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k3nny
08-13-2006, 11:02 PM
hi all,

i\'ve recently picked up an 04\' Mazda3 and am really glad to have found this forum. :)

i took a trip to wasaga beach a few days ago and unfortunately it was a really windy day. I parked the car and at the end of the day returned to notice sand in most cracks on the outside, but nothing major.

Got inside and drove for awhile, turned on the AC and sand began blowing out of the vents! Its been two days later and sand is still continually blowing out of the vents everytime its on, AC or not.

Any ideas on how i can completely clean out the vents before i can give the car a good vacuuming?

Thanks for any input!

FLIPDADY
08-14-2006, 08:20 AM
Maybe try a blow gun first to get the rest of the sand out then vacuum the rest.

TheProfessor
08-14-2006, 09:06 AM
If that doesn\'t work perhaps just set the vents to floor, put some sort of container under them and put the fan speed on full blast until most, if not all, of the sand has passed through.

Am I correct in assuming that this wouldn\'t happen to a 2006+ MZ3 equipped with the cabin air filter? I only ask because the wife and I will be stopping off in Wasaga this coming week-end and I wouldn\'t want to go through the same thing!

FLIPDADY
08-14-2006, 10:11 AM
Yup the cabin filter will grab all that crap.

KenYork
08-14-2006, 03:40 PM
don\'t all the 3\'s have cabin filters? Where did you buy your used 3? I\'m guessing they probably took the filter out to make the A/C work better when showing the car.

TheProfessor
08-14-2006, 03:48 PM
Only the 2006+ models got the cabin air filter.....models before did not come equipped with it. There is a \'how-to\' somewhere that you can perform if you really wanted to retrofit one into your pre 2006 model.

FLIPDADY
08-14-2006, 04:09 PM
Apparently late model 05\'s also had the cabin filter. I\'m too lazy to see if mine came with one.

TheProfessor
08-14-2006, 04:22 PM
Really? Well, I stand corrected.

MAZDA Kitten
08-14-2006, 04:59 PM
Its not really \'retrofitting\' as there is nothing to change.
Just go to a dealership and fork over the $50 and put it in yourself. Simple. You\'re gonna have to change it sooner or later :D

TheProfessor
08-14-2006, 05:23 PM
MK, it\'s only a filter change if your car came equipped with the system in the first place. If not, you have to go through a fairly involved install as described here. (http://torontomazda3.com/forum/read.php?TID=2693)

k3nny
08-14-2006, 10:55 PM
kinda regret not getting an 06\' now :(
i picked up this used 04\' from dave wood mazda.

flipspeed, could you elaborate on what you mean with using a blow gun?

ive tried setting the fan to max and leaving it there for awhile letting all the sand blow out, but the next time i get into the car and turn on my fan somehow there is still sand left and more keeps blowing out.

im wondering that since mine didn\'t come with a cabin filter, where has all this stuff attached itself to and can i clean it out from there?

TheProfessor
08-15-2006, 08:03 AM
Originally posted by k3nny
ive tried setting the fan to max and leaving it there for awhile letting all the sand blow out, but the next time i get into the car and turn on my fan somehow there is still sand left and more keeps blowing out.


Try doing so while driving.....typically there will be more force so long as you don\'t have the system set to recirculate. That\'s probably why you\'re still getting sand to come out while driving.

k3nny
08-18-2006, 01:08 AM
UPDATE:

i couldn\'t stand having the sand blowing out anymore and after a week of trying to blow it all out, i decided to visit MoT to see what they recommended.

they did a complete cleanup of the entire ventilation system which consisted of removing the blower motor housing and all this other stuff... did a great job in the end :)

when i went to pick it up it was FINALLY not blowing out sand anymore and i drove around with the fan on full blast for a good while to make sure of it. Afterwards, spent a good three hours cleaning using these ultra absorbant towels i got from Canadian Tire on EVERY PANEL on the interior, vacuumed the floor and used meguliars to polish up my seats, took it to a coin wash and spent another hour there cleaning up the exterior.

I think it goes without question that i\'m not gonna be heading back to the beach again anytime soon... but all in all i\'m glad the ride is back in perfect form! ;)

FLIPDADY
08-18-2006, 07:37 AM
So that was your car? I was gonna say what a coincidence there\'s a car in the shop that needs to install a cabin filter b/c sand was in the vents.:p