You may have just stumbled onto something that confirms a theory I've been toying with for the past two days. Since posting in Little_Scrapper's "BO" thread, my car has been spewing damp-like, warm air from somewhere beneath the dashboard (no heat/AC or blower on) and while driving it felt like there was some heated current coming from the tachometer area around that arched canopy. Despite it being cooler and dry outside lately (and even having the windows opened) it felt like I was driving though a rainforest after a storm - even the headrests and faux-leather interior parts felt tacky and sweaty. No bad smell, though...just odd dampness. It felt the way my 2003 felt after a few years of driving, where my feet were constantly getting hot because of something around the floor or CVT housing area, except in this case warm air is blowing near my face or chest.

In any case, I believe if the CVT (or something else) gets too hot, it may vent a little through that breather hose and create a little backflow at times. I was suspecting that maybe the CVT was getting hot and sweating, and was radiating that damp heat from the tranny housing into the car. But, maybe it's coming from that specific hose. EDIT: In thinking more about it, I doubt it's for the CVT...probably has to do with regulating/sensing pressure or something pertaining to climate control, or perhaps because the floorboards have a ton of ribs and dead space between the padding and metal, that hose provides a degree of venting/breathing to help prevent mold/mildew from forming. I don't know...

Here's a picture of how mine looks. You have to be on your back and looking up at the underside of the dash. It will mount on the left side of what's probably close to the infotainment area or top of the tranny console housing. Seems to be a nub that holds it in place. In pic #3 it looks like mine is missing a fastener or screw or second nub to ensure it stays put. Stupid design if there was never another fastening piece. It almost appears that the hose is relying on pressure against that other plastic round thing with white arms to keep it in place. Maybe it's just the angle of the photo.

 

I was able to get mine mounted back to the correct spot. Mine didn’t have a second nub on the bottom either, must be a stupid design

 

In looking at your photo, it seems that the mounting side seats into a recessed area. Did that have some kind of protruding "X" thing that the hose part fits snugly onto?

I wonder what that white and black thing does. The red stuff appears to be grease (got some on my fingers) and it seems that an electrical wire is going to it. Looks like something that rotates. Maybe part of the climate control air-diversion system. I wonder if one of those white arms rotates down, contacts the top of the tube and causes something to happen. Looks like the upper white arm is connected to a black thing that has the wire, and that black thing moves and the white arms slides up and down to change position.

 

That hose pulls air from the cabin to sense the cabin temp on the driver's side to set and adjust the CC when in auto mode for that side. Similar hose for the passenger's side.

It comes down when removing the driver's side knee trim under the steering wheel.

Have a good day.

 

Great explanation. I didn't realized the dual climate control had that degree of sensing, it's more elaborate than I would have guessed...