Cool air coming from the steering column.freezing my knees
Has to be a hole in the firewall from a missing plug or gasket of from collision damage.
Sure it’s coming from the steering column? There’s a set of vents tucked beneath the radio that fire at your knees. If those are on, it can feel like it’s coming from the column.
Park the car in a well lit area, pop the hood and bet on your knees and look around the firewall.
If you have an automatic transmission…there is a rubber plug where the clutch linkage would have gone on a standard shifting car. Check that this plug is still in place.
Looking under the dash, you should see is any plug is missing.
Yosemite