AC Drain Hose

Ask technical questions or post on problems/issues related to the Kizashi under this topic. Symptoms and pictures of your problem are a good idea.
NOTE: Any car related technical question can be posted here.
JBello
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Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2020 2:16 pm

@KuroNekko. I don’t see why you would delete my posts if I am trying to get help / pointers. And no It isn’t coolant.
bdleonard
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:39 am

JBello wrote:@KuroNekko. I don’t see why you would delete my posts if I am trying to get help / pointers. And no It isn’t coolant.
As I understand it, the issue was that you posted the same thing in more than one section of the forum. This generally considered impolite, and if not taken care of it can cause confusion later on when somebody tries to search for the thread in the future. The information can get fragmented in multiple places and be difficult for others to find when they have similar problems in the future.
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Woodie
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Location: Laurel, MD

KlutzNinja wrote: So it can become clogged if the air conditioning isn’t used? Because in my previous car, a 2010 Ford Focus, I can’t remember using the A/C much at all in over six years of ownership. I’d drive with the windows cracked and otherwise suffer the heat lol. And this is coming from someone who lives in Los Angeles county. I put myself through that because I heard the A/C reduces gas mileage and for some reason I thought that was more important than not sweltering in my car :lol:.
Despite never using the A/C I don’t think I ever had any issues with the drain hose.
No, it's the humidity in the air that collects in the heater box and needs to drain out onto the pavement. Just like your window unit at home it's going to build up pink mold and sticky gel that eventually clogs the drain. Driving without it on will dry everything up and greatly reduce your chances of having this problem, but this time of year (in the northern hemisphere) you rarely drive without the A/C on. I turn it off a few minutes before I get to my destination so that most of the condensation drains out while the car is still moving and the fan is still blowing.

A/C does decrease gas mileage, but usually not enough to make it worth being miserable. The amount that it hurts mileage varies car to car and also varies according to how you're driving. It's going to have a bigger penalty in town than on the highway.
For the record I do use my A/C in my Kizashi, although at rather mild levels. It’s not as quiet as what I’ve experienced in other cars, for some reason. Not swooshing sounds during turns or anything; just... noise. Like you can hear the components a bit rather than just the sound of the air flow. It’s hard to describe.
I find the airflow in the Kizashi to be rather lame, you really have to have the fan blowing hard for very much to happen, heat or A/C. Maybe that's what you're not liking.
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KlutzNinja
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2019 6:58 am

JBello wrote:I get it.never said it can be clogged by not using it. :arrow: But “running the AC periodically” I found that while looking into my Kizashi manual book trying to find pointers. But since you’re in LA , disregard the winters lol. I’m in Chicago. We get that nasty humidity can’t breathe that shit. Lol. But Somehow mine got debris inside. My AC makes no odd sounds like yours or rattling. Might be worth just looking into it.
From your previous post that mentioned running it periodically, it sort of sounded to me like if you don’t use it then it might clog. I figured the clog might come from debris the cabin air filter might not catch. Never would have guessed it was a humidity thing, but then again that’s probably because our humidity in Los Angeles is relatively mild, usually.
Mine does not rattle. I’ll try to get it on video to better convey what the sound is. Maybe if plastic components needed WD-40 or something to go smoother lol (it’s not a creaky or squeaky sound either).

@ Woodie: I don’t mind the airflow in the Kizashi’s air con that much. I usually keep it at one or two bars and lower it as things cool. And it cools pretty quickly, too, especially since I often set it to mid-70s, which isn’t actually “cool” lol. My main issue with the design of the air conditioning system is really just the vent placement, specifically the small vent to the left of the steering wheel. I can never position it for anything but my hand or the steering wheel. Otherwise I have no beef with the Kizashi’s air conditioning overall. The odd sound it makes isn’t a big deal and I forget about it soon enough, it’s just that I’m not sure it’s normal.
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Woodie
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Location: Laurel, MD

KlutzNinja wrote: I don’t mind the airflow in the Kizashi’s air con that much. I usually keep it at one or two bars and lower it as things cool.
When you say "one or two bars" are you referring to the graphical display of fan speed which has eight or ten bars total? On mine two bars does nothing, you'd have to put your hand over the vent to detect any airflow whatsoever. I have to keep mine two or three bars from maximum for it to work well, and that's fairly noisy. Maybe there's something wrong with my fan or a leak in the ductwork.
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bdleonard
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:39 am

Woodie wrote: On mine two bars does nothing, you'd have to put your hand over the vent to detect any airflow whatsoever. I have to keep mine two or three bars from maximum for it to work well, and that's fairly noisy. Maybe there's something wrong with my fan or a leak in the ductwork.
Two bars on the display doesn't produce high airflow for me, but it should at least be noticeable. I would suggest checking your cabin air filter.
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Ronzuki
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Woodie wrote: No, it's the humidity in the air that collects in the heater box and needs to drain out onto the pavement. Just like your window unit at home it's going to build up pink mold and sticky gel that eventually clogs the drain. Driving without it on will dry everything up and greatly reduce your chances of having this problem,...
Actually, it's that dried up gunk that becomes the 'debris' that is noticed when unclogging that eventually creates the dam and clogs up the drain.

I have this same issue with our crappy Samsung refrigerator.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
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KlutzNinja
Posts: 286
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2019 6:58 am

Woodie wrote:
KlutzNinja wrote: I don’t mind the airflow in the Kizashi’s air con that much. I usually keep it at one or two bars and lower it as things cool.
When you say "one or two bars" are you referring to the graphical display of fan speed which has eight or ten bars total? On mine two bars does nothing, you'd have to put your hand over the vent to detect any airflow whatsoever. I have to keep mine two or three bars from maximum for it to work well, and that's fairly noisy. Maybe there's something wrong with my fan or a leak in the ductwork.
That’s what I was referring to, yes. One bar is pretty mild but I don’t mind it lol. In my experience, while I don’t feel the air flow much directly, it still helps cool the cabin a bit. I’m not the kind of person who likes blasting the A/C so the milder settings are fine by me. The only time I use a high number of bars is for when I first get in and turn on the car after it’s been sitting in the sun for a while. But I don’t use the air conditioning for that - just the fan to push the hot air out (I also lower the windows, too). That is pretty noisy, but it’s not the same noise I experience at low levels, I think.
Current: Blue 2018 Mazda 3 GT 5-Door
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KuroNekko
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bdleonard wrote:
JBello wrote:@KuroNekko. I don’t see why you would delete my posts if I am trying to get help / pointers. And no It isn’t coolant.
As I understand it, the issue was that you posted the same thing in more than one section of the forum. This generally considered impolite, and if not taken care of it can cause confusion later on when somebody tries to search for the thread in the future. The information can get fragmented in multiple places and be difficult for others to find when they have similar problems in the future.
^ This.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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