Hi everyone,
I've had a 2009 Accent 5-speed for a little over a year. It now has 64,000 miles. Last summer, I discovered that the A/C worked but that it seemed to be marginal, that the car never really got cold on hot days even when I was blasting the A/C on recirc. So I took it in. They checked the temps coming out of the vents and said that they considered the temps to be within spec, although the temps seemed marginal to me. This resulted in a small argument, but my hands were tied and there was really nothing I could do about it.
Anyway, last week, I replaced my cabin filter on my own for the first time (the dealer/mechanic had previously replaced it several times according to the maintenance schedule). It had previously been replaced at 60,000 miles, and now, 4,000 miles later, it was absolutely filthy. So filthy that I'm surprised any air was able to get through at all. I park on the street, often under trees, so the filter was loaded with all kinds of dirt and plant-related stuff. Obviously, I need to be replacing the cabin filter every 3,000 miles or so, if not more often, and am going to start doing that.
So here's my question: given how much crap gets sucked into the HVAC system, and knowing that the filter can't stop everything, could part of the problem with my A/C temp be that the evaporator has become all crudded up and is no longer as efficient as it originally was? I'd like to do a visual inspection of the evaporator, but have no idea where it is in relationship to the cabin filter/blower motor, and how hard it would be to get to. Does anyone have any advice for actually cleaning it? My local dealer used to offer an evaporator cleaning service for $150, but I never got it because I figured it was probably a scam, and that dealer has since been closed for shady practices. So, any advice on this issue would really be appreciated. Thanks, everyone.
I've had a 2009 Accent 5-speed for a little over a year. It now has 64,000 miles. Last summer, I discovered that the A/C worked but that it seemed to be marginal, that the car never really got cold on hot days even when I was blasting the A/C on recirc. So I took it in. They checked the temps coming out of the vents and said that they considered the temps to be within spec, although the temps seemed marginal to me. This resulted in a small argument, but my hands were tied and there was really nothing I could do about it.
Anyway, last week, I replaced my cabin filter on my own for the first time (the dealer/mechanic had previously replaced it several times according to the maintenance schedule). It had previously been replaced at 60,000 miles, and now, 4,000 miles later, it was absolutely filthy. So filthy that I'm surprised any air was able to get through at all. I park on the street, often under trees, so the filter was loaded with all kinds of dirt and plant-related stuff. Obviously, I need to be replacing the cabin filter every 3,000 miles or so, if not more often, and am going to start doing that.
So here's my question: given how much crap gets sucked into the HVAC system, and knowing that the filter can't stop everything, could part of the problem with my A/C temp be that the evaporator has become all crudded up and is no longer as efficient as it originally was? I'd like to do a visual inspection of the evaporator, but have no idea where it is in relationship to the cabin filter/blower motor, and how hard it would be to get to. Does anyone have any advice for actually cleaning it? My local dealer used to offer an evaporator cleaning service for $150, but I never got it because I figured it was probably a scam, and that dealer has since been closed for shady practices. So, any advice on this issue would really be appreciated. Thanks, everyone.
