How to get rid of the smell?

I always use A/C... From my understanding, it “conditions” the air. I don’t believe that moisture and pollutants get removed without the A/C engaged.

Are you having the funky odors when you use the A/C? Have you changed your cabin filter?


iPhone ?

 

Well if you're in a humid place, you're car has had 5 years to become a mold motel. My guess is that it is throughout the ventilation system and a pain to get rid of. In this case, it would be beneficial to have a longer post about what you're actually talking about. Is it a mold smell from the vents only when the fan is blowing? Or do the carpets themselves smell like cat/dog/whatever? Are you driving through central Delhi and expecting a Tesla-like bioweapon defense mode filter on the car so you only smell rainbows and unicorns?

 

You’ve checked the in cabin air filter for dead rodents.

 

Is "the smell" like mold? Like dead rodents? Like urine? Like flowers?

Need details...

 

By you or a tech, have you looked at it and the general area?

 

dealers have a special system which can detoxify the entire vent system. then, in the future, always shut your a/c off a mile from your destination and turn the fan up a few notches, to prevent it happening again.

 

One of the most expensive repairs is taking apart the dash to get in their to clean. You're talking thousands of dollars in labor alone if you don't DIY.

What you're smelling is the condensation from the AC dripping off the cooling grill when it's gone from freezing and condensing moisture to cooling off and dripping that moisture... There's a drainage tube for that, so you want to make sure its not clogged. After a long session using your AC there should be a tiny puddle of water under the car after cooling system warms up...

I've always wondered why people on PriusChat are bothered by such a subtle mildew smell, that quickly goes away... But toxic poisonous smells like lysol and "air fresheners" don't bother them, but I freak out when I smell that.

If all else fails you could stock up on cabin air filters and use all natural essential oil... Just a few drops will work wonders, but will shorten the lifespan of the filter.

 

It the same thing as defrosting a freezer... When a freezer is full of ice from it's own A/C compressor running for a long time you unplug it and all that nasty built up frozen ice turns into moldy-nasty smelling water.

If you're able to get foam cleaner into the drain tube via the reservoir and are certain it's been cleaned out, the moldy smell is coming directly from the cooling grill / heat exchange / radiator like device that the air blows over to make the air cold. Learn more about replacing it here: Toyota Prius AC Evaporator Replacement Cost Estimate

 

I always try to remember to turn the AC off 2-3 minutes from home, and to turn the fan up with outside air (re-circulation off) so the whole system has time to dry out before parking the car. I also periodically spray Lysol into the outside intake vents with the AC on, then off, then again with time to dry.

Mechanics do have a more advanced cleaning system they can use to try to get mold off the evaporator core and ducts if the problem is beyond DIY solutions. If it's really bad, then yeah, it can can cost a fortune to have the whole dash torn apart to gain physical access to to the evap core and ducts for more thorough cleaning or replacement. That's why it is worth the effort to not let it get bad. I use to drive my C commercially (me in the car 25-30 hours / week) using the AC a lot, and many passengers would comment that it still smelled new.

 

Smells generally get stronger when things are warm, and get less intense when things are cold. The AC evaporator coils aren't smelling much when they're cold and the AC is on, but when you turn off the AC, the core warms up and the fan blows the more intense smell into the cabin. Since there's no smell without the fan, that's a good indication that the smell is only on the evaporator, and isn't in the ductwork (much).

If you can get a better cleaning from a mechanic, that might be your best bet. Otherwise, you might try getting 3 or 4 big cans of anti-bacterial Lysol spray, removing the wipers and cowl (remembering to clean the intake vents as you do this), then taking the cabin filter out. Next, turn on the AC full blast, open all the doors and hatch, and spray the Lysol continuously into the cabin air intake vents from the engine compartment for 5 or 10 minutes. This should (hopefully) coat the evaporator and ducts with enough Lysol that you'll kill all of the smelly contamination.

After you've finished spraying, leave the doors open and the fan going to dry everything off and get the Lysol smell out of the car for about 20 minutes. While you've got everything open, it would be a good idea to install mesh on the air intake vents to keep animals out. Close everything back up, replace the cabin filter, and you should have a less smelly AC system.

 

The OP hasn't identified just what "foam cleaner" through the drain tube was tried already. The official cleaning setup from Toyota is a two-part deal where the first part is an up-the-drain-tube foam, so if that's the kit that was tried already, there's probably not much further to go on that front.

If it was some other foam cleaner tried already, and not the Toyota kit, my next try would be the Toyota kit.



If that doesn't do it ...

hmm ...

I have been very impressed with the effectiveness of chlorine dioxide. No, not as a health supplement fad, yuck, count me out. But for what it's intended for, demildewing and deodorizing things, it can amaze you. More details about it are in this post.

If it were me battling the problem, I might take out the glove box and hang a ClO₂ generator packet from some wire or string near the recirculate inlet of the HVAC, set the mode on recirculate and the fan on a moderate setting, seal up the car, and go spend the next 12 or 18 hours somewhere else. (Obviously, running the fan that long would require either leaving the car in READY, and not in an enclosed space, or hooking a stout 12 volt charger to the battery to hold up its charge while the fan is on.)

I would be disinclined to stick the ClO₂ generator packet right in the HVAC unit, because I'd wonder if at too high a concentration it might embrittle the plastic or something. But just hanging somewhere within 20 cm or so of the recirc inlet, and not right near any plastic, wiring, or upholstery, and letting the fan draw the gas in, is probably fine.

After some number of hours, just come back, open and air out the car, throw the packet away, and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. ClO₂ is a qualitatively different stuff than familiar 'chlorine'; it won't leave the car smelling like a swimming pool. It can bleach colors of things if you get the packet too close to them for too long.

Might be a lot less sloppy and messy than shooting pounds of liquid Lysol® in there.

-Chap

 

Did anyone successfully get rid of the mildew smell this way? Lysol is magic for mold in most things. I'm glad I came across this thread, my car has a musty smell when you get in but seem to improve when the A/C is running. It's not terrible but it has that 'old car' smell going on…just when you get in, the ac helps the smell - what could it be?

Did you try this or the Toyota kit? What about spraying lysol? I can’t imagine Lysol is that much different than the conditionaire bottle that comes with the Toyota kit.

 

Have you changed your cabin air filter?
The top part accumulates debris, leaves, and dust.
During humid seasons, when the fan is running, the smell of wet earth may come from the air.
The radiator and air conditioner pipes also accumulate dust, which may smell like mold.

 

Mold. Every time AC runs water droplets accumulate, just like on a glass of ice water, and when the car’s shut down the water lingers, bacteria/slime grows.

once it’s clean, the aforementioned preventative workaround is to use AC sparingly, avoid near-constant use, and always shut off AC but leave fan running at medium speed, a mile or two before your destination. It’s a pain, but it works.

it’s too bad auto manufacturers don’t address this. There’s got to be room for improvement, both on the preventative side (something that dispels the water more effectively), and improved ease of access when cleanout is needed.

 

When I bought my 4Runner I think the previous owner may have smoked. I could smell it a little when I first bought it. I replaced all the filters and then sprayed “OZIUM AIR SANTIZER” in the front air intake outside and directly into the AC fan then turned it on. Also when I got to the parking lot at work I would spray in the car and let it sit while at work. After doing this several time over two weeks the odor was gone. However, whenever you do use this make sure you let the car air out a good 5 min before getting it. This stuff is pretty potent and I don’t recommend breathing it but it does work!