'05 Outback -- Water accumulating in passenger footwell

[freekraz]

Hello all,

 

I have an '05 Outback with 75k miles. Runs great. LOTS OF WATER accumulating in the front passenger footwell. This also happened last summer. Not related to rain.

 

I'm guessing this is condensation from the a/c that isn't properly draining to the outside of the car...ANY THOUGHTS? Is there a blocked drainage hose or something similar behind the glovebox?

 

I'm hoping I can fix this before MILDEW sets in and stinks up the whole car.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Jeff in Boston

[brus brother]

so first remove the floor mats and let them dry in the sun for a couple of days. spray them with lysol once dry to help control mold.

now look to see if condensation is draining from the a/c-defroster when you run the car. it should drain in the same area (right rear well) straight to the ground. if not the hose may be blocked. If you can find the hose, gently snake a coat hanger up and see if it clears any blockage. The blockage is usually just an aggregated biofilm that is actually fairly soft and won't require much coaching to clear.

Correction because I am an idiot... "rear wheel well" I must have been asleep when I wrote that!

Edited July 17, 2016 by brus brother

[1 Lucky Texan]

has the cabin air filter been changed? I suppose there's a remote possibility of it deteriorating and blocking the drain. otherwise - as said above, mold or insect nest blocking the drain.

[Fairtax4me]

Drain tube for the AC is blocked. Could be some crud in the end of the tube or some crud inside the evaporator box blocking the drain.

 

The tube sticks out of the firewall down below where the AC hoses go in.

 

Sometimes the tube comes loose inside the car, not sure how it's done on the 05s, but normally it's pretty easy to find inside after you pull the carpet back.

[brus brother]

Drain tube for the AC is blocked. Could be some crud in the end of the tube or some crud inside the evaporator box blocking the drain.

 

The tube sticks out of the firewall down below where the AC hoses go in.

 

Sometimes the tube comes loose inside the car, not sure how it's done on the 05s, but normally it's pretty easy to find inside after you pull the carpet back.

Of course FT is correct! I just came home with my 05 OB with A/C blaring. The tube indeed sticks out of the lower firewall just lateral to the forward cat on the passenger side. If nothing or little is draining try snaking as above with coat hanger or a few gentle blasts of compressed air might be needed.

Instead of coat hanger maybe try a long zip tie. More flexible around corners. I used the coat hanger on my old Loyale and I think it may have been a little less of a torturous route on that oldie.

Edited July 18, 2016 by brus brother

[freekraz]

Thanks to all for the tips! I will get the car up on ramps and work to clean the drain tube. If no luck, I will report back.

 

Thanks,

 

Jeff in Boston

[freekraz]

Thanks to all!!!

 

So, I got under the car, no water draining from the hose...tried to poke at it with a screwdriver, got a little crud out, but it's quite twisty.

 

So I took off the glove box, removed the plastic valance covering the blower motor, pulled back the carpet, searching for the tube -- there it is coming off the condenser in the center of the car. Pulled the hose off, and a FLOOD of water drained into the carpet.

 

But how to clear the hose? It's very twisty on both sides...and I'm on vacation and don't have access to all my tools. So I pushed my head into the footwell. Pushed harder. Had my forehead against the heater and the side of my head against the console trim...JUST managed to get my mouth onto the hose...blew hard and...whatever was blocking things just slid right out and the hose was cleared.

 

Put everything back together. Turned on the a/c and watched happily as water dripped steadily from the hose under the car. A/C better, carpet is drying out, everything good.

 

Thanks to all!

[1 Lucky Texan]

if you took one of these on your trip - USE IT!

 

[Fairtax4me]

Usually if the hose is really twisty I just pinch it wih my fingers and work down from the box to the firewall and that squeezes the crud out and the water left in the box flushes it out as it drains.

[nvu]

probably get a spray can of silicone lubricant with the straw nozzle and blast everything out.  edit: oh you fixed it, awesome!

Edited July 19, 2016 by nvu