Tesla Model 3 - Radiator Duct Clean Out

[@FaisalKhan-kj4wh]

My model 3s radiator fans would be super load and working really hard when AC was on or if I was super charging. It was so bad that if I go through a drive thru attendants would not be able to hear me. I followed your steps, first used vacuum to take out alot of leaves and debris and then hosed it down with a garden hose. Made a massive difference, the fans are 90% quiter now. Thank you!

[@johngu4921]

Hai Faisa, for cleaning it did you just water it down from the top of the panel? Thanks!

[@dvader3263]

This problem is easily solved by purchasing an aftermarket grill inlet cover screen from numerous online sellers. Many on Amazon. Cost is about $25.00 to $50.00. I installed them on both our Model 3 and Model Y. They're typically 2 pieces, constructed of black plastic and stainless black screen. They snap into place over the front inlet. They work great to prevent leaves, bugs and especially gravel from hitting and coming to rest on the radiator fins. And, there's no need to ever take anything apart. Aftermarket screen inserts are also available to keep leaves, bugs and rodents from getting into the HVAC air intake housing below your frunk lid. They are also easily installed by just pressing into place.

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, of course. But those covers were not available when this video was made. I review it in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHrFeYKqhcuFbdE

[@azrcr1]

It's actually very easy to take off the front bumper cover. I helped a tesla ranger do it in my driveway. Two person job to prevent clips from breaking is preferred.

[@dave.h]

Finally there might be an elegant solution to solve this problem once for all. Search for "Tesla Front Bumper Grille Insert" for around $35 and the fine mesh will block all the leaves and debris from going in there in the first place. I'm not endorsing any product, just to share what I've learned through researching.

[@MTNRanger]

Very cool. I’ll buy one and do a review. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@CodingMark1]

@@MTNRanger I'd like to learn about what options are out there and how effective they are

[@MTNRanger]

@@CodingMark1 I just received my grille filter and will install it this weekend. Look for the video soon.

[@ErikSmalls]

Yep just ordered one as well. Good call!

[@S2kDude36]

Just did this today, lots of debris down between the two condenser units. Ended up using something flat to get down in there and pull up all the debris while I used my shop vac to suck up the debris. Easy to do, spent less than an hour on this bit of maintenance. I don't live in an area with that much deciduous trees and get there was way more debris down in there including some bits of plastic. That area seems like it's a little street sweeper.

[@gmatochautube]

Thanks for the informative video - this made taking everything apart to get into the radiator a breeze. What I found looked almost identical to yours with leaves and bug parts on top of the condenser (evaporator?) However! I found that if you release the clips on both sides that hold the condenser (evaporator?) in place, you can separate them just a bit. I was shocked to find the bugs and grass and leaves had worked their way completely between the two. I would estimate airflow was 80% blocked in that area - significant since that's most of the area of the radiator. I used thin metal rod, bent a hook in one end, and cleaned stuff out with that plus the shop vac, hose, and coil cleaner. I started looking into this because my supercharging speeds were really severely throttling - dropping below 50kw well before 50% SOC, and the fans would run long after my SC session was over. Cleaning out the gunk appears to have resolved my issues...now I just a proper test on a hot road trip. Thanks again!

[@isthatatesla]

Seriously? Was this really your experience and it was resolved?

[@ErikSmalls]

Great information - I followed your advice and did the same thing. Unclipped the second "radiator" and shifted it slightly to the right and then was able to pry it back a bit to create space to vacuum further down. I wedged a screwdriver handle in between the right side of the lower "radiator" and the main "radiator" in order to extend the space between the two and keep it open while I vacuumed the rest at the bottom.

[@ErikSmalls]

@@isthatatesla Yes I did the same thing and got 90% of the debris vacuumed out.

