Hello all, I would appreciate any advice from your experiences on the following matter:

2005 Honda Accord EX V6.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the A/C vent on the passenger side was not blowing any air out but produces a "hissing sound" (see attached video, hope you can hear it). All the other vents are working properly and blowing out cold air. Also, during that time I noticed wet spots underneath the hood of the car, initially thinking it was an engine oil leak. However, that stopped, which leads to me to believe that it might have been a refrigerant leak. If it was a refrigerant leak, then wouldn't the entire A/C system start to fail and not push out cold air through any of the vents?

Could it be the A/C compressor not engaging or something?

As this problem persists, is it safe to continue using the A/C?

Thanks in advance!

 

The a/c system will condense water that drips out of the firewall under normal conditions. Hot humid air that cools, essentially rains when it hits the cold a/c evaporator inside the car.

R-134a aka freon, turns into a gas if there was a leak. There would be some residual oil that would stick around and not evaporate, but it sounds like your a/c system is ok.

Under the vent, there is a dial that opens/closes the vent. The dial was to the right in your video. You may have to spin the dial to the left. I can remember if the open or closed circle means the vent is open or closed.

 

Thank you for your quick response PAhonda!

Haha I feel really silly to say that you were correct!. I guess I was so fixated with the hissing sound that I was unable to think clearly. You saved me some headache in thinking that my A/C system was beginning to fall apart!

However, the "hissing sound" still persists. Upon further examination, the sound seems to be coming from behind the glove compartment, where all the wiring, hoses/tubes, and cabin filter are located. When the fan speed is on the lowest setting, there is no sound. As I increase the fan speed to the max setting, the hissing sound progressively gets louder (see video attachment). My guess is that there might be an air leakage on one of the hoses/tubes? What do you think?