Q: A/c check engine light on
My wife was driving home with the a/c on. The a/c quit working, the check engine light came on, steam or fog type substance (she wasn't real sure which one) started coming from the a/c vents & the temp gauge went all the way to high & the car died. She said there is anti freeze everywhere. What could this be?
My car has 119000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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If there is antifreeze inside the passenger compartment a hose to the heater core and/or the heater core itself has developed a leak. If the antifreeze has instead sprayed into the underhood area, the leak would be in the engine compartment.
The fact that you state it "was coming from the vents" is suggestive of an inside the vehicle passenger compartment leak, although it is possible that an external (under hood) leak spraying forcefully near the cowl fresh air intake could entrain antifreeze into the A/C air intake if the A/C was set to outside air (i.e., not recirculation).
At any rate, the problem is resolvable and probably limited and thus you should contact YourMechanic who can diagnose the leak and put your car back together. If antifreeze got into the passenger compartment of the car, it will have to be cleaned by the way. Antifreeze is not a healthy compound to be breathing in.
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