tree debris

[Tom]

I opened my hood and was shocked at the amount of tree debris that had accumulated.  Looks like a vacuum cleaner job.  Any better ideas out there?

[zhackwyatt]

Leaf blower.

 

Drive really fast w/ hood open?

[Tom]

Thanks! 

[fotomoto]

  Any better ideas out there?

 

Easy answer:  garage.  :)

[Tom]

Now I hear leaf / AC fan noise.  Any suggestions about a clean out?

[plus 3 golfer]

Clean / replace the cabin air filter which should catch any debris that entered the fresh air intake duct.  Debris should not have entered the blower fan.

[Tom]

Clean / replace the cabin air filter which should catch any debris that entered the fresh air intake duct.  Debris should not have entered the blower fan.

Thanks

[DaveofDurham]

This is a big issue for me.  We have lots of pine and other trees that shed in the spring and fall.  I have noticed that the tree debris gravitates down to where the hood hinges connect to the body.  On the driver side this area is very difficult to clean out.  I can barely fit two finger into this space.  The first time I cleaned it out I used a stick and a vacuum cleaner with the crevice tool attached.  The passenger side is worse - the opening may be smaller and it is partially obstructed by the hose for the windshield washer fluid and the protective covering around the hose.

 

We were just away for a few weeks.  During that time the pines were shedding and it was raining a lot.  My son drove the car twice a week and cleaned out some of the tree debris, but he did not get all the way down by the hinges.  I looked under the hood Thursday and found wet debris on both sides.  The drain opening on the passenger side was blocked so there was wet debris and a small lake full of rainwater.  I brought the car to the dealer yesterday.  They cleaned all the debris out and cleared the drain opening - no charge.

 

This is a design flaw.  There should be a screen to keep debris from getting down by the hinges - or more space to reach in to clean it out. 

 

We have battled these trees for 25+ years.  All previous cars were easier to clean than the C-Max.

 

I will look into screening off the hinge area or getting a partial (back edge of hood to front edge of roof) car cover.

 

I have some photos that I will post soon.

[DaveofDurham]

Here are my photos.   Sample of tree debris.  Driver side.  Passenger side (note hose for windshield washer fluid) - it's not clear in the photo but the passenger side debris is sitting in water that can't go down the blocked drain.

 

 

 

 

The "drain" appears to be a narrow slit about 1/8 inch (or less) from side-to-side and about 1 inch front to back.  I will see if I can get a picture of the drain.

[DaveofDurham]

Easy answer:  garage.   :)

 

Brilliant!   I will set up a PayPal account for you to make a donation to a garage construction fund for Tom and myself. 

[fotomoto]

Brilliant!   I will set up a PayPal account for you to make a donation to a garage construction fund for Tom and myself. 

Hey, I didn't say it would be cheap just easy!   :)

 

Easy, cheap, fast:  you can only pick two.  ;)

[DaveofDurham]

Hey, I didn't say it would be cheap just easy!   :)

 

Easy, cheap, fast:  you can only pick two.  ;)

With the C-Max we can have all three.

[Tom]

There is yet another factor that also clogs the weep holes: mold.  I was washing my car yesterday after
vacuuming the hood hinge boxes and found that one of the boxes was not draining. Turns out that mold had
built up and dried in it and was blocking the water flow.  Cleaned it out with a long screw driver and then a
pipe cleaner

[cmax-nynj]

The CMax not only accumulates leaves but also salt / dust under the hood. I had to add insulation foam to reduce the amount of salt/dust under the hood.  

[takingittothemax]

On 2/6/2018 at 2:50 PM, cmax-nynj said:

The CMax not only accumulates leaves but also salt / dust under the hood. I had to add insulation foam to reduce the amount of salt/dust under the hood.  

 

Do you have any photos of what you did? I'm little worried for our new-to-use C-Max when it comes winter as the car is parked on the street.

[takingittothemax]

On 5/17/2017 at 3:41 PM, Tom said:

There is yet another factor that also clogs the weep holes: mold.  I was washing my car yesterday after
vacuuming the hood hinge boxes and found that one of the boxes was not draining. Turns out that mold had
built up and dried in it and was blocking the water flow.  Cleaned it out with a long screw driver and then a
pipe cleaner

 

I'm planning on cleaning out the leaf litter in our car with a pair of chopsticks.

[C-MaxA2]

My used C-Max was kept outside in VT (from what I could surmise from the debris).  A lot of it was White Pine needles (hard to grasp to get out) so I used a yard blower to blow them out.  Worked pretty well!

[MDSF]

Use a Shop Vac style vacuum cleaner. It really sucks (in a good way) and will avoid pushing some debris further into crevices in the body work. I have a special thin nozzle (looks like a long, thick drinking straw). Great for getting at some tight spots.

 

@cmax-nynj I'm curious to see what you did with the insulating foam under the hood.