Passenger floor Matt wet after long drive with a/c on

No worries.

 

because you have to remove the whole dash to access the whole hvac box. i'm not doing that. and if it's condensation, sealing it isn't going to help, it's still going to sweat.

my truck is under warranty. toyota should fix it, not me.

 

"Should" being the operative word here. You're right, they should. But they won't - it's a design flaw, so unless they do a TSB on it I don't see a dealer doing much about it.

 

the only fix is to insulate the box with something from what i've read

 

if the drain isn't clogged, then this seems to be the culprit.

 

Insulate with what?

 

heater tape was what someone recommended

 

Do you have to take the entire a/c box out and pull the dash to do this?

 

yea, i'm assuming so, to get to the entire box. main reason i haven't done it. it's a pain in the ass to get out and i do not want to pull my dash apart with no experience.

 

That is correct. I drove about 4 hours to Athens, GA Monday and back today. I kept it on recirculating and not a single drip.

 

A Toyota tech on here responded to my concern said if we run these trucks on fresh air to long it stresses the a/c out and causes it to drip. I guess it can’t drain fast enough.

 

^^^THIS

So, assuming there is no crack in the heater box or the drain is not clogged, it is condensation on the outside of the box. I've seen it a few times on mine when I've ran my AC with the door or window open while I was sitting still. Condensation forms in varying ways and amounts, keeping in mind that ALL atmospheric air has moisture in it. Even AZ air is 5% humid.

One way it forms is if the AC is on and outside air is in the cabin. The more warm and/ or humid the air, and/or the colder the AC box is dictates how much condensation forms. Just like the colder your beer is on a warm, summer day, the more condensation forms. As stated already, condensation is less likely to form when recirculation is on because the cooled/ dehumidified air in constantly getting recirculated and getting more cooled and dehumidified. Several variables like system performance or extreme temperature and or humidity also would contribute to the amount of condensation. For instance, a well operating system that might get a system really cold, even with a low temp/ or psi switch, on a warmer day, might get cold fast, and air box temp low enough to make the box sweat because the cabin temp is still warm. I would think this would subside after running for a while in recirculate but condensation will have already formed and begun dripping.
The only way to lessen the affect is to run in recirculate and resist turning it really cold when you first turn on the AC. Let the AC dehumidify the cabin air first on cool, but not cold. The only way to eliminate the problem is to insulate the box. Or just get some Weathertechs or Husky mats and live with it.

 

do the weathertech or husky mats provide more coverage than the OEM rubber mats?

 

I have husky liners and yes they do.

 

ok so now i think my water is coming from the air intake in the cowl in front of the windshield. It seems to be dripping from the foot vents/cabin air intake in the passenger side footwell. Could I have debris lodged in the cowl intake or what the hell is going on here?

 

went to the dealer for the second time. after waiting 5 freakin' hours they said "it's normal". man, i hate dealerships more every time i visit one.

 

i found this old TSB for older tacomas. i wonder if something like this is what is going on.

 

Yeah mine does this too. Design flaw.

 

I have a friend who had an issue of leakage in a still under warranty 2017 SR and was able to get a whole new interior from the dealer due to mold (at the price of 6 weeks of no truck). His truck was definitely had that mold / mildew smell. They must have done some sealing of the area because he has not had an issue since. Any chance yours has any smell or evidence of mold that you can pawn off to Toyota as a larger problem?

 

This sounds like the 3rd brake light leak.