Water behind dash?
 

About a month ago, my wife's 2003 SE (2.4L and auto) started making a strange sound that seems to be coming from behind the dash. It sounds as though water is sloshing and is especially loud when accelerating from a stop. I found a post that suggested it could be a clogged A/C drain line. I inspected the drain and it looks to be clear so I'm wondering what else it could be. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Pete

RE: Water behind dash?
 

Two things to check, air in the cooling system or blocked A/C drain. Have you had coolant service lately? Do you see water dripping from A/C evaporator drain? Is the carpet on the passenger side wet? Even though drain might look clear you could have a partial blockage. It's an 03, still under warranty?

RE: Water behind dash?
 

Turns out it was the coolant level. I filled the empty coolant tank and within a couple of hundred miles the air worked its way out. No more noise! I guess a small amount of air was trapped in the heater core? Thanks for your help.

Pete

RE: Water behind dash?
 

I had the same sound coming from my '03 4cyl and it turned out to be low on coolant also. I also replaced the radiator cap to make sure it was getting a good seal. I took the car to the dealer and a 3rd party and neither could diagnose it...what a joke. They were wanting to inspect the heater core.

RE: Water behind dash?
 

Common problem BUT - coolant doesn't just disappear. Chances are you have leak somewhere that you'll need to find and repair.

Simply pressurizing the cooling system with a pressure tester should be enough to expose whatever it is that is leaking. On occasion, the coolant resevoir itself may have a hairline crack that allows coolant to slowly leak out (this will now show up during pressure testing).

JJ