Hi, i am having problem troubleshooting. Not sure if the title is correct way to express the condition. Been searching alot about this in all other forums but without solution to it.

Here's the problem, say when i am driving in any speed (or stop at traffic), the AC is ON, air recirculate button was ON, passby area which has bad smell, or some exhause fume from the car infront of me, or any sort of heavy smell, the bad air will goes into the AC and blow it into the car.

Another experiment is that, same condition as above, except the AC is OFF, air recirculate ON, i can feel there are air blowing from the AC vent when cruising, and any bad smell will travel through it and goes into the car.

Here's my finding. They said there is a flap probably inside the dashboard for the fresh air/recirculate system and the flap has a layer of probably insulation form around it and is a wear and tear so probably the flap closed for air recirculation but the foam was worn that accidently allow fresh/bad air to enter into the AC vent.

In order to get access to the flap and fix that foam or seal it permanentlY , i have to dismantle the entire dashboard which is a pain. So instead of taking down the dashboard, is there other way to permanently seal any vent so that no fresh air will be able to enter into the AC vent anymore?

 

This happened to me before as well. I turned the ac on and had a bad/weird smell. I had to turn it off. Eventually it went away. Maybe cuz i dont turn ac on as much. But i also get weak power from my ac.

 

Only way to get to the area of the airbox where that flap is located is to pull the dash and make sure it's all sealed properly. once that's off you can easily make it recirculate only by permanently fixing the flap in place and removing the metal connection from the actuator motor to the flap. i wouldn't unplug the actuator motor as the system might need to see it in place in order to function properly

 

If i'm understanding this correctly, the issue is that the recirculate air option on your HVAC is not working. The dash will have to come out and it's not that hard if you take your time and be careful. If I recall correctly, your problem lies in one of these linkages (I would guess the red circle, but I could be wrong).

 

A little air leaking past the outside air door might be a good thing, even if it brings in bad smells. At least you are always getting a little purge air from outside. People occasionally die from exhaust leaks.

 

red linkage in the image above is the one in question that controls the recirculate vent

 

The metal connection you've mentioned is the red circle on the photo posted by Pal215, that is hold by the white plastic?

Wow appreciate the photo! this photo is after the dash is out and this is how it looks like in the inside?

I remember there was once my AC blow out some black color sticky stuff when i blasted the AC to max and i wonder what is that.. It could be the insulation form on the flap that has broke into pieces and travel throughout the vent.

Also, on the red circle, underneath a little there is a white rectangle with 2 bolts, is that the cabin filter? As cabin filter i read that it was located at the glove box and access to it by just removing the glove box?

I read the instruction on dissembling the dash, it involves taking out everything such as airbag, electronic components, etc? or the manual just show every pieces of the item on/in the dash? And i actually do not need to take out every pieces, but just to disconnect those socket?


It is not a little. If i am cruising say 120km/h, AC OFF, recirculate ON, the air coming in is like i've turn on the AC at the lowest blower speed. The faster i go, the stronger the air. And yeah all the **** smell just travel freely and goes into the cabin, for the past 2-3 years of ignoring, and now my car smell all sort of fume, petrol, oil, burning smoke, etc.

Is good that i can detect fuel leak as it happened twice that i managed to smell fuel, pull over and found out the fuel hose has disconnected from rail, luckily nothing happened. But as i said, a little is alright, but mine is not a little anymore, plus that i am planning to use it as an occasional family car sometimes as my little one is coming soon, and it will not make him smell good if i know is really a badass smell.

 

correct, of the two metal rods you can see the lower one is the one that actually goes to the actuator motor which you can see kinda with the white text printed on it

this is sitting in the drivers seat looking at the front passenger wheel with the dash removed and the dash brace bar removed

yes, that's the cabin filter and you can get to it normally by just removing the glove box

the airbag doesn't need to come out but it does need to be unplugged. make sure you've disconnected the battery before doing any of this. the ECU also comes out (or at least gets unbolted, not necessarily disconnected unless you're removing the dash loom harness)