the car may have some additional water collecting internally from the rainfall?

Thoughts?

I'm keen to try clearing the hose though, and see if it helps next time it happens.

[Far out]

Originally Posted by slick1

1) Lift up the carpets on the front passenger side of the car.
2) Disconnect rubber hose (top right hand corner) from the airbox.
3) Unplug rubber plug in the bottom of the car (underneath the carpet) to allow water to drain
4) Stick a hanger or stiff piece of wire into the hole in the airbox (and shake it all about)

Only took a few minutes to do.

I have pictures if someone would like to see what the hose looks like (this site needs a file area?).

Much simpler than accessing it from underneath the car.

Much cheaper than the dealers who quoted about $300 to do it (said they needed to rip everything out).

The dealers also claimed they'd never seen this problem before.

The smell seems to be mold or something from the airbox/carpet... and starts to disappear after the car has dried out.


I'm really disappointed by the Toyota response. This is obviously a common problem which they should be able to diagnose on the spot.

The solution is probably to fit a larger hose and/or to provide easy access to clean the airbox.

This is a manufacturing issue... and Toyota should address it.

Thanks very much to those who posted information which helped to diagnose this problem.

:-)

Please sent me photo of the hose. The carpet was hard to remove, do you just tear it out? Thanks.

[Far out]

Originally Posted by Jassa123

Hello all, i am very excited to say i just fixed the water leaking from under the dashboard on the passenger side. I called up toyota 2 days ago with my problem and was told it would be an all day job and they would have to remove my dashboard (would cost around $400) They said my air con was blocked and was causing all the water to leak into my heater box and then run onto the floor. Well i thought that sounded like BS and so decided to google the problem and found many people with the same issue. The solution is simple.

Under the dash on the passenger side, pull back the flap of carpet a little bit and on the right hand side, down low, there is a little black soft tube that is leading to the outside of the car. Just pull on it and it will easily pop out. Dont worry it will pop back in afterwards. Then get a stick or something flexible and stick it up the tube being gentle. Water will run out when you have unblocked it. then plug it back in and the problem is fixed. No more water on your floor. I am a 28 year old girl with no expereince in cars and i fixed it so dont go to Toyota for this problem and save yourself $400. Good luck everyone. Hope this helps all with the same annoying problem. :)

How was the carpet held down, when I try to pull back, it was very restricted. I did not go any further from here. Was it velcroed? Thanks.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Far out

How was the carpet held down, when I try to pull back, it was very restricted. I did not go any further from here. Was it velcroed? Thanks.

There is a piece of velcro that holds the corner in place. You only have to pull it back a couple of inches to access the hose.