How To: S60 (P2) A/C Evaporator Drain Check

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Your car's cool A/C evaporator creates condensation, which drips down, collects in a tray and runs through a drain line to the outside of the car. If this drain clogs, you may find water inside your car. This drain line is a short black rubber hose, located close to the accelerator pedal, on the drivers side of the driveline tunnel. Three easy steps will give you access to it :

Step 1) Move your driver's seat all the way back. This gives you access to a locking tab which secures the kick-panel.

Step 2) Using a penny, rotate the locking tab 1/4 turn until the slot is vertical, pop the back end of the kick panel out, then slide the kick panel backward to remove it.

Step 3) Remove two T25 Torx screws from the lower dash panel and drop the lower panel.

The drain line can now be seen next to the accelerator pedal. It's a slip fit and can be pulled off of the (white plastic) evaporator housing by hand.

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Dust/dirt/debris can clog this drain and cause a water build-up and overflow into your passenger compartment. If severe, this water could infiltrate some nearby electronics or lead to HVAC problems. Depending upon the clog, you might be able to remove it by hand or you might need to run a small snake through the line to clear it. Don't use a stiff rod or wire as you could poke a hole in the rubber hose.

Also, make sure the evaporator tray isn't clogged above the nipple. You can check this by gently inserting the eraser end of a number 2 pencil into the drain nipple. Use the eraser end only so you dont poke into the evaporator core itself. If there is a clog in the tray, the pencil will push it away and a small rush of water will come out.

This is a very simple check. The only tricky part was seeing where the drain line is located so you don't have to tear everything apart finding it. These photo's might help and should apply to most P2 cars, as well.