I am writing to post yet another glowing recommendation of Jim Russell at Hopkins Acura in Redwood City. I had two different issues recently, and he handled them amazingly deftly.
The first was that I had started to get a mildew-like smell from the vents, as I have had happen on other cars with AC too. I came by to ask Jim about spraying in the foam that I heard about on Motorweek to kill the mildew in the system. He said he could do that if necessary, but liked to do that as a plan B since it leaves the system damp which then can lead to the next round of mildew.
He suggested that first I try parking the car in my driveway, rolling down the windows 1 inch, putting the heat on high, non-recirc, and the fan medium-low (dot at 9:00), and leaving the car running for a few hours in the driveway that way. He said the heat would kill anything without adding moisture. So I tried it, with the engine running but the doors locked with my spare key. Sure enough, it worked. All it cost me was a bit of fuel for idling, and Jim says likely the exhaust coming out the tailpipe was slightly cleaner than the air going in due to the emissions systems so I wasn't even really polluting doing it. Great, easy, free solution to the problem. Most places would I am sure found some expensive service they could have charged me for instead.
He also suggested a way to avoid it happening in the future -- he said to shut the AC switch shortly before I get home, with the fan still running, to avoid it happening as easily once the car is stopped.
The second solution was just as nice. My aspirator fan started making noise again, and he suggested as the first thing to try before opening up the panel to clean it just blowing in high pressure air. I did not succeed at this at home using my electric tire pump, but he had a higher pressure hose at Hopkins. He blew the air in at a slight angle so as not to push the "cage" back into the tube but just spin and clean it. Problem all fixed, and while I cannot say this would be true for everyone, for me as a regular customer at least, it was no charge.
A second problem easily fixed without doing more than was needed or having an expensive repair bill, just because he knew what to do. Damn, he is good.
Chip
The first was that I had started to get a mildew-like smell from the vents, as I have had happen on other cars with AC too. I came by to ask Jim about spraying in the foam that I heard about on Motorweek to kill the mildew in the system. He said he could do that if necessary, but liked to do that as a plan B since it leaves the system damp which then can lead to the next round of mildew.
He suggested that first I try parking the car in my driveway, rolling down the windows 1 inch, putting the heat on high, non-recirc, and the fan medium-low (dot at 9:00), and leaving the car running for a few hours in the driveway that way. He said the heat would kill anything without adding moisture. So I tried it, with the engine running but the doors locked with my spare key. Sure enough, it worked. All it cost me was a bit of fuel for idling, and Jim says likely the exhaust coming out the tailpipe was slightly cleaner than the air going in due to the emissions systems so I wasn't even really polluting doing it. Great, easy, free solution to the problem. Most places would I am sure found some expensive service they could have charged me for instead.
He also suggested a way to avoid it happening in the future -- he said to shut the AC switch shortly before I get home, with the fan still running, to avoid it happening as easily once the car is stopped.
The second solution was just as nice. My aspirator fan started making noise again, and he suggested as the first thing to try before opening up the panel to clean it just blowing in high pressure air. I did not succeed at this at home using my electric tire pump, but he had a higher pressure hose at Hopkins. He blew the air in at a slight angle so as not to push the "cage" back into the tube but just spin and clean it. Problem all fixed, and while I cannot say this would be true for everyone, for me as a regular customer at least, it was no charge.
A second problem easily fixed without doing more than was needed or having an expensive repair bill, just because he knew what to do. Damn, he is good.
Chip
