Hi, all. I took the car to one of those drive-thru car washes this past weekend. It was hot, so I had the AC on in recirc mode. As the car wash started, things got warm in the car - humid, mostly. Then, as the pressurized water actually hit the car, I heard the sound of the blower fan hitting droplets of water! As soon as the car wash was over, I sped over to a parking spot to see quite a bit of water dripping into the passenger side. When I shut everything down and grabbed some towels, I looked back to see that it was actually pouring in. Something filled up and I guess once the fan was off let it all dump out onto my floor.

Talk about a mess... there was enough water (I'd guess about 2L) to completely fill my floor mat sopping wet. I couldn't get under the dash enough to confirm, but the water seemed to be dripping from the fan housing... where it was coming from, I don't know.

Can anyone take a guess as to what in the world is leaking on my car? It only happened on the passenger side and I'm sure that the fan was hitting water as it spun. Also, I'm sure it's water and not something from a heater core.

 

Most likely your cabin filter needs to be reseated in its housing. Its under the windshield cowl on the passenger side. Fairly common problem. Might as well replace it when you get in there.

 

^ my thoughts as well.

 

Yep, cabin filter is either not there or not installed properly, allowing water to flow down the intake and past the blower motor. Granted, may be a good idea when going through a car wash to put the car on recirc so you are not sucking in outside air to help minimize the amount of water than can possibly enter the car.

 

I feel like a goober for not even thinking of that. I'll have to take a look tomorrow - that makes a lot of sense.

 

There was a TSB way back in 2003/04 for this fault
TSB XT501-08am (amended)

bob gauff

 

Bob;
Forgive my ignorance, but what does the TSB mean? Since it's not a recall, my guess is that this is a dealership-covered fix only if the vehicle is still in warranty.


Also, from reading the TSB, it basically sounds like they are saying "wrap it in plastic"... am I reading this thing right?

 

Simon, TSB is Technical Service Bulletin. This is a letter that is sent to the dealerships to help them minimize troubleshooting time by giving them a list of parts to change and an order to do them in for common problems. From my experience, dealerships will do TSB work for free provided: 1) you complain about the issue, and 2) you are still under the factory warrantee (extended warrantees don't count).

 

The TSB provides info to place a 'shroud' on the top corners of the air inlet to the HVAC to prevent water ingress. Houses have 'overhangs' to prevent water from running down exterior walls and entering the structure. "wrap it in plastic"... is kind of like what we do to houses with TYVEC Dupont wrap but this 'overhang' just sheds water to the drain!!!!

bob gauff

 

I'm having the same problem. I checked the cabin air filter housing and it has the shrouds installed, but the water seems to be coming in through the bottom of intake trough through the filter. Only the bottom of the filter is wet. Any thoughts as to how to fix?

 

I have seen where the wiper cowl was not properly clipped to lower edge if the windshield after a glass replacement, also have seen leaking seal between the cabin filter box and the body. Also make sure water is draining proper below the filter and it is not clogged with dirt and leaves.

 

Aus,
Thank you for the tips.

 

>Also make sure water is draining proper below the filter and it is not clogged with dirt and leaves.

Ya, it seems that junk can get in there pretty easily. I noticed AC condensate on my floor last summer and took the car to the dealer to clear things. They tried to blow out the line, failed, and ended up having to remove the dash to reach the heater box to clear the crud out. They showed me a picture and there certainly was a lot of leaves, etc., in there.

~$500 was the price of having to park outside I suppose
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