[@rrzamudio]

This needs to be a suggested maintenance at regular intervals. Catching it too late will likely require an entire replacement of the core. My 3 hit a semi tire on the freeway and required the bumper cover and lower support to be replaced along with some other minor bolt-on pieces. I did the disassembly myself while waiting for parts and discovered that the radiator is so clogged with perfectly-sized pebbles that I don’t see how it can be cleaned out without damaging the cooling vanes and drastically reducing efficiency. I already vacuumed an entire birds nest worth of hay, sticks and rocks off the surface. I previously noticed that the fan was working harder during supercharging. This was after 63K miles on NorCal freeways. The core was dinged at the lower end by the collision so I am going to ask that it be replaced as part of the repair. This component definitely needs a redesign or more protection from road debris. Other than that, the design of the car and ease of disassembly is remarkable.

[@MTNRanger]

Most cars don’t protect the radiator very well. I have seen some intake screens that may help with this issue. I hope everything goes well with the repair.

[@rrzamudio]

@@MTNRanger Thanks. It has been down 2 months so far, but I think the shop was BSing on when they actually ordered the parts. Goes back in for reassembly in a few days. I took mine apart because I got impatient and this is the only car I have owned that I never worked on myself. Of the 20+ parts and 30+ hours of labor on the shop estimate, it took me 1.5 hours and I found 6 parts that actually need replaced. The Tesla is no mystery vehicle and minor parts are not that expensive. Many owners are probably being taken advantage of by third party repair facilities because they think we will just fork out more money without scrutiny to get our car back on the road.

[@MTNRanger]

@@rrzamudio I agree. Third party shops need the ability to work on Teslas.

[@SaraJAwesome]

Excellent work!!!! You’re amazing!!!!!! Was that the A/C drain hole I saw under there in the beginning of the video?! That’s what I need to get to!!!! My A/C stinks! I think it’s the drain! You’re amazing, thanks for making this video!!!!!!

[@MTNRanger]

Can you give me an exact time in the video? Have you tried using Kool-it to clean out the evaporator coils behind the cabin filters? That usually does the job.

[@SaraJAwesome]

@@MTNRanger 1:21 I think that hole is the A/C drain from the evaporator coils right?

[@MTNRanger]

@@SaraJAwesome As far as I know, the lines seen at that point are internal lines between the battery pack and the superbottle. The label with part number 1104424-10j is the battery pack.

[@android04]

@@SaraJAwesome The round hole through the black rubber grommet right in the middle of the firewall is the drain hole. If you wanted to, you could spray some evaporator cleaner up through there (I use Kool-It). But it's easier to spray from inside the cabin when you are replacing the filter.

[@SaraJAwesome]

@@android04 so after this comment of mine a while back I actually changed the filters and cleaned the coils and I’ve had no issues since;) thanks! I used Klima cleaner and breathe easy filters. And it was the drain hole I was asking about, and the drain was not the source of odor. But it does drip on high voltage insulated cables. Thanks y’all!

[@TheAdventureAuto]

It's nice to see so many robust parts under the frunk. I was cleaning out some leaves from the lower grill and was able to look way up into the larger radiator and see a bunch of leaves. I may clean those out soon too.

[@caseykittel]

Heading into warmer weather. Time to clear out the radiator. It’s not bad considering all the crap you need to do to keep an ICE car going.

[@guttagutta420]

Like what exactly? Please elaborate. Inquiring minds wanna know. What’s all the “crap” you have to do to keep an ice car going? Do tell. Because I just put gas and the occasional oil change and go. No leaves stuck all in my radiator either. I own a tesla as well but I just hate folks who try and make it seem like gas cars are so archaic and obsolete and teslas are without fault 😂 Hell, my ice probably has more tech than my tesla.

[@sasukesuite1]

Wow that's super easy. Great video.

[@kevintran1070]

Great work! I’ll do this cleaning to my Model 3

[@APatchworkCanvas]

My model y louvers are stuck open and it was packed with straw, leaves, bugs. I took it apart but I could not get the radiator cover out through the front end or the rear of the front structure. I vacuumed and pressure wash it the best I could. Found an old wire repair on the louvre actuator. Sending it to tesla to repair.

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, it's a royal pain to clean. To fully access, you need to remove the entire front bumper.

