2002 Es300 - Carpets Wet.. A/c Drain Or Sunroof Issue?

[ES300_NJ]

The other day I started to vacuumed the carpets in my 2002 ES300 and I felt all the carpets were soaking wet. I called the dealer and they said it maybe the sunroof drain thats clogged or the A/C drainage hose thats dislodged. Can someone tell me where these things are located on this model car? From reading some of the other posts it seems like I'm not the only one that this has happened to. Is this something one should let the dealer do or could be taken care of at home garage? Do I need special tools? Thanks in advance for your input.

[mbogosia]

You should try to download the factory service manual for your car and then go from there. The manual will really help you find these parts. I could only find the 2001 and 2005. I am pretty sure you need the 2005. Here you go: http://www.phatg20.net/component/option,co...c,select/id,16/

[gbhrps]

The AC drain is on the passenger side firewall directly opposite the bottom of the heater box. It is pretty tight inside the engine bay making getting to it difficult. On some cars its easier to get to from underneath the car. On most vehicles its really just a rubber tube that comes out of the firewall and points down. Its opening is more of a flap that can stiffen with age and clog up. Usually just flexing the end of the pipe opens it up again. Sunroof equipped cars usually have 4 drain tubes, one at each front corner, and one at the very back end of the sunroof track on each side. (My Subaru has 6 because of the dual sunroofs.) The front tubes follow the Windshield A Pillars down to empty out the bottom of the car at the back of the front fenders. On most cars you can't see them even with the car on a hoist. The rear drains follow the C Pillar down and usually exit behind the rear wheel wells between the body and the rear bumper cover. Again you can't see them unless you pull off the rear bumper cover. To clear them out, some techs will put a long nozzle on an air line, and with the sunroof open place the nozzle in the tube and blow them out. When this doesn't work, depending on the vehicle, they will attempt to blow them out from the bottom, meaning bumper covers or fenders usually have to come off. The only other way to clear them would be to try and put a moderately stiff wire into the top of each tube. As a last resort the headliner has to come out of the car to give access to the sunroof track and the tubes. If you choose the wire route, be aware that the drain tubes are made of plastic and not metal. Good Luck!