Kricker

My wife's RX300 has a water leak inside the cabin coming from the center console. It is on the passenger side in front of the ac drain line. There is a white plastic part with a aluminum tube coming into it. I think it may be the heater core. I am just guessing as the aluminum pipe gets very hot. There is what looks to be a foam seal around the edge of the part. Water is sleeping from the lowest point. You can even see some white corrosion on the aluminum around that part. Pics are attached.

salimshah

Welcome to CL.

IMHO it is not the heater core that is leaking. It is the condensate from AC. When the vehicle is new all condensate exits out of the drain pipe (you can see the elbow in your picture. As the vehicle ages the seams of the clamshell develop a crack and the condensate leaks out in the cabin.

There is unlikely situation where the drain is clogged. You can take 3 ft string of a weed whacker and thread it up the drain pipe and twirl it.

You can take your vehicle to an auto AC expert to price out the repair. It will be in 4 figures, so dont be shocked.

Salim

Kricker

The ac drain line is clean. I removed it and confirmed this. When the AC is running at full speed, there is cold air blowing out of the hole that drain line connects to. Is that supposed to happen? After driving around and running the ac for a while, I noticed some water on the floor. I then check the AC drain line again by removing it. There was indeed a little water draining into the line, but nothing was leaking from it. I then noticed the wetness in the area I circled above, and looking closely I saw the white corrosion. Are you saying the leak may be elsewhere and just dripping from that location? Looking very closely at that area, there is no wetness above it. It really appears to be seeping from that location. What is that part? Is it even possible for water to seep out of that location?

kalali

If it's water then it's got to be condensation. Coolant runs through the heater core.

Kricker

It doesn't have a smell and appears clear like water. I am not sure how to fix this.

Kricker

An update to this odd leak saga. After a visit to my mechanic where he cleaned the drain line, he suggested I take it to the dealer as they have no clue why it would be leaking there. I took it to the dealer. They inspected it and came to the same result as everyone else. It shouldn't be leaking there. They also cleaned the drain line. Now it appears to be leaking even more. Lexus suggested maybe it was severely backed up and after some time it should subside. It has not. Now I guess the only choice is to rip that unit out of there and see what is going on. Lexus estimated a price of $1300 to pull it out and open it up to see what is happening. Hmmm.

kalali

Wrap a towel around it.... much cheaper.

Kricker

That's what I've been doing. But it gets soaked pretty quickly.

captdalton

Noticed I have this same issue. Removed kick panel and wedged my hand under the AC and felt condensate on several things. I can see were it is dripping and running down into the passenger floor board. I am going to remove the drain line and hose it out, but, while disconnected I am going to connect my wet/dry vac to the tube the drain line connects to and see if there is dust/dirt/algae/gunk built up in the bottom of the AC and not getting to the drain. I'll take some pics and report back my results.

Kricker

Please do. We never got it fixed, because no one including the dealer could figure out why it was doing it. The dealer quoted like $400 just to get in there and see.

Kricker

@captdalton

Did you ever find out anything more?

thomas1

I would let everything dry out, and then silicone it in that area and see if it stops. Lot cheaper than pulling it. I assume water is still coming out the bottom of car where the drain is? If not than that is not good.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

+1

Kricker

Yes water still drains out the tube below the car. I am not sure putting silicon on that will do anything. It seems to be part of the heater core and gets quite hot.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

If you can get to it easy enough, what have you got to lose by using a heat rated silicone and giving it a try? Coolant temp is typically 180-190 degrees.