Smoke coming out of interior vents

[cane2025]

Hello all,

So this morning the wife calls me and tells me that while driving the AC stopped working and smoke started to come out of the vents, and heat started to come out of the bottom vents by her foot. She turned the AC off and continued on her commute. She later turned the AC on and the darn thing was working properly. Any ideas on what the issue could be? i have tried to call the dealer service department but i am unable to reach anyone.

P.S. Car was not over heating and there was some kind of liquid at the bottom of the engine cover. I have attached some pictures for reference.
Any thoughts are welcomed

 

[Aquineas]

Take it in to a dealer. Whatever liquid that is can't be good. My Acura TL almost started a fire when some power steering fluid leaked onto the manifold.

 

[cane2025]

i made an appointment but now i would probably get the "Can't duplicate" answer. Thanks

 

[balfor]

odd to say the least. It is hard to tell in the pics but the liquid under the compressor could be compressor oil if a seal blew, but if it did the AC should not be working at all. Have them check the level of charge and see if they can diagnose what the liquid is.

 

[Seattle Genesis]

r u sure it was smoke and not condensation ?

 

[cane2025]

r u sure it was smoke and not condensation ?

I don't think it would be condensation as the windows had to be rolled down to get the smoke out of the car but it could be. what would explain the "heat" that was coming out of the vents. I will update when i get in the car again after work.
thanks

 

[cane2025]

r u sure it was smoke and not condensation ?

So it turns out you were right. I drove the car for a long while and it was fine. It was condensation in the lines. The wife made it out to be more then it really was.

 

[jarred52]

Very understandable; I still remember my first airline flight many years ago. When condensation started coming out of the vents, I thought something was on fire! I watched the other passengers on the flight and saw no one was upset, so I realized that it wasn't an airplane problem.

 

[CanukV6]

If it is really humid and the A/C is on high, I have experienced similar conditions (in other cars not the Genesis). In these conditions the Evaporator inside the car can freeze the humid air on the outside of the coils. This is detected by the HVAC system which then turns off the A/C and switches to heat to 'burn off' the frost and that causes the condensation out of the air vents. If your wife had left the A/C on, it would have probably reverted to cooling again after a short while. The A/C hose under the hood could also have frosted over at the metal fitting, causing the water to drip and collect on the under-tray.

 

[jsmit86]

I have sad similar occurrences over the years in several cars. Generally happens in very high humidity conditions when the evaporator freezes over.

This can be aggravated by improper refrigerant pressure. Tell your dealer about the episode, and have them verify that the pressure is correct. If it's at spec, the issue was just likely caused by high humidity.

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[cane2025]

I have sad similar occurrences over the years in several cars. Generally happens in very high humidity conditions when the evaporator freezes over.

This can be aggravated by improper refrigerant pressure. Tell your dealer about the episode, and have them verify that the pressure is correct. If it's at spec, the issue was just likely caused by high humidity.

Thanks, I'll have them check the AC system just in case.