White Powder Coming From Air Vents

[Mooly]

Thanks for the links Frosty, makes for interesting reading and it seems its a more widespread and longstanding issue.

[Madtom78]

Does any one know if the white power is dangerous or even what is it? I bought my car out of warrant and from a Independent dealer as I could not afford a main dealer car. My wife drive the car mostly with my two baby kids so I have a fear of what they may be inhaling. Would there be any point in appealing to toyota to see if they know what it is or would help sorting it out?

[Parts-King]

That depends on a number of factors such as dealer service history, how many owners, mileage etc

But IMHO, you are not likely to get Toyota to pay anything if you bought it from an independant. Your contract is with the person you bought it off, why not approach them?

Kingo

[Madtom78]

The usually front from the dealer, " oh it's nothing it will go away" I would like to know more about the substance tho.

[Madtom78]

Would toyota even Acknowledge the problem to help find a solution?

[chiefchappers]

Well, it's back. Thought the air con freshner canister had stopped it, but no. Going to ask my local dealer to report it to Toyota UK as i'm getting concerned about my health now.

[chiefchappers]

As you may recall I started this thread in the hope of finding a solution. Unfortuanately, nobody seems to have had any joy finding a cure.

I'll attach some pictures of the latest powder covering. Local dealer says that an Avensis is booked in with the same symptoms. Waiting to see what they find and inform me.

[Mooly]

Thanks for the update... do keep us informed :)

(I've not had anything make it out of the vents but shining a torch into them reveals a lot of visible white deposit. I haven't noticed any deposit on the garage floor under where the evaporator drains and leaves a puddle which then dries)

[chiefchappers]

Dealer has raised this with Toyota UK. Will wait and see.

[Mooly]

Its not good is it ! There should be essentially zero anything apart from clean filtered air coming out of those vents.

Out of curiosity, what fan speeds do you use for this stuff to blow out like this ?

[chiefchappers]

On this particular occasion I had pressed the windscreen air demister button. Normally I just leave the climate control to do its own thing and it still produces white powder.

[Mooly]

Thanks, demist I think runs the fan at full speed. That's one mode I tend not to use and I also keep the fan at either just 1 or 2 "bars"on the scale. As I mentioned, I can "see" deposits in the ducting if I look with a torch.

What you have is terrible tbh. It will be really interesting to hear the official response to this.

[chiefchappers]

The worst occasion was a few weeks back when an enormous amount blew out. So much that it streaked down the outside of the car bodywork (I was parked at the time with the doors open to let the summer heat out).

Hope the dealer comes back with something soon. It can't be good to breathe in!!

I have had a sore throat for several weeks.........

[Mooly]

I wonder how widespread this issue really is. You'll just have to see what they come back with but I agree that anything on that scale can't be good to breathe. Legionnaires disease is often linked to air conditioning installations (more on an industrial scale I think) but occurs where there is stagnant water... which is presumably what lurks around the base of the evaporator and is what causes the bad odours related to air con systems... and you so you don't want anything from around there being blown at you... such disintegrating evaporator coatings etc.

[Mooly]

Bumping thread up due to forum data loss...

Waiting to hear how you get on when car is returned from dealer :)

[chiefchappers]

So far so good. I'll give the car a decent vacuum out and watch for any more particles which may appear. Hope that's the end if that!!

[Mooly]

Well lets hope so, that would be great :)

[appcubby]

Hi chiefchappers,

Good to hear that it is sorted. I have what I think is the same issue, though unsure if the cause is the same. I have been experimenting and found that it always reoccur when the A/C is being used. I have stuck solely to heater/fan only (no Auto) for the past 8 weeks (ensuring A/C never lights up) and the white powder had been almost non-noticeable. I could get it to return by using the A/C.

It was mentioned that demist and auto climate control were used in your case. I also noticed that both the demist and auto climate control would use the A/C automatically.

Please could you offer some pointers on how this was raised with Toyota UK? Is the vehicle still under warranty? I have booked my car in with a local dealer for next week, so would like some advise on how to proceed with this. Mine is 2009 reg.

Thank you.

[chiefchappers]

Hi Appcubby

I asked the dealer to raise it with Toyota UK for advice, as they were initially unsure of the cause. I also phoned Toyota UK myself and raised a case with them.

I was convinced it was the anti mildew coating on the condenser fan, but apparently this was not to blame in my case.

Before it was fixed, I would turn the climate control to manual and point it down at my feat to avoid any dust blowing into my face.

My vehicle is not subject to any warranty and the reapair cost me £130 with hire car for a few days.

Let me know how you get on.

[wastedagen]

So far I haven't noticed this issue. Hope it stays this way but by not using the AC, won't you cause problem like seizing pumps etc. Isn't the AC refrigerant a lubricant as well..

Also as a temporary measure can you not remove the top vent and cover the grills with say a fine pair of ladies, or mens lol, black nylons to act as a filter. Just until Toyota come up with a permanent fix.

[chiefchappers]

Alas..... the problem is not fixed. When using the windscreen blower (now being used more regularly due to winter conditions) powder particles still get blown out. Much fewer than prior to the modification, and it takes some time for them to build up.

Pretty gutted and rapidly losing the energy to keep dealing with this.

Any useful suggestions?

[Mooly]

I'd been wondering how you had been getting on.

Suggestions... if you paid for the work (edit... and I see you did) then I would approach the Toyota dealer. I have a recollection that they advertise that if a chargeable job is not done correctly first time round then you don't pay more... or words to that effect. They misdiagnosed it and it is up to them to resolve now.

I was sceptical about the airbag theory as you know, it just didn't sound plausible. To my way of thinking it can only be something within the enclosed pipework that is "disintegrating" whatever that might be... evaporator coating... but the evaporator is always pretty wet so I'm not 100% confident on that. Flaps in the airbox that directs the airflow ? They must have felt or soft seals of the surfaces.

I really hope you get it sorted, and do keep us informed.

[chiefchappers]

I spoke to the dealer again last week and their after-sales guy has been great.

They have come to the conclusion that the fault lies with the Evaporator unit and the entire dash will need to be removed to replace it. The initial quote was £500 labour and £300 for a new unit.

I was advised to speak to Toyota UK again and was given the Case reference number.

I emphasised my health concerns about my wife and I breathing in the powder and how it was such a rare problem.

Ultimately, Toyota UK and my dealer have agreed to give me the unit for free, and charge labour at warranty cost. Total cost should be: £360.

I'll let you know how the repair goes!

[chiefchappers]

Recap - older post lost due to data loss on forum.

For info: The previous £130 charge was to insulate my passenger airbag from vibration. The dealer believed that the powder coating from it was vibrating-off and dropping into the air in-take of the car.

[FROSTYBALLS]

My earlier post (24) highlighted similar issues with Denso evaporators.