Do all Gen 2 cars have a mold problem?

I don't know what causes it. I have my AC running all the time on the low setting, never gets turned off anymore.

 

I think the AC system just smells like that over time. Yes my new 2015 already has the smell and it only has 6000 miles on it.

 

The mold issue is caused by turning off your Prius and leaving the expansion coils wet from condensation overnight. If you want to reduce the occurrence of mold, turn off the AC compressor (leave the fan on) a few blocks from your destination to dry off the coil before getting out of the car.

There is a cleaning process that the dealer can do for you to reduce the mold. I had it done to get rodent droppings out of the AC system.

JeffD

 

I have noticed that musty odor in several cars over the years. I simply spray
Lysol® Disinfectant Spray in the air intake before shutting the car off for the night. If it returns shoot it again!

 

you can get a funky smell for a minute when you shut off a/c. i don't think it's mould though. have you tested for mould, or do you know it when you smell it?

 

Shutting off a Prius before stopping does nothing because the e-coil box under the dash holds alot of water for a long time. I know this because when I back out of the garage in the am it leaves a fresh trail of water from the condensate tube. The e-coil is completely soaked when your using it.

The op just needs to clean the e-coil box under the dash via its drip tube. Buy 2 cans of Kool-It on Amazon and get under the car and the special hose on the can attaches to the drip hose. Inject the cans contents into the coil box. It goes up as foam cleaner and comes out as water.
I do it once a year. Dealer charges $125 for this service btw. Use 2 cans first time as its pretty molded up.

And also buy a can of coil cleaner and spray the front condenser in front of the radiator. AC will be much cooler with clean condenser.

This is basic ac maintenance just like you should do to your home ac unit.

None of my cars smell.

 

thanks for the update, all the best.

 

As I read this post....
OP is in a unique situation due to sensitive health/ breathing issues.
OP can search the net for all the tricks to reduce mold build up in their next car.
OP states all the typical ...inexpensive...repair techniques have been tried.

This is not a buy back situation in my opinion, foaming products can work for a short time.
This odor is not rare and happens to many cars in many regions of the USA.
The OP has a sensitivity to mold.

Here's where it gets expensive and not usually a DIY in the home garage repair.
If you are keeping this car, you need to remove the condenser coils from inside the dash and replace it with a brand new unit.
While the dash is apart you need to remove and clean (or replace) all the ducting.
You may also need to replace the blower fan and blower box assembly.
It will be very difficult to get to every mold spore introduced into the system...there is probability the mold will return, even if one can not smell it.

Then, here's the catch, not knowing the OP health sensitivity, this complete AC replacement still may not remove enough mold for the OP to become healthy. This may not work for the OP!

IMO I think the OP health may limit their ability to travel in a car (or any public transportation) w/ AC.
It "sucks" yet some are allergic to peanuts, some get vertigo, some have social anxieties.
Might be time for the OP to forego an AC equipment car.... or any car that has the potential for mold growth, such as driving in the rain and getting the driving or trunk carpets wet.
Maybe I am incorrect, yet this is how I read this post, health issues from stinky AC.

So, with this car, spend thousands to try (try) to eradicate the mold.
I personal think this is not in the OP best interest as the heater will also carry the mold.
The spores have permeated the entire passenger compartment already.

Or buy a new car w/ AC and do all the "tricks" to slow down mold.
However, some minor mold will grow in the AC and carpets, as this is the nature of the beast, so to say.

Or buy another car without AC, which may be the best health option.
Only drive on sunny days.

Bottomline, time to sell this car, apply the cleansing foaming agents and sell.
Or, it is my opinion that any cleaning technique will not be good enough for the OP as we are talking sensitivity to spores, so clean the AC, keep this car and not use the AC or heater. Not sure if this is practical for the OP.

Of course visiting your own doctor for medication and perhaps wearing a HEPA mask would be a recommendation.
The odor is easy to hide, but the spores live on!

(I have had stinky AC in cars before and multiple foaming agents, water and bleach mixes and even Lysol have helped, yet it always returns...sometimes months some times a year. SInce I can DIY the product costs are $30 and I can do them a few weeks apart or as needed. I do not have the sensitivity like the OP, yet I can detect the odor.)

I wish you luck.

 

Most likely it got a solid bad mold growth in the e-coil box under the dash and was never maintained and then the remedial cleaning is not fixing it. I would have tried to clean it a few times. Who knew if they even tried to clean it. Its pretty obvious that a cleaning has been done as it smells really good for quite a while after the injection. The dealer uses a 2 can kit. One is the actual cleaner with an injection hose the other is a really gross stinky old lady perfume bomb. Some nefarious dealers will just spray the old lady stinkbomb perfume can in the windshield air inlet. That smells really awful and is very very strong. Its gross. And doseThe cleaner itself smells really nice. So if the dealer "cleaned it" and the car reeked afterwards I would be suspicious that's all they did is the stinkbomb because the cleaner injection works real good and should have addressed your issue.

To other viewers: If your taking the car to the dealer tell them NO Stinkbomb. All you want to smell is the nice wintergreen smell from the vents when the ac is on after an injection.

They sell the same cleaner can on Amazon.com called Kool It. Comes with the injection tube.

There's no reason to drive a car that smells like mold. Its very unhealthy. You may have to do multiple cans to initially fix it but it works plus if its moldy smelling its getting gunked up which will eventually gunk up your drip tube and clog it. That's nasty as the condensate will then dump out on the passenger side carpet...under the carpet...you'll never know till one day someone steps on the carpet and it squishes. Then you really have a stinky car and carpet has to come up. And then you still have a seriously gunked up e-coil. Dealers see alot of them and its quite expensive.

Also do not ever use bleach to clean an ac coil in the car or home. It will attack the metal fins and ruin the unit. Use only special microbial cleaner designed for ac coil cleaning. Home Depot sells a spray can of coil cleaner to spray on the outside front condenser unit.
Do an under car injection cleaning and then spray down the outside front condenser unit with the HD can and you'll have a nice clean ac system. Its the same thing you should do to your home ac system.
Want to make your home ac really cool? Clean the outside condenser.

 

I think @questioner's problem could be resolved, by completely opening up the system, cleaning everything. Likely no small undertaking though. Then following AC use practice such as @jdenenberg has suggested.

 

Ed, how long have you had you flag in the correct position? just noticed it. My children are trying to convince me to move to Pinellas County. ARGH!


Remember a very old thread somewhere on this exact topic (maybe before the big crash)????? I always run the vent open and AC off except when needed and leave the vent open on shutdown. Driving without AC and vent open on dry days has kept all my cars mold free. Maybe!
If you live in a place that rains all the time this is not an option. Like Ed's idea for a cheap clean.
Or just get a new 2016. Love that new smell.

Would rather have a new Prius than a $15000 funeral. Just have some one PU the ashes and put it around a lime tree.

 

That picture of the flag is from the JFK Library in Boston.

Pinellas County=Worst traffic ever.

And yes if you never use your ac it won't get moldy. Not sure how your able to not use the ac in Florida. Your not doing the car or your ac any favor as the interior will soak up the humidity and all that cabin heat will severely shorten the Hybrid battery life. And never using the ac will really shorten its life too.