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Cold water leaking from console on to front passenger floor

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by valk70, Jul 22, 2011.

  1. valk70

    valk70 New Member

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    I have a 2008 Prius. I recently discovered some cold water leaking from behind the center instrument console on to the front passenger side floor. It only leaks when the A/C is running and there doesn't appear to be any difference if running with fresh air or recirc air. I removed the plastic covers from that area to look around. There is cold water dripping from the bottom of the metal tube that goes behind the console and into I guess an A/C component. The water is not running down the tube as the tube itself is dry. So, I'm wondering if this may be condensation on the A/C unit? Also is there a drain tube that may be clogged or something like that? I did spend a few minutes searching the forum but did not find anything related. Any thoughts?

    Thanks,

    Valk70
     
  2. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    That's just like any other vehicle. The A/C drainage gets clogged and condensation water leaks into the passenger compartment.

    The cause is typically crude built up in the tube, which means someone will need to manually clean it out. Maintenance shops routinely do this. So, you could pretty much go anywhere if you aren't able to do it yourself.

    In some cases though, it can actually just be frozen water... which will self-repair when it melts.
    .
     
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Hi Welcome aboard!

    The dealer offers a fix for this issue. Its a 2 spray cans. One is a microidial soapy cleaner, the other is perfume. The spray cans come with a special hose that fits the soapy can and connects to the very tube you suspect is clogged. That tube is the e-coil condensation vent. It can be found right about 2 feet in from the very back of the front pass wheel. You cannot see it when you get down and look under there as this black rubber vent hose is only aboyut 4 inches long and does not go beyond the bottom sight line of the chassis. The other can is just very very strong perfume that they spray in the air dam after the cleaner. It really stinks and I avoid that step.
    The dealer quoted me $125 for the whole deal. I have done it myself twice in the last few years as its a maintenace issue as the Prius can get very stinky if you do not maintain the e-coil.
    Please search my back posts if interested as this is a very very intensely discussed issue and many discussions on the proper way to handle the ac system to prevent what you have.

    Search "stinky".

    BTW, since you are actually clogged you may have to hook a home wet vac to that tube under there to suck out the debris first.
    Connect taped up so you have suction.
    Not sure if the dealer is capable of that. Thats how ac techs do it at home when the drip liner gets clogged.
     
  4. valk70

    valk70 New Member

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    Thanks a lot for the response. I looked at some of the posts that mentioned stinky ducts but never saw a mention of the hose. I'm going to check that out right now.
     
  5. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Find a dealer with a shop vac that can suck the crud out of the tube. The usual fix is to blow compressed air into the tube, which pushes the crud into the evaporator. I never liked that idea :_>
     
  6. seb33

    seb33 Junior Member

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    I am getting this leaking as well...I very rarely ever use my air conditioning...I have never had a car before that leaked on the inside...isn't that a very very poor design that this could even happen?
     
  7. seb33

    seb33 Junior Member

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    I am currently at the Toyota dealership and they feel the problem is the hose that probably is loose or unattached...he suggested that possibly someone put their feet up high under the front and dislodged it to which I replied the car is not designed properly if feet can dislodge an air conditioning hose...he said that it should be repaired under warranty but how do I prevent this from happening again?
     
  8. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

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    I can stick a fork into an electrical socket - that does not mean that the socket was designed improperly. If someone did push their feet into a spot they should not have there is probably little that you could do to stop them in the future. A lot of times tubes are simply held on by friction but perhaps you could have them use a zip tie or something else to secure it a bit better.

    When the dealer is fixing it have them show you what happened so you can fix it in the future if it were to happen again.

     
  9. seb33

    seb33 Junior Member

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    It is my experience with cars that the air conditioning should not be draining into the cabin of the car...had I stuck a fork into the tube then perhaps I would see your point!
    They found a faulty valve and apologized for the inconvenience to me and admitted that it was not due to my passengers 'crazy' footwork while seated in the front passenger position. There have been others that have experienced similar problems some of which have resulted in mold accumulation in the cabin which can be very problematic with people with allergies, asthma etc. Also this could be related to some who complain of bad odours particularly when using the A/C...these problems could be related to poor design. I love my Prius but if there is a design problem that is causing unreasonable problems not related to wear and tear (I very rarely pull or play with the drainage tube on the A/C), then I would like Toyota to admit the problem and provide reasonable solutions that do not cause unnecessary expense to the car owners.
     
  10. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    In the future, you should post a new thread (or add to an existing one) in the proper area. This is a Gen 2 area and you have a Gen 3, which has been significantly redesigned.

    It wouldn't surprise me that the HVAC system is significantly different given that the "control panel" between the two is different (there isn't even on one the Gen 2, it's all done thru the touchscreen LCD) and the interior is totally different.
     
  11. eaturner

    eaturner New Member

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    I have a gen III and have this problem. The dealer said the ac line was clogged and he blew it out. Then he wanted me to pay $850 to clean the condensator pump and remove the interior of the car to clean and disinfect it. I said yeah right, I'll call Toyota and complain but I'm certainly not paying almost 5% of the cost of the dam car for a poor design issue.