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Air Con / Ventilation issues

Davy

Davy

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Location
London
Car
ictdi tourer ex
Hi All

I've done a couple of quick searches and nothing specific came up.

My 06 facelift iCTDi Tourer EX has a couple of issues with the ventilation system, I've been flat out with work and home stuff so finally got round to looking into it now:

- A couple of weeks back it started to smell pretty nasty, particularly at start up which I've ***umed is moisture and bacteria or suchlike in the system somewhere I've been meaning to try some antibacterial spray but have yet to get round to it. The air flow seems pretty normal, at max it makes the appropriate noise and seems to be shifting the normal amount of air.

- I've pulled the pollen filter this morning and it looks a little grubby but OK but I'm going to replace it anyway with a Honda part (I'm ***uming they are fairly cheap and there is only one) - it was also not the source of the smell.

- After a 300+ mile round trip last night, the ventilation system could not cope with the window condensation on any setting. There was a bit of moisture in the car from damp feet on the carpets but nothing I wouldn't expect it to be able to cope with ordinarily. This morning it cleared the misted windows OK but the heating didn't kick in for a good 10 minutes. Looking at the manual it says the diesels are fitted with a supplementary gas heater to boost cold starts, how long does this normally take to fire up - my previous car was toasty within 2 mins of starting.

- It would seem that something is blocked and causing a smell and also blowing moist air into the cabin or restricting air flow slightly; are there any drain holes to check? Looking at the front scuttle intakes this morning, they all appeared fairly clear?

- The AC seems to blow cold air fine (although its 6 degrees outside today so hard to tell if its working or not..) My previous car had a dehumidifier setting which demisted the windows in seconds, could the AC be the culprit?


Aside from the pollen filter change, what else should I be looking for.

TIA

Ade
 
Pepster said:
Have you tried giving all the glasses a very good clean inside ?
Click to expand...


Thanks for the quick reply - I gave them a going over with a kitchen towel which helped a bit but the condensation still came back.

Cheers

Ade

PS it was pretty foggy last night which won't have helped either.
 
Pepster said:
Try using a alcohol based glass cleaner to get that smear free surface.. if that fails then you need to get your aircon gas checked too. if the aircon isn't cooling sufficiently the glasses wont demist quickly.
Click to expand...


Thanks, will give that a try.

Any thoughts on the source of the smell?

Cheers

Ade
 
Pepster said:
The smell is due to stagnant water at the bottom of the evaporator, the drain pipe sometimes get blocked with cob webs restricting the flow of water out .. When you get the aircon looked at get the technician to blast the pipe with high pressure air if water comes out then the blockage has been cured.
Click to expand...


Thanks

Ade
 
You might actually be looking at two seperate problems here Ade. It could be a cracked manifold causing the smell, very common on the Accord diesel and covered under warranty. If its going in to Honda, they should be able to diagnose though.
 
Update.

Car gone to local independent this morning. The heater packed up yesterday..

Re the cracked manifold, I had that checked a couple of months ago as part of routine service. The smell is more dead animal than fuel/exhaust but we'll see.

Wondering whether my choice to use an Indy for what was a routine ac service was wise.... I've asked them to run diagnostics on it as well to rule out R2D2 type electrical strops.

Will update later

cheers

Ade
 
Davy said:
Update.

Car gone to local independent this morning. The heater packed up yesterday..

Re the cracked manifold, I had that checked a couple of months ago as part of routine service. The smell is more dead animal than fuel/exhaust but we'll see.

Wondering whether my choice to use an Indy for what was a routine ac service was wise.... I've asked them to run diagnostics on it as well to rule out R2D2 type electrical strops.

Will update later

cheers

Ade
Click to expand...


Update:

Have been advised the heater matrix has failed and leaked coolant into the passenger footwell (the smell). They've sealed it for a quick fix and Quoted £800+VAT for a replacement matrix as its a 'dash out' job. AC all fine apparently.

I'm pretty underwhelmed by this having bought the car to replace an aging but super reliable 20 year old Mercedes on the grounds of big bills every 6 months.

Reading this forum, it seems the 7th Gen has a number of common issues and I'm wondering if at 67k miles and coming up to 5 years I'm at the start of the car's mid life crisis...




Ade

Honda have quoted £790 inc. VAT for replacement...
 
Davy said:
Update:

Have been advised the heater matrix has failed and leaked coolant into the passenger footwell (the smell). They've sealed it for a quick fix and Quoted £800+VAT for a replacement matrix as its a 'dash out' job. AC all fine apparently.

I'm pretty underwhelmed by this having bought the car to replace an aging but super reliable 20 year old Mercedes on the grounds of big bills every 6 months.

Reading this forum, it seems the 7th Gen has a number of common issues and I'm wondering if at 67k miles and coming up to 5 years I'm at the start of the car's mid life crisis...




Ade

Honda have quoted £790 inc. VAT for replacement...
Click to expand...

Should say 65k miles..
 
A few breakdowns is not unreasonable on a 5 year old car regardless of make IMHO... You're the first I have seen with this particular problem though.
 
Well the car is still losing a little coolant & causing the windows to mist over a long (3.5hr) journey. I've topped up twice in the last few days (600 odd miles) but at least the heater has some oomph to clear the issue.

Car is going to Honda asap for a proper fix. Fingers crossed.

Oh and the washing machine ate the passenger overmat....


Ade
 
Our E-class merc went in for a 2k heater matrix lucky it was foc

Just shows they dont make cars like they used.
 
Its fixed, I have a toasty and condensation free car thanks to a new heater matrix ;)

Picked it up from Newton Honda just now.

And Honda customer services made a nominal goodwill contribution after a bit of chasing (thankyou Honda) which made an eyewatering bill a bit more bearable..

And they rotated my wheels to get the best tread up front.

Just need the snow and ice to clear from our road so I can enjoying driving it again..



Ade
 
And they rotated my wheels to get the best tread up front.
Click to expand...

Glad I'm not the only one with that point of view. Although I did a loooovely pirouette the other morning.


Glad your problem is fixed bud!
 
£728 including VAT, new coolant, heater pipe gromit and the new heater core and a Honda contribution of £120.35

Ouch!


MOT due in Jan, I've been advised the rear brakes will need doing soon and one tyre is heading towards the wear indicators so that better be it for the next 6 months...




Ade
 
The joys of car ownership...
 
Out of curiosity - where is the drain hole/pipe for the A/C condenser?
Also - was it easy popping the windscreen scuttle off to take a look at the drainage holes? This is something I need to tackle too (and the sunroof drainage holes) to make sure everything is flowing properly - as I have trouble shifting condensation at times (but it does dissapear eventually).

With the auxillary heater to provide warm air on a cold engine - how warm is your air and how long after you start the engine? My engine takes a while to warm up (as expected with a diesel) and the heater stays pretty cold till the engine temperature starts to rise.
 
My Auxiliary heater is pants.... I certainly don't notice it. :p

The drain tube in underneath the engine just behind the sump drain.
 
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