Wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem. After driving for a few minutes in my Focus wagon, my eyes get extremely irritated, and itchy. Never had this problems with a car before. I can get in anyone else's car (including other Ford's), and have no problems. I have started driving with one of the rear windows open and it seems to help a bit. It is only in my car though. It's 3 years old, and this started happening about 3 months ago.
Eye irritation from car?
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More info needed.....it's an allergy of some sort. Do you have problems just sitting in the car with nothing turned on, engine off?
Or does the blower have to be on? Sometimes you can have a mouse nest in the blower intake housing, maybe under the cowl. You could also have a mold build-up in the evaporator. Have any kids that ride in the car? You could have some rotting food hidden somewhere.
There's also the possibility that you have recently developed an allergy for something that's stock with the Focus.....a seat cover material, the plastic fumes from the dash, etc.
The '05 models have no cabin filter.....but those things only filter outside air coming into the cabin. Anything already inside the car can still affect you, filter or no filter.
Good luck...
Or does the blower have to be on? Sometimes you can have a mouse nest in the blower intake housing, maybe under the cowl. You could also have a mold build-up in the evaporator. Have any kids that ride in the car? You could have some rotting food hidden somewhere.
There's also the possibility that you have recently developed an allergy for something that's stock with the Focus.....a seat cover material, the plastic fumes from the dash, etc.
The '05 models have no cabin filter.....but those things only filter outside air coming into the cabin. Anything already inside the car can still affect you, filter or no filter.
Good luck...
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you have a 05 so i dont think that it has a cabin filter. when your eyes start to hurt is your heat/air on? if so it might be that you just have to put a cabin filter in your car. sad to say you have to custom build a cabin filter for the 05-07 not sure on the 08 and up. look in the how to to build one its easy.
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this happens to me too!!!!!! but only when the heater is on, coming out the vents...is this similar to what is happening to you?
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maybe if there is a pollen filter, it sounds like it may be moldy. with the vw's, we recommend the customers replace the filters every 20,000 miles. the mold could be making this happen. even if you dont have a filter, maybe moisture built up and there could be mold present. you will have to get a product like frigi fresh and spray it into the ait duct for the hvac when the heat is on full blast and let it clean itself out.
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Well if you have a sensitivity to air-borne stuff, spraying Frigi-Fresh into the vents could make things worse. I hate that sort of smell.
To really clean out the evaporator requires removing the thing, and cleaning it out by hand, maybe replacing the foam liner. Tough job....
To really clean out the evaporator requires removing the thing, and cleaning it out by hand, maybe replacing the foam liner. Tough job....
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same deal with me, I know its heater related though. Its get bad at night, watery eyes + texas drivers = scary night trips with the windows up.
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Its the winter months as well. I know when I running my defroster and its recirculating the air to remove moisture my contact lenses dry out really quick, thus giving me really dry eyes. Its not uncommon for me to at least crack my sunroof open a little bit to get some less dry air circulating.
Another possibility is that you have a slow leak in the heater core which is allowing small amounts of antifreeze to get into the air.
Or, as others have mentioned, it might be from the extremely dry air you get in the winter when you heat-up cold air. Try some simple moisturizing/lubricating eye drops before driving the car. If these make the problem completely go away, it's probably the dry air that's causing the problem ( any eye drops should also have a positive effect on an allergy as well, but it's unlikely lubricating drops would completely get rid of an allergy issue).
Or, as others have mentioned, it might be from the extremely dry air you get in the winter when you heat-up cold air. Try some simple moisturizing/lubricating eye drops before driving the car. If these make the problem completely go away, it's probably the dry air that's causing the problem ( any eye drops should also have a positive effect on an allergy as well, but it's unlikely lubricating drops would completely get rid of an allergy issue).
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... could also be exhaust related. My Cobra has dumps on it and you tend to get a little exhaust inside the car every once in a while.
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Mold is a good point. I know focus's have that issue with the water building up somewhere in the dash, and then dumping it onto the floor board.
Also, if you smack your seats with the sun shining on them, look at how much dust gets kicked up. Gnarly.
But count me in also, I sometimes get it.
Also, if you smack your seats with the sun shining on them, look at how much dust gets kicked up. Gnarly.
But count me in also, I sometimes get it.
Yep same here, only with the heat on. Leaving the back windows cracked open a bit while driving seems to help a bit, but I still get an irritation.
I think this will be one of the first things I check. The main reason for keeping the window open a bit is that I'm concerned that I might be getting some CO in the cabin.
I've owned the car since new, so that's not it, but I'm also not big on keeping the car clean - it's my car for work and I drive it a lot and just don't have time to vacuum it. I guess the mold on the carpet is a definite possibility, and the heat blowing disturbs it.
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for now there is a F breeze that is special for allergies, is odorless, so you dont have to worry about it...
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