[@APatchworkCanvas]

@@MTNRanger I took the bumper off but the top of the cover would not come out the front of the vehicle. I tried pulling it into the frunk as well but it was stuck on the frame rails.

[@MTNRanger]

@@APatchworkCanvas Yikes. I wonder if the Y is different than my 3.

[@tombournique]

Could you have used a compressor or the canned air that is used to blow dust off of computer to get rid of the small bits of leaves that the vacuum couldnt get?

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, that would probably work.

[@alfonsoflores3973]

I used a compressor to blow out the sand stuck in the radiator that the shop vac couldn't get out. It semi worked. I'd say it gout about 50 percent out.

[@D_HongKongVideos]

Design flaw if it accumulates so much leaves

[@MTNRanger]

Good point, I'm haven't seen any discussion online regarding this. The radiator design is different than any other car I have owned.

[@isthatatesla]

Obviously internal combustion engine vehicles with exposed radiators could/would NEVER have this problem....

[@walkerdarin2003]

I heard cars get into accidents therefore they clearly are a design flaw 🤦‍♂️

[@OrganicStuff1]

My model y does not have actuator vents

[@tedlandy]

CLEAN your FAN while you down there. Thank you for the excellent guide. My car developed a clicking sound when ever the front fan was running. If you reach under and behind this radiator duct you can access the fan and fan shroud (below the aluminium crossmember). Mine had some mud and debris stuck to it. Removing this stopped the annoying sound. Just be wary of the fan starting when your hands are in there!

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, I’ll have to look at that next time I’m in there.

[@marcoahumada3470]

Hey! I had that issue this morning with the clicking sound. After looking at the part online, i assumed a stick had gotten lodged in. How did you go about clearing it?

[@bene35954]

Thanks for the video. You are my hero 🙏🙏

[@mikesmith30000]

I'll put it to you this way, I live out in the country and buildup on the radiator has been a biiig problem with leaves, bugs, etc. The car essentially overheats of it isn't cleaned out regularly on the model y, and short of blasting the cool air intake to get the gunk out I don't knowmof any other way to clean it

[@MTNRanger]

This helped me: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHrFeYKqhcuFbdE

[@kaskasravi]

Very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[@wall2wallsportsrehab447]

Thanks! I just cleaned mine on my 2020 model Y and it was a mess. Also, I don’t have the AC radiator that sits atop your actual radiator?? Are the model Y’s designed different? Here is a picture

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, I think the Model Y has a different design - along with a heat pump that mine doesn't have.

[@livingaboard]

It was because of this video that I got the protective mesh inserts for my model 3 to keep this from happening to me

[@lanrupf9750]

Can you provide the link for the front mesh? Thank you

[@scpdatabase69420]

5:47 Is that sound insulating foam? I had a large block of that foam fall out of my M3 rear wheel a while back but the service tech said it was nothing. Should I be worried WTF?

[@MTNRanger]

It's a foam insulator strip to goes around the outside of the radiator. Regarding your car, nothing should be falling out of the wheel wells. I'm guessing it got dislodged. It's there for sound deadening. I'm surprised service would say that - it's possible they didn't want to bother with the additional work. I would contact the service center and see what they say. Did you keep the piece of foam?

[@scpdatabase69420]

@@MTNRanger Thanks for the reply. I have a picture of it but I did not keep it. imgur.com/a/uunbJJX It was not exactly in the wheel well. It was inside below the suspension. It fit really well so I thought it might be part of the car. I have read that there is sometimes foam there from delivery, but this was a recent discovery. The mobile service tech took it and left. They said they didn't know what it was either. It was just taped down so I thought it might not be from Tesla. I had that rear wheel changed and thought it may have been leftovers.

[@MTNRanger]

@@scpdatabase69420 That definitely sounds unusual. I couldn't find anything on taped-on foam falling off anywhere.

[@scpdatabase69420]

@@MTNRanger Same here :( Thanks for the reply though. I will keep searching and see if anyone knows anything about it. I had written it off until I saw your video with that shot of the foam.

[@Thongballlllll]

you need modify the cover of radiator to open easily. thanks for the video.

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, it's a pain. You have to remove to front bumper to get it fully off. Not sure if the newer model years have the same design.

[@leewarren8247]

Thank you so much for your great sharing

[@CodingMark1]

Thanks! Can you water down the aluminum radiator grille too or does it need to stay dry?

[@MTNRanger]

Good question. I suppose it is possible. Most cars have a radiator that is well exposed through the grille - which makes it easy to clean. However since this one is hidden and covered by plastic trim, it’s a lot harder to do that. I have seen some generic radiator tutorials that mention you should use a dedicated cleaner rather than water.

[@billnipp2309]

How many miles you got on it?

[@MTNRanger]

Around 27,000 miles at the time of the video.

[@billnipp2309]

Tesla Tips by MTN Ranger gosh. I have 11k in 2 years. And about 3k of those miles were from 2 trips.

[@PhoenixWoody]

You have to take the bumper off and remove that cover in order to do this properly. See those tiny rocks? You need a strong shop vac.

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, I think I mentioned in the video that you need to remove the bumper to access. Total PITA honestly.

[@kylehill4437]

This seems like a terrible design. Do you think a grill mesh cover wouldve prevented this? Thanks for the video

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, I think a fine grill mesh would help.

[@thefatmoop]

Heat exchanger is liquid to liquid heat exchange. Radiator is liquid to air heat exchange

[@MTNRanger]

It is a radiator since the air is entering from the vents in front of the car. This is the part number from Tesla: RADIATOR, M3 1077082-00-C. batterypowered.net/tesla-model-3-radiator-battery-cooling-new-aluminum/

[@pennyharris446]

Tesla shouldn’t cheap out on adding a grill screen. Ridiculous a buyer has to clean this area of the vehicle with a vacuum.

[@MTNRanger]

Luckily you can purchase aftermarket grille screens. They have been released since this video was made. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHrFeYKqhcuFbdEsi=eoHyjv2PhxD_CbSh

[@ellis777777]

thanks for the video

[@isthatatesla]

As for the "for shame Tesla" comment, that could easily be a non-critical component and/or provided by the parts supplier that way. Parts are not made with the most expensive parts available aka stainless steel, titianium or whatever. Subscribed anyway.

[@MTNRanger]

Honestly, I would have said this about any car, Tesla gets no kid gloves from me.

[@anthonymonaco5889]

I am so surprised. What a poor design. and with this issue the intake grill should have a finer screen to block the debris from getting in at least the leaves.

[@MTNRanger]

Yes, I did a video this year on a preventive solution: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHrFeYKqhcuFbdE

[@michaostrowski3372]

6:19 you clearly dent the radiator with you vacuum - more damage than help

[@cool2180]

I am not seeing that.

[@tonymai1844]

more maintenance than gasoline car. who said tesla ev is less maintain. Roof glass is too hot, you have to turn on ac to cool down the cabin, can't wait for for the summer heat to charge the battery more often because the stupid glass roof. Everything needs aftermarket parts to fix tesla design flaws

[@MTNRanger]

What I'm showing is not required, and needs to be done on any car, ICE or EV both have radiators. I've only had to rotate the tires, change cabin filters and wiper blades in my almost five years of ownership. No brake service, no oil changes, no engine filters, etc. What maintenance have you had to do? A simple $30 sunshade if it's a problem. Many EVs with glass roofs have this issue (Rivian, Polestar, Mach-E, etc). Yes, it would be nice if they had factory retractable sunshades.

[@jayemsuerte9317]

Any tips to do about AC compressor. I have an alert of VCFRONT_a210_coolantValveCalib.

[@MTNRanger]

Are you still under warranty? It’s probably best to contact service on this since the coolant is so important to the battery pack.

[@jayemsuerte9317]

@@MTNRanger No, I'm way pass warranty. Actually its not showing on my side yet that it needs service. But when we checked the Service Mode that's what it's showing. I hope I make sense.

[@MTNRanger]

@@jayemsuerte9317 Since service mode is showing an issue, I would get it looked at. My only run in with coolant was a broken super bottle almost three years ago under warranty.