Where is the intake vent for air conditioning system?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by nancymeryl, Jun 24, 2017.

  1. nancymeryl

    nancymeryl Junior Member

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    I did a bunch of research about ways to get rid of the stinky mildewy smell in my car & settled on getting a new cabin air filter and a bottle of lysol for spraying the incoming air vent. However, upon getting home to get started I ran into a bunch of roadblocks. (1) My 2011 prius only looks to have one little air intake on the passenger side. Is it sufficient to just spray in there? (I don't want to have to start dismantling things!) (2) I looked under the hood to see if I could spot another intake and what I saw is that the vent (same one on passenger side) has A LOT of tree debris in it. I can't find anything online about how to flush it out. (3) When I checked the cabin filter it was filled with fuzz balls. I had a fairly recent filter change, so I don't understand why there'd be all these fuzz balls not even in the filter...just sitting on it....unless the service place said they changed it and did not.
     
    #1 nancymeryl, Jun 24, 2017
  2. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    The air intakes are in the cowl, some hidden under the plastic. To keep mice out (yup) some members have removed the cowl and installed metal mesh over the intake holes. It's not an easy job but it is do-able. You have to remove the wiper arms and other stuff.

    You can use a shop vacuum to clean out the stuff, using an adapter for a smaller hose (1" or so). You can also move the stuff around using compressed air, but don't blow it deeper into the system! You can also clean from the cabin filter side with the vacuum. Just be careful you don't damage the fan (which you can reach with your hand).
     
    #2 David Beale, Jun 24, 2017
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    #3 ChapmanF, Jun 24, 2017
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  4. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    In my opinion, this is really pretty easy. I've done it twice now and if you come to a SF Bay Area Prius MeetUp, I'll be happy to help remove all of this intake stuff. It's documented on the NutzAboutBolts spark plug removal video.
     
    #4 Rebound, Jun 25, 2017
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  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    #5 ChapmanF, Jun 26, 2017
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  6. nancymeryl

    nancymeryl Junior Member

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    Thanks for your reply. I'm not finding a prius meetup group? Where/when do you meet? I'm guessing it is not that close to Sebastopol! I'm trying to get this addressed sooner than later because it is making my lungs weezy. At this point, I'm really not wanting to do this myself because of a back injury...but I'm running into dead ends with repair shops. No one seems to want to do it. Except for Toyota who charges something like $169 just to look at it...and of course they are looking to do a major repair, and not a quick fix, as I'd like. I do have an extended warranty through Toyota, but I'm afraid they will tell me whatever it is isn't covered. And then I'll be stuck with a big bill to look at the car, with no solution. I did try your link to the documentation you mentioned, but it did not work. I'm not a happy camper this morning!
    ; (
     
    #6 nancymeryl, Jun 27, 2017
  7. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Why don't you ask your dealer first? If that doesn't work, I can help you out, but you'd have to drive to my home in Fremont. Send me a Private Message and we'll see if we can sync up. We could clean it all up, and I mean ALL of it, in about 60-90 minutes. I just wrapped up this work yesterday, so I remember exactly how to do it. You'll need to buy a cabin air filter for about $20 from a Toyota dealer or order one online. I assume your car is Gen III -- 2010-2015
     
    #7 Rebound, Jun 27, 2017
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  8. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    #8 Raytheeagle, Jun 27, 2017
  9. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Yes. Clean via the condensate hose. Many threads on that topic.
     
    #9 CR94, Jul 2, 2017
  10. nancymeryl

    nancymeryl Junior Member

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    Thanks, but I've solved it....at least for now! I changed the cabin air filter. And I went back to the place that had sprayed something into the air system last year (they no longer provide that service). I thought about it and realized they didn't do any dismantling, and yet they got the disinfectant through the whole ventilation system. They were very helpful and let me know a shortcut...which is that there is an air intake behind the cabin air filter. So I sprayed 1/2 can of Lysol in there and ran my fan for a long time. It's been a few weeks and it seems to have taken care of things. : ) From everything I learned from researching this, I'm now more careful about making sure my windows stay cracked and my ac has a chance to drain. (I live on a hill and I think it is better to park with my tailpipe facing downhill to allow for drainage vs front down, which I've always done?)
     
    #10 nancymeryl, Jul 9, 2017
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    shut the a/c off and turn the fan up higher a mile from your destinations. this will help clear out all the vents.
     
    #11 bisco, Jul 9, 2017
  12. nancymeryl

    nancymeryl Junior Member

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    yes, just gotta remember to do it...hard to remember when it is really hot!
     
    #12 nancymeryl, Jul 9, 2017
  13. Tommy T.

    Tommy T. Junior Member

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    Got this off Club Lexus: Wife has 2012 Prius 2 and I now have 2008 RX400h as of 6-17-17.


    [​IMG]



    -------- Forwarded Message --------
    Subject: Fwd: Used that exact product FM Home Depot.
    Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2017 15:36:01 -0700
    From: Todd Tenney <[email protected]>
    To: Todd Tenney <[email protected]>


    : Clean evaporator with foaming cleaner, I brought two cans around $10 from Home Depot, one can is good for two car or one car two times. a 3-4 feet 3/16" PVC tube used
    [​IMG]



    -------- Forwarded Message --------
    Subject: Used that exact product FM Home Depot.
    Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2017 01:31:37 -0700
    From: Todd Tenney <[email protected]>
    To: Todd Tenney <[email protected]>




    Originally Posted by 5W40 [​IMG]
    Yes, wait a few seconds or so you can see they are out of drain hole underneath [some car have two drain holes, the passenger side has more out than driver side], Foam smell will fade within a few days just like most auto ac spray cleaner.
    OK, did this today, and what a difference. Used that exact product FM Home Depot. Did it just a little different, so I thought I'd share. Remove lower right passenger side console cover. Two plastic clips and gently peel back carpet there. Once removed you will see condenser drain tube beginning and where it connects to bottom metal pipe of condenser. I sprayed up that metal pipe which covered condenser with foam directly. Also sprayed some down outlet rubber hose. Reconnected, started car with AC full blast, outside air. Immediately noticed foamy dirty water under car...had been just barely dripping before. Really flowing now. Opened hood and pried off air inlet covers. Sprayed foam into those. More came out bottom. AC noticeably colder. Switched to recirc, ran awhile, then fresh air plus heat, then heat with recirc, etc. AC system running like new. Just thought I'd share as removing that lower panel and Carpet gives direct access to condenser.


    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] yes. Once you remove panel, it's right there so no need to snake through system. Mine smelled and didn't drain much at bottom of car. Lots of water now. Product from OP is 5$ and change at home Depot. Compare to $$$ for the Toyota specific cleaner.
     
    #13 Tommy T., Jul 9, 2017
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