On my 2002 Accent I sometimes cruise the dirt back roads in the area,

Ifound a fun dirt road short cut I take when going to the dump.

I have noticed that there has been dirt/gravel dust in and around the vent areas in the rear hatch area?

These 2 vents are cut into the plastic on each side of the lower interior of the hatch area.

I am not sure why there is dirt dust coming out of these vents unless it is the air exiting through these vents from the interior and collecting on the outside of the plastic?

I tried to post a pic of my Accent so you all could see the hail damage to it but I run into problems but I will keep trying.

Ride on Bumbleberry ride on!

 

Those vents are used to allow air out of the interior when the hatch and door are closed. Because they are vented to the outside of the car, when you drive on the dirt roads, the dirt is going up the vents from teh outside.

 

Ahh, So I need to keep positive pressure in the cabin when on these dirt roads,

Keep the windows up and vents on.....

THX....

 

Go to your wife's favorite fabric store and buy some spun-polyester batting. Comes on cut-rolls and is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Looks a lot like the material you see in some furnace filters (I suppose you could salvage material from one of those as well). Remove the grills and use them as a template to cut a piece of the batting to match the grill. Re-install the grill with the batting pinched between the grill and the interior panel. Trim as needed to fit. The polyester acts a filter to keep out most (but not all) of the dust. Air flow through the cabin may be reduced, but not much that you would notice (especially with 6 year old weather seals on the car). You'll need to periodically replace the polyester, and vacumm out behind the panel but you should be doing that anyway with as much dust as you report getting into the cabin.

 

I seem to have a similar problem with the dust as well as water. When I drive for long periods of time in rain I get water seeping into the trunk (spare tire area) I have thoroughly cleaned all water channels but to no avail. In one sever situation I even got moisture on the rear seat, but that was driving 10+ hours in torrential rain. To combat this I put a drop cloth in the trunk area, and check it periodically.

 

Filter idea sounds good I still need to take off the plastic and see how much dust is in there,
sounds like a good project for Wednesday.

I have not got any water likefannatic2 has I wonder if he has a hatch seal torn or an area with a weak seal letting water trickle into the spare